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Recognizing and Responding to Parental Burnout

Author:
Jemma Strain
Jemma Strain
B.S. Psychology
Editor:
Emma Loker
Emma Loker
B.S.
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Parenting can be a constant juggling act. Parents have to balance work, home life, finances, healthy lifestyle choices, extracurricular activities, and chores – the list can be endless. But what happens when a parent is faced with the challenge of managing a child’s mental health condition? If this happens, parental burnout in teen mental health could become an issue. 

Every parent feels emotionally and physically drained from time to time, but some parents feel like this to an extreme extent. Evidence shows that looking after a loved one with a mental health condition can affect a parent’s employment, income, and emotional well-being. What’s more, managing stress as a caregiver can also worsen physical health. Clearly, when managing issues such as these, parental burnout becomes a risk.1,2

Life has no escape option. But this doesn’t mean you can’t give yourself a break. A mental health professional can help you and your child lighten your burden and move past challenges towards a brighter future. This article can also help by covering:

  • What parental burnout in teen mental health is
  • Why parents can become burnt out
  • Self-care strategies for parents
  • Professional support options for coping with teen mental health issues
  • Where to find support for parenting and mental health
Recognizing and Responding to Parental Burnout

What Is Parental Burnout in Teen Mental Health?

While burnout isn’t recognized as a medical condition, the World Health Organization does acknowledge that it’s an occupational phenomenon. Yet, describing it in this way makes burnout seem like it’s only related to work. It’s not. It can also happen when parents are feeling over-prescribed at home.  

Parenting can be both complex and stressful. Of course, there are rewards. Watching your child grow into a person with their own strengths, personality, and achievements might fill you with pride and love. Yet, the stress around helping a teen manage their mental health condition could also leave you feeling like you don’t have the resources to cope. 

If you’re feeling emotionally and physically burnt out, understand that you’re not alone. Recent research shows that coping with the stress of raising teens is creating parental burnout across the globe.3 

If you suspect that you’re giving over too much of yourself and it’s affecting your well-being, recognizing parental stress and symptoms could highlight whether you need support. 

Parent Burnout Symptoms

The following are common signs of parent burnout:4,5

  • Energy depletion  
  • Emotional or physical fatigue – or both
  • Negativity or pessimism about homelife
  • Guilt or shame about parenting efforts – or feeling that you’re not able to parent as you once were
  • Feeling overwhelmed by parenting responsibilities
  • Experiencing a sense of emotional disconnection from children

If you experience some or all of these symptoms, you might be feeling like you’ve “failed” as a parent. We want to reassure you that this isn’t the case. Coping with the demands of work, home, and a child’s mental health condition can be emotionally and physically draining. It means that you’ve offered over so much of yourself that there’s nothing left to give. You wouldn’t expect a car to be able to keep running if you don’t top up its gas – so it’s time for you to refuel. 

We cover some parenting and mental health support techniques later in this article. First, it can help to understand the reasons why you’re feeling emotionally and physically drained. 

Why Are Parents Burnt Out?: Teen Challenges and Parental Stress

The Parenting Research Center recently conducted a study that focused on parents’ mental health and found that the majority of parents are struggling. In fact, 60% are battling with emotional issues such as stress, pressure, and fatigue.6 

More than a third of parents questioned in the survey reported that they give themselves a hard time about their parenting, saying that they struggle to forgive themselves when they make mistakes. This lack of self-compassion often leads to intense feelings of guilt and shame about their efforts. 

Every parent encounters social pressure to conform to unrealistically high parenting standards. These standards may depend on the parents’ role and background, but they mean that parents feel under pressure to spend unreasonable amounts of time with their children. In other words, parents often feel like they’ll be scrutinized or criticized for not “doing enough.”7 

Feelings of guilt and shame, and fears about being judged, may be even more magnified for parents of teens with mental health conditions. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of stigma around mental health conditions. So, when a teen struggles to cope with their emotional well-being, parents may feel like they’re to blame for what they’re going through.8 Plus, they might feel like they’ve a lack of social support because they worry that other people won’t understand. Coupled with concerns about their child’s well-being, these issues are a heavy burden to bear. 

What’s more, when a parent’s mental health declines, this can have a negative impact on their child’s emotional health – highlighting the need for self-care strategies for parents. We discuss some of these strategies next. However, if you’re coping with teen mental health challenges and parental burnout, professional mental health support might be the best route to better well-being. 

Self-Care Strategies for Parents

Preventing burnout as a parent means looking after your own needs. Self-care might feel like a luxury to a parent, but it’s not only important for your mental health – it’s essential for your child’s too. You need to recharge to be able to respond to your child’s mental health needs with sensitivity and resilience.  The following techniques can help you look after your own mental health and feel empowered to support your child during their recovery.9,10 

Permit Yourself to Look After Your Needs 

Allowing yourself time to take care of your own needs doesn’t mean that you’ll neglect those of your child or that you’re selfish. It just means that you’re giving yourself time to recharge your batteries so that you’ll be better able to cope with challenges that come your way. If this is difficult for you, create a reminder you can tell yourself whenever you need to take some downtime. For instance, you could tell yourself, Everyone deserves to take time to look after themselves. I’ll be more able to respond to my child’s needs when I’m rested. 

Be Self-Compassionate

As discussed earlier, parents often struggle to be kind to themselves and feel guilty or ashamed about their parenting skills. This may especially be the case if your child is coping with a mental health condition. Your child’s mental illness is not your fault – it’s OK to give yourself a break. Notice when you’re talking to yourself in negative ways and challenge these thoughts. If you identify a thought like I’m failing as a parent, find evidence to challenge this and replace it. For example, you might remind yourself of all the things you’ve done to support your child and come up with an alternative thought. Such as, I’m doing the best I can in a difficult situation. I always do what I can to support my child. 

Spend Time Doing Activities That Bring You Joy

Self-care works best when it’s meaningful. Try to rediscover activities that you enjoy that aren’t related to parenting. Did you have hobbies before you became a parent? Can you practice them again? Spending time tapping into skills and interests can help you strengthen your sense of identity and confidence. If you can’t think of an activity you enjoyed, can you think of something you’ve always wanted to try? Experiment with different things until you find something that brings you joy. 

Exercise

Exercise is important in stress management for parents of teens with mental health conditions. Physical activity releases endorphins and can boost your mood. You don’t have to do anything strenuous if you don’t want to; even moving your body in gentle ways, such as walking, yoga, and stretching, can help. 

Try Mindfulness

Mindfulness can stop your mind from focusing on mistakes you think you’ve made in the past or worries about the future. It pulls your awareness to the present moment and helps to release stress and anxiety. There are many ways to practice mindfulness, from simply paying attention to surroundings to trying more structured exercises. For instance, you could do a body scan meditation by lying on your back with your arms by your side and palms facing up. Focus your attention on how the different parts of your body feel and try to connect various sensations, emotions, or thoughts with these areas of your body.

Build Your Support Network

You may be a parent, but you’re also a person with social needs of your own. When a family member is struggling, withdrawing from friends is a common reaction. You might think they won’t understand or that they’ll judge you as a parent. Yet you might be surprised by how much they’ll be able to appreciate what you’re going through. However, you don’t have to talk about what’s going on. Taking a break from stress by going for a coffee, a walk, or lunch can remind you of who you are outside of the family unit. 

Find Resources

Parenting resources can be helpful when trying to manage parental burnout in teen mental health. Support groups can help you feel more understood and can highlight how you’re doing the best you can within your power. Mission Prep offers a variety of support groups for parents of teens with mental health conditions, including on what to expect during treatment and how to be involved in the process. 

Recognizing and Responding to Parental Burnout

Professional Support for Coping With Teen Mental Health Challenges

Parent self-care for mental health challenges can be hugely helpful in managing burnout – but it might not be enough. If you’re struggling with a teen’s mental health issues, professional support may be the best method of preventing burnout as a parent. 

Teen mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, and trauma, can affect your child’s ability to function in their daily life. Their emotions, behaviors, school performance, relationships, and physical health can be impacted – and these issues typically don’t go away without treatment. In fact, they can worsen. In other words, you might not be able to cope with their issues alone. 

Mission Prep can talk to you about treatment for your child’s needs, including the options of outpatient and inpatient programs. Our team can also discuss different therapy options, which can be integrated into a treatment package, including the following. 

Therapy Options for Teen Mental Health Conditions:

  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT has been proven to improve problem emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in teens – reducing the impact of mental health conditions on the family unit. A therapist uses CBT techniques to target teens’ negative patterns and help them build healthy ways of coping. 
  • Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): If your child has experienced trauma, this may be contributing to their symptoms. EMDR is an effective way to treat trauma, as it changes how memories are stored in the brain. Through reprocessing these memories, a teen can move past negative experiences and form more positive beliefs.
  • Transcranial magnetic stimulation: TMS is an innovative therapy that can be especially helpful in relieving the symptoms of treatment-resistant conditions. It’s a non-invasive method that uses magnetic fields to activate nerve cells in targeted areas of the brain – improving outlook and mood. Therefore, if your burnout comes from feeling like therapy hasn’t worked for your teen in the past, TMS could be a solution. 
  • Family therapy: Family involvement in therapy can improve a teen’s symptoms, especially if there are relationship dynamics that are contributing to mental health difficulties. For instance, interpersonal therapy can highlight issues in relationships, help teens and families work through them, and figure out better ways of coping. Additionally, family therapy allows you to work through stress and burnout. 
Recognizing and Responding to Parental Burnout

Reach Out for Support With Parenting and Mental Health

Mission Prep understands the pressure that parents face when coping with a teen’s mental health condition. Family life might no longer look or feel like it used to. You may be struggling to balance the demands of work with managing your child’s well-being. Plus, you might be feeling guilt or shame about not being able to “cure” your loved one. All of these emotions and stress can be difficult to cope with by yourself – and you don’t have to. 

Despite all your love and care, mental health conditions don’t just “go away.” They often require evidence-based treatment and professional support. Mission Prep offers residential care in California and Virginia, but we can also provide flexible outpatient services in the form of telehealth therapy – relieving the burden of intense schedules. 

Our care is always family-focused, meaning that we consider how mental health affects the entire family unit in our approach. Your and your child’s opinions matter in treatment. We can help you understand the root causes of mental illness, strengthen your relationships, and continue to support you through recovery.

If you’re ready to take the next step in seeking support or just have questions to ask, Mission Prep can help. Reach out to our team for help with coping with teen mental health challenges and parental burnout. 

References

  1. Fekadu, W., Mihiretu, A., J Craig, T. K., & Fekadu, A. (2019). Multidimensional impact of severe mental illness on family members: Systematic review. BMJ Open, 9(12), e032391. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032391
  2. American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Serious mental illness. Retrieved April 25, 2025, from https://www.apa.org/topics/mental-health/serious-mental-illness
  3. Blanchard, M. A., Hoebeke, Y., & Heeren, A. (2023). Parental burnout features and the family context: A temporal network approach in mothers. Journal of Family Psychology, 37(3), 398–407. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0001070
  4. World Health Organization. (2019, May 28). Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases. https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases
  5. Ralph, A. (2023, May 22). Exhausted, disconnected and fed up: what is ‘parental burnout’ and what can you do about it? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/may/22/exhausted-disconnected-and-fed-up-what-is-parental-burnout-and-what-can-you-do-about-it
  6. Parenting Research Centre. (2022, December 19). Parents are under pressure, and we can’t just blame the pandemic. https://www.parentingrc.org.au/parents-are-under-pressure-and-we-cant-just-blame-the-pandemic/
  7. Ishizuka, P. (2019). Social class, gender, and contemporary parenting standards in the United States: Evidence from a national survey experiment. Social Forces, 98(1), 31–58. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soy107
  8. Corrigan, P. W., & Rao, D. (2012). On the Self-Stigma of Mental Illness: Stages, Disclosure, and Strategies for Change. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Revue Canadienne de Psychiatrie, 57(8), 464. https://doi.org/10.1177/070674371205700804
  9. Anna Freud Centre. (n.d.). Self-care for parents and carers. https://www.annafreud.org/resources/family-wellbeing/self-care-for-parents-and-carers/
  10. Cleveland Clinic. (n.d.). 10 ways to practice self-care as a parent. Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/realistic-ways-to-practice-self-care-as-a-parent

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