067 Dr. Frank Chen - Taking Care of YOU: Care for the Caregiver

Understanding the Human Condition

Caring for someone with any chronic disease or mental illness can take an emotional and even physical toll on caretakers. And many times, that investment can lead caregivers to lose sight of their own needs in the service of another’s care.

As a clinician and former caregiver, Dr. Frank Chen discusses how family members can be intrinsic and critical parts of a loved one’s diagnosis and treatment journey. Also, support and coping strategies are needed if everyone is to effectively emerge throughout the process. In this podcast, we discuss the definition of compassion fatigue, and how it affects caregivers – professional and family members – and what the caregiver can do to take good care of themselves.

Key Takeaways

01:27 – Dr. Frank Chen joins the show to share what drew him to the field of psychiatry and his difficult experience seeking help for a member of his family

12:57 – Compassion fatigue explained

18:39 – Shay opens up about her own experience acting as a caregiver in her family

20:41 – Advice on caring for yourself as a caregiver

27:14 – The value of speaking to a therapist and other practical self-care acts you can do

34:13 – Shay thanks Dr. Frank for sharing his story

Tweetable Quotes

“There’s a very regimented path forward when you get into Med School. And it always seemed like it was very difficult to break away from that. And I think that part of this unconscious conflict that I experienced was probably what ended up attracting me to the field of psychiatry - to kind of conquer this conflict, if you will. I know now that in order to conquer this conflict, you get a good therapist.” (05:43) (Dr. Frank Chen)

“This is why I encourage anyone who has these intrapsychic conflicts to start seeing a therapist. Having someone out there to help you navigate through those struggles and know what’s norm and what’s not norm may build a much more secure self.” (07:14) (Dr. Frank Chen)

“When you stop taking care of yourself, you may actually not be doing your family member any justice in terms of trying to help them, because you’re gonna get depressed. You’re gonna end up getting anxious. You’re gonna end up not being able to help.” (13:51) (Dr. Frank Chen)

“Being a caretaker takes a toll.” (17:55) (Dr. Frank Chen)

“So, that’s really important to be able to recognize other people not trying to be critical of you but to give you some warning that, ‘Hey, you’re not acting like yourself.’ And be able to take that feedback and not get so defensive about it but do something about it.” (26:31) (Dr. Frank Chen)

“You wouldn’t try to fix a car with black smoke coming out of the tailpipe. It’s a fairly complex job. So why would you try to fix mental health issues.” (34:34) (Dr. Frank Chen)

Resources Mentioned

JFlowers Health Institute – https://jflowershealth.com/

JFlowers Health Institute Contact – [phone]

Subscribe on your favorite player: https://understanding-the-human-condition.captivate.fm/listen

**The views and opinions expressed by our guests are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect those of J. Flowers Health Institute. Any content provided by our co-host(s) or guests are of their opinion and are not intended to reflect the philosophy and policies of J. Flowers Health Institute itself. Nor is it intended to malign any recovery method, religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.

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