Fighting Family Burnout During the COVID-19 Crisis

• After 3 months of COVID-19 togetherness, families across the nation are experiencing symptoms of family burnout.
• The pressures on single parents are especially high.
• Marriages are also suffering, with inescapable togetherness highlighting the fractures in relationships and leading to an increase in petitions for divorce in other countries.
• Parents should be focusing on encouragement and positive reinforcement for children who are acting out and regressing.
• Mental health services are perhaps more accessible than ever before for those who may need additional help.

All data and statistics are based on publicly available data at the time of publication. Some information may be out of date. Visit our coronavirus hub and follow our live updates page for the most recent information on the COVID-19 outbreak.

After several months of stay-at-home orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many households are beginning to experience family burnout from spending so much time together.

Now that schools are out for the summer and millions of Americans are currently unemployed, partners, parents, and children who are together 24-7 may soon feel even more desperate for a few moments alone and a return to their pre-COVID-19 routines.

But the current rise in cases and the delay of reopening plans in several states may signal that families will need to remain together at home even longer than they realized.

However, households that are feeling togetherness fatigue can take steps to alleviate family burnout and ease the strain on their relationships.

What is family burnout?

How do you know if you’re experiencing family burnout resulting from COVID-19 togetherness?

Dr. Pavan Madan is a board certified child and adolescent psychiatrist with Community Psychiatry, the largest outpatient mental health organization in California. He explained there are three main symptoms to look out for. They are:

• feeling physically or emotionally exhausted
• not being able to handle usual tasks
• feeling annoyed easily

These are symptoms a large number of people may be feeling right now, with exhaustion being reported across the internet. Also, despite the fact that people are home and seemingly have all the time in the world on their hands, this inexplicable fatigue is becoming a common phenomenon.

In fact, Madan said, “Although no clear data is available, a 2018 survey found that half of all parents experience burnout — and this was prior to the pandemic.”

Given the heightened rates of family togetherness now, it stands to reason those numbers are much higher, especially for single parents.

The additional toll faced by single parents

For single parents still working, now depleted of their normal childcare assistance, the pandemic may mean more to do and fewer opportunities for self-care than ever before.

Prairie Conlon is a licensed mental health professional and clinical director of the telehealth company CertaPet.

She explained, “In a two-parent household, division of tasks allows each parent to have some relief, but single-parent households typically take on all of these tasks themselves, which can absolutely lead to burnout quicker.”

For single parents in a pandemic, there’s no partner to help share responsibilities and there are few, if any, opportunities to get away and breathe by oneself. The result can easily lead to family burnout.

“One of the earliest signs of burnout is having less patience,” Conlon said, “whether it’s snapping at your kids or making a microwave dinner.”

There are other factors that can contribute to family burnout in the time of COVID-19 as well.

“How demanding your job is or how the rest of your family is handling quarantine can further exacerbate burnout,” Conlon said.