What Does "Self Help" Mean?

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I posted a photo of myself on social media and simply said, "Being a caretaker is hard." What I did not expect was the number of responses from my friends who expressed similar feelings. What also surprised me was when I looked at my own picture, I realized that I looked defeated, sad, and overly stressed. It made me realize that I needed to pay attention to myself and focus on my physical and mental health. It is a different world watching your parents age, but when they need you as a caretaker, that's when taking action to help them forces you to learn the reality of what it takes to become their helper. It's more than others' opinions of how you should feel, such as, "They took care of you as a baby," but it's facing the fact that one day, you will also lose your parents along with being their helper and that's complicated emotions.

If you are anything like me, you are a helper.

Helping others isn't simply something that we do; it becomes a part of who we are and a duty as someone who cares for people. People are complicated and we are patient with them. Patience can allow us to accept behaviors that we typically do not and people know that we will find a way to help them, but the real question is:

What happens when helpers realize that people cannot be fixed?

This is where a helper becomes uncomfortable because we may feel lost, confused, and uncertain about the person’s outcome when they do not respond as we believe is best for them. Our mental health becomes jeopardized because we focus on the why’s and how’s of their........

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