I go through that cycle—positive in the morning and utterly defeated at the end of the day. The cause of that downward spiral is usually a combination of my mother’s behaviors, my worry’s and fears, and my constant feeling that I handled a situation or issue poorly. I’m the only caregiver she trusts, and she gets very anxious when I’m not in sight.

One change I made is moving my workout time to late afternoons. It’s a recent change, but it seems to keep me from bottoming out.

And I also remind myself that I get to start over the next day. I think it’s ok that we go through these cycles. I hold on tightly to those positive moments.