I really like all the advice you are giving, here! I sure could have used some of these suggestions several years ago! I came across this video this evening, while watching other videos on the NAMI website. Very interesting and informative! A bit of back story on my experiences as a caregiver to my partner of 15 years.. She was diagnosed, between 2007-2010, with both Bipolar Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder, as well as major depressive disorder, and PTSD. She also has a history of drug and alcohol abuse most of her life, starting at the age of 15 yrs old., which resulted in her being infected with Hep C virus, and ultimately She required a Liver Transplant in 2009, at the age of 46 yrs old, at which time, We were living together for almost 3 years. We were a couple by then, we loved and cared very much about each other, and planned on getting married sometime in the future. I’m happy to report, she has been clean and sober, since before her liver transplant. That was the “wake up call” she needed! Needless to say, the relationship was very challenging most of the time! But, we were not going to give up on it. I believed in her and her determination to get well . I soon became her caretaker, as her liver function was worsening, due to cirrhosis and eventually liver failure, while waiting for a liver to transplant. Then, after that major surgery, I still was her primary care taker. It was a very stressful time in our life then ! Some days, I wondered how long I could go on like that! This physical illness she was going through, caused her mental illness’s to become worse, so I had that to deal with also! Fast forward a few years, and things improved for her, both physically and psychologically, which helped our relationship to improve dramatically, along with LOTS of counseling, both as a couple and separately ! But, to say the relationship was easy from then out, would not be true at all ! Sure, we had good times, we’ve made good memories, and continue to Love and support one another. But, I’ve got to say, that relationship, and the challenges we faced throughout the years, almost destroyed me! Caretaking ( alone, most of the time), for her, along with all the ups and downs that go along with the types of mental illnesses she struggled with, just eventually became too difficult, too much to handle, and, too draining ! It was constantly, one step forward and two steps back! I couldn’t do it anymore!.. 😢 To save my sanity, I had to throw in the towel ! I had no more to give to her! I was burnt out ! 😔 Leaving her was extremely hard, painful, and difficult! Because, I knew the tough life she had, the abuse she endured growing up, both childhood sexual and physical abuse. The Love I had, and still have for her., the Love she had, and says she still has for me, but she felt terribly hurt and abandoned by me, the day I walked out. And, for that, I’m truly sorry. I did the best I could, I was her biggest cheerleader, always, while she burned bridges with other friends and family members, who walked away or just couldn’t do it anymore, with her. It’s been almost 2 years, since we broke up. I am now 65 yrs old, she is 62, we still keep in touch a couple times a month, but it is time for me to prioritize my health, my mental wellbeing, and my needs, for the first time in my life! As I have many more years behind me, than I do in front of me, at this point in my life! I don’t want to spend the rest of my life I have left, stressed and struggling, and taking care of others.. I just don’t! Burnout is Real !!