Caregiving for a loved one with high needs can be emotionally and physically exhausting. Whether you're parenting a child with special needs, caring for a chronically ill partner, or supporting an aging family member, the weight can feel relentless—and invisible to those around you.

While caregiving can come from a place of deep love, it can also trigger emotional patterns rooted in codependency, perfectionism, and trauma. You may find yourself overextending, suppressing your needs, or feeling guilty for even wanting rest.

And on top of that, you’re often battling broken systems—medical, educational, legal—that don’t understand your situation or support your family well. It’s no wonder caregivers are among the most burned-out and overlooked groups I see.

Signs of Codependency in Caregiving

• Consistently putting others' needs above your own

• Feeling guilty or selfish when setting boundaries

• Saying “yes” even when your body is screaming “no”

• Feeling emotionally drained, resentful, or numb

• Needing to be needed in order to feel worthy

These aren’t just personality traits. They are often protective adaptations from childhood trauma, family dysfunction, or environments where love had to be earned. Over time, they become internalized roles that feel impossible to step out of—even when they’re harming you.

When Caregiving Becomes a Survival Pattern

The hyper-responsibility becomes an identity. But when your worth gets tied to how much you can give, exhaustion is inevitable.

Therapy can help you:

• Understand how codependency shows up in your caregiving

• Process grief, anger, or guilt you haven’t felt safe expressing

• Rebuild your identity beyond being “the strong one” or “the fixer”

• Learn to receive support without feeling like a burden

• Regulate your nervous system and reconnect with your needs

You deserve to feel like a whole person—not just a role you’re playing for everyone else.

A Trauma-Informed Approach to Healing

In our work together, I integrate trauma-informed therapy with somatic practices like Brainspotting and EMDR therapy, when appropriate. These modalities can help shift long-held emotional patterns, calm your nervous system, and support lasting change—not just insight.

Whether you’ve been caregiving for years or are reaching a breaking point now, therapy offers a space that’s just for you—where your feelings, limits, and identity matter.

Take the First Step Toward Healing

You don’t have to keep running on empty. You don’t have to keep proving your worth by how much you give.

Let’s work together to help you reconnect with yourself, set compassionate boundaries, and build a life that supports you, too.