EP 89: Caregiver Burnout in Addiction Recovery: Signs, Nervous-System Tools, and Self-Care

NEW Announcement: Australian Family Support Listeners Get 30% off every one-to-one support session with Paul King & Wendy Brewer. Finally get the care & help you need to navigate a loved one's addiction. familyhopesupport.com (Australia Only)

Are you burning out while trying to care for someone battling addiction, illness, or trauma—and wondering how much longer you can hold on?

When you're constantly in fight-or-flight trying to protect or support someone you love, it’s easy to ignore your own breaking point. This episode shines a light on the emotional, physical, and mental toll caregiving can take—especially when substance use or chronic illness is involved—and offers realistic tools to recognize and reverse burnout before it costs you everything.

• Learn how to identify the earliest physical and emotional signs of burnout before they escalate.
• Discover easy, affordable nervous system regulation tools like cold therapy, tapping, and box breathing.
• Hear Carrie Severson’s powerful story of reclaiming her self-worth and sanity during her husband's cancer journey—and how you can do the same.

Press play to learn how to protect your energy, reconnect with your body, and build the inner strength to keep going—even when life doesn’t let up.

🌱 Family Hope Support — Special Offer for Podcast Listeners (Australia Only)

Loving someone with a drug or alcohol problem can feel exhausting — the worry, the guilt, the fear, the sleepless nights. It wears you down.

At Family Hope Support, Wendy Brewer and Paul King offer combined one-to-one support sessions grounded in counselling insight and lived experience. Finally get the care & help you need to navigate a loved one's addiction. 🎉: Family Support Listeners Get 30% off every one-to-one support session — use code FAMILYHOPE at checkout.

👉 Claim your discount at familyhopesupport.com and start feeling less alone. You don’t have to do this by yourself

💛 Support the Podcast (Worldwide)

If our podcast has helped you feel a little less alone, you can now support our work through Ko-fi. Your contribution helps us keep creating this show and reach more families who need hope and guidance.

👉 https://ko-fi.com/familyhopesupport

This podcast provides practical guidance and support for families navigating the challenges of substance abuse disorder, offering insights from addiction recovery experts, family therapy, and support groups like Al-Anon and Family Drug Support, with a focus on understanding how to help and support loved ones dealing with addiction, including heroin addiction, through counselling and treatment options.

DISCLAIMER

Every family is different — if you’re supporting someone through addiction, please make decisions that are right for you, ideally in consultation with qualified professionals and appropriate support networks.