Michelle Gonzaba, of San Antonio, Texas, was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis in 2011. She gives advice about how patients and caregivers can work together to prevent caregiver burnout through building proactive habits.

Honesty is a really big part, both from the caregiver and from the patient themselves. I think it’s important for both to put themselves in the other person’s shoes, right?

So the patient: “OK, well, how would I feel if I were taking care of someone,” right? And then the same way for the caregiver to put themselves in the patient’s shoes. But that honesty, that transparency between the two — it’s important to have honest, open dialogue between the two.

I think the caregiver, you know — I know it’s like a very widely used metaphor, whatever symbolism, right? — when you’re in an airplane and the oxygen masks come down, you have to put it on yourself first before you put it on the person next to you that you’re trying to help.

The caregiver has to know, and the patient has to understand, that they will run out of steam if they do not take breaks from being a caregiver.

So I think something like setting up a schedule, like maybe for a couple weeks or a month or something like that, saying, “OK, here are the hours: For two hours on Monday and two hours on Thursday, however you want to do it, I’m gonna step back. I’m gonna go to the movies. I’m gonna go play tennis. I’m gonna go do something, hang out with my friends. And this person’s gonna come in and help while I just take that break.”

I think like being honest so the patient knows, “OK, they just need a break so then they can come back and they can be at 100%, or as close to 100% as the caregiver can be. So they can help take care of them, so the patient can live their life and hopefully get better and find a way to live a life they want to live.

So it’s just like open, honest conversation — transparency.