Parkinson’s care partners provide an average of 31 hours of unpaid care a week — close to a part-time job — and for half of those interviewed in a 2025 National Alliance for Caregiving report, it exceeded 100 hours. 74% identified themselves as the primary care partner. Half were also in paid work, averaging 37 hours a week on top of the care. More than 60% had been doing it for over a year, and 35% for five years or more.
Which is the reason this article exists. The person with Parkinson’s is not the only one who needs a plan.
The load builds in stages
The Parkinson’s Foundation describes it as three stages: care partner stress, then care partner strain, then care partner burnoutA state in which the care partner is overwhelmed and starts withdrawing from the role while neglecting their own physical and mental health. Physical, emotional and mental exhaustion accumulate until the attitude toward caregiving itself changes.Learn more. It starts as stress you can manage. Over time it accumulates into strain, which begins to affect your ability to provide care at all. Left unaddressed, it reaches burnout — pulling back from the role while neglecting your own health.
What marks burnout out is not simply finding things hard. It is that your attitude to caregiving itself has changed. Tasks you used to do without a second thought suddenly feel unbearable.
Signs you may already be there
- Body: fatigue with no obvious cause, headaches, catching every cold going round
- Mind: flatness and lack of motivation, irritation or anger arriving faster than it used to, withdrawing from people and feeling isolated
- Attitude: steady resentment building toward the person you care for, or the thought “I want to stop” returning again and again
If several of these have overlapped for weeks, that is not something to push through. That is the point to get professional help.
You are not meant to be doing all of it alone
Caring well and doing everything yourself are not the same thing. Ask family and friends for specific jobs rather than general help — “can you take Tuesday afternoons” gets a real answer in a way that “let me know if you can help” does not.
Then look at respite care. It means temporary relief from day-to-day caregiving, anywhere from a few hours to several weeks, and it comes in several shapes: in-home care agencies, adult day programs that run activities for part of the day, facilities that take short-term stays, people you hire directly, or friends and relatives willing to step in. Using it is not a failure of nerve; it is what lets you keep going.
What exists near you, and who pays for it, varies by country and — in the United States — by state and program, so this is worth asking about rather than assuming. A social worker at your clinic or hospital is usually the fastest route to what actually applies to you. In the U.S., the ARCH National Respite Locator (archrespite.org) and the Eldercare Locator (1-800-677-1116) both list local options, and the Parkinson’s Foundation Helpline (1-800-4PD-INFO, 1-800-473-4636) can refer you locally.
Put your own time in the plan
- Set realistic expectations. Separate what genuinely has to happen today from what can wait, and let go of doing it all perfectly.
- Count the small wins. “We got out for a walk today” is worth noticing. Recognizing progress is part of what makes this sustainable.
- Look after your body. Regular exercise is known to lower stress and low mood, and aim for seven to nine hours of sleep.
- Build in short resets. Ten slow breaths, a favorite record, calling a friend — have two or three things ready that take only a few minutes.
- Stay organized. Keeping track of appointments and medications removes a whole category of background stress, which matters more when symptoms themselves are unpredictable.
If your mood is the problem, talk to a professional
Around half of care partners under severe stress meet the clinical criteria for depression. So don’t file this under “everyone finds it hard.” Ask your care team for a referral to a mental health professional — therapy and treatment both work, and neither requires you to have hit a crisis first. In the United States, if things do feel like a crisis, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available by call or text, 24 hours a day.
Many people say that simply talking to others in the same position helps more than they expected. A Parkinson’s care partner support group, in person or online, is worth looking for.
What you can do now
You can’t pour from an empty cup. If the care partner goes under, the care goes with them — so spending time on yourself is not something to feel guilty about. Pick one thing from the list above and start there today.
This article is not a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment. If the warning signs of burnout keep showing up, please get help from a mental health professional or your care team.
