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Tugboat Caregiving

Caregiver Check-In

How’s the captain holding up?

Every tool on this site looks after the person you care for. This one looks after you.

Caregiver strain doesn’t track with hours or tasks. Two people with the same to-do list can be in completely different water. Twelve honest questions, two minutes, and you get a plain-English read on how much you’re actually carrying, plus three moves sized to what you can take on right now.

For each one, how often has this been true for you lately?

  1. I feel like the care depends on me, and me alone.
  2. Caregiving takes the time I needed for myself. Sleep, meals, rest.
  3. I feel pulled between caregiving and the rest of my life, work, family, or both.
  4. I've stopped doing things I used to enjoy because of caregiving.
  5. I feel tense or braced for the next phone call, even on quiet days.
  6. My own health has slipped since I started caregiving.
  7. I feel frustrated or resentful around the person I care for, and then feel bad about it.
  8. Money worries connected to caregiving weigh on me.
  9. I feel like I've lost the life I was living before this.
  10. I feel alone in this, like nobody really sees what it takes.
  11. I'm not sure I can keep going the way things are.
  12. No matter how much I do, it feels like it's never enough.

Anonymous and free. Nothing you answer is saved. This is a self-awareness tool, not a clinical instrument or a diagnosis. If you’re in danger, call 911 or your local emergency number.