Caregiver Stress Isn’t Normal — How Ayurveda Helps You Reclaim Your Calm
- Jean-Francois Alleno
- Dec 8, 2025
- 6 min read
Caregiver — if you’ve ever felt like stress is simply part of the role, I want you to hear this clearly: Stress is common… but it is not your destiny.
In this video, I walk you through:
🌿 Why stress comes from overextension — not caregiving itself
🌿 The emotional labor most caregivers carry without realizing it
🌿 How loving boundaries instantly stabilize your nervous system
🌿 How Ayurveda reframes stress as an imbalance, not a personality flaw
🌿 A powerful, dosha-specific 60-second stress reset you can use anytime
If stress has become your daily baseline, this video will help you understand why — and how to shift it.
You deserve steadiness. You deserve peace. And caregiving doesn’t have to feel like living in constant overwhelm.
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Caregiver, let me ask you something. Have you ever felt like stress is simply part of caregiving? Like it's just a price you have to pay because of everything you are responsible for. maybe you have even told yourself sometimes something like.
Of course I'm stressed. Look, you know, my situation is very difficult. This is just how it is. There's nothing I can do about it.
I want you to really hear this. Stress isn't normal. It's common, yes, but it's not your fate. And if you keep that state of stress all the time, there will be consequences for the future. You deserve steadiness. You deserve calm.
And caregiving doesn't have to feel like living in a permanent state of overwhelm. Please consider giving a thumbs up to that video, subscribe to the channel and share it with other caregivers who might need this message. I'm Jean-Francois, I'm registered nurse, an Ayurvedic health counselor, a yoga teacher and a Vedic astrologer.
I help caregiver of aging parents move from running on empty to feeling grounded, confident Emotionaly steady again. All right, so in today's video, we're going to talk about three different things. Number one, stress come from over extension rather than caregiving itself.
Two, how setting loving boundaries give you back your stability. And three, how Ayurveda reframes stress as imbalances and not personality. And stay until the end because I will give you one minute reset that you can use right away tailored to your Ayurvedic types. All right, so let's begin.
Stress comes from over extensions and not from caregiving itself. And that's important. So hear it. Here is something I learned both in the hospital and in my own caregiving journey. People don't burn out because they care. They burnt out because they are doing everything.
Most caregivers I work with aren't just taking on the physical task.
They are doing far more than anyone realize, including planning meals, organizing appointment, tracking medication, managing finances, managing emotional dynamics in the family, being the peacekeeper, being the responsible one, being the dependable one, being the one who never complain.
So, Ayurveda has a beautiful way of explaining this. When we take on too much, the vata dosha, which governs the nervous system, becomes overwhelmed. And when vata is overwhelmed, everything feels urgent, chaotic, fragile, and you may start to notice...
Racing thoughts, constant planning in your head, waking up thinking about caregiving, feeling like you can't sit still, feeling like everything is too much. But this isn't because caregiving is inherently stressful. This is because your capacity has been exceeded. and caregiving itself might only be
half of the bucket. But when you add emotional labor, perfectionism, the bucket overflow. And then when you are overflowing stress become your daily baseline.
The good news is if stress comes from overextension, then there are places to loosen, lighten, maybe even release. So let's talk about that. All right, so grounded care starts with clear boundaries. I know, I know boundaries can feel super uncomfortable for caregiver, especially if you grew up with the message like...
A good daughter always shows up. If you love someone, you sacrifice. Family comes first no matter what. The truth is, lack of boundaries is one of the biggest reasons stress becomes chronic. Ayurveda teaches us that healthy boundaries are not walls. They are containers. And containers help us
hold what we can realistically carry. Let me give you an example. if you are helping your mom or dad several times a week and one day you say, mom, I love you, but I won't be coming tonight. I need to rest so I can be present tomorrow. This is not selfish. This is choosing sustainable caregiving because when you set limits, your nervous system stabilize.
Your Vata calmed down. Your emotional resilience increase. Your patient returns. Your creativity returns. Your compassion returns. People think boundaries make caregiving harder, but they actually make it way easier.
let me say this clearly. Sometimes the person who benefits the most from your boundaries is the person you are caring for. Because a grounded rested, caregiver can offer better support than an exhausted, overwhelmed one.
The best way to begin, start with small, clear limit.
Something like, I can visit Saturday, but not every day. I can help with appointments, but I can't manage everyone's emotions. I can support the big things, but I can't be on call 24-7. Most caregivers think the world will collapse when they say no, but what actually collapses is the exhaustion that's been crushing them.
reframes stress as imbalance and not identity. And that's changed everything. One of the things I love the most is that it removes shame from the conversation. Stress is not a sign of weakness. It's not a personality flaw. It's a dosha.
imbalance.
me explain that briefly. Vata type stress shows up as anxiety, overwhelm, racing thought, feeling ungrounded and difficulty making decision. This is a caregiver who say, my mind won't stop. I can't shut it down. The Pita type stress will show up as irritability, frustrations, like other do not things, right?
snapping at loved one and feeling pressure to take control. They are the caregiver who says, if I don't do it myself, it won't get it done correctly. And finally, the Kapha type stress will show up as shutdown, heavy feeling, exhaustion, avoidance, difficulty starting task.
So this is the caregiver who says, I feel stuck. I don't even know where to begin.
None of these are you. They are simply imbalanced, meaning Vata needs grounding, Pita needs cooling, and Kapha needs actually energizing. And when you support yourself based on your pattern, stress becomes much easier to navigate. Ayurveda gives us permission to stop trying to be superhuman. It says your body is giving you information. Listen to it.
All right, so here's the tip I want to give you. It's a 60 seconds reset for stress. And I promise you, it's a practical tool and it works. Something that you can do anytime, anywhere. Okay? And it's tailored to your type of stress. So remember, if you are feeling Vata stress, anxiety, scattered, sit down. Place one hand on your chest. It doesn't matter which one, one hand on your belly and take six long inhale.
and extra long exhale. So if I take a big inhale...
I'm going to take an extra long exhale.
This six extra long exhale will actually ground your nervous system instantly. This is magic for vata stress. Now let's say that you are more like on the irritable side, tense side, so it's the pitta stress. Go in the washroom, splash some cool water on your face. Not super cold, cool water on your face, maybe on your neck a little bit.
and drink a few sips of warm water, not hot, but certainly not cold. And this is going to sooth the heat rising in your system. And that will tremendously help. And now if you are feeling Kapha stress, remember it's heavy, you're stuck, you don't know where to start. Just go with 20 shoulder rolls. So shoulders up.
back down and again roll the shoulder back and then maybe you know walk just where you are for like 60 seconds so you can even walk and move your shoulders at the same time this is going to reawaken your energy and clear the fog all right so caregiver stress doesn't have to be your daily reality
there are consequences of staying in that state of stress for so many months or even sometimes years. So remember, stress comes over extension, not caregiving. Boundaries are act of love Ayurveda give you a map to reclaim your calm.
If you found this helpful, please like the video, subscribe to the channel and share with another caregiver who might need this message. And if you are ready to feel grounded and supported again, I invite you to check the link below and there is a free guide to reclaim your calm
There is a link to book a free call with me, a discovery call, or you can book an Ayurvedic consultation with me. I would love to be part of your journey and to sincerely help you. All right, so take good care and I will see you in the next video. Thank you.
