A lot of my life has been taken up with caring over the past few years. It is so time consuming (to say the least) and I had to make sacrifices to do it. I spent a lot of time uplifting the person I cared for, giving them hope and lightening their burden. I have found it rewarding. Unfortunately, it has made me a kind of figure of mockery within my family. It feels as though people see me as a pathetic loser for taking on the role while they just got on with their own lives and refused to help. They feel they can say and do what they like to me.
One relative was going through a hard time and took it out on me, cussing and telling me what an awful person I am. When I asked them for an example of my behaviour so I can change it, they weren’t able to name a single thing I had done wrong but continued to cuss me out.
My caring duties have lessened somewhat recently but I feel so drained and low - as though I have lost myself. The world seems so harsh and I feel like a big softie pushover out of step with the current m.o.
was I wrong to take on caring? Should I have just ignored the person’s need for care?
How do you get yourself back after an extended period of caring? How do you make yourself strong and how do you start to feel joy again?