Upon really stressful and overwhelming moments, how do you deal with living with and/or taking care of a close loved one who is sick and dying?

This question is mostly for those who have been around a very ill loved one on a day-to-day basis, but anyone who has been affected by the serious illness of a loved one is welcome to answer.

How difficult was it for you to see them in pain day after day? How did you handle it? Were you able to block it out? Did you have other people to talk to? How did you make it easier for yourself to handle your own sadness and grief?

Even the most optimistic person in the world is going to feel down from time to time over a situation like this and I imagine feeling stressed and overwhelmed when you live with this person and/or take care of this person is pretty inevitable, so it’s not always easy to “stay positive”. When those moments occurred, what were the coping mechanisms you used to get through them? What did you do for yourself? What made you feel better? If you were able to maintain balance, how did you do it?

If you’re willing to share, I’m also interested in knowing any thoughts and feelings you experienced when this was happening and how (if at all) you were able to maintain other aspects of your life that did not relate to this situation/person and how you reached a point that didn’t include consistently worrying or feeling sad over the condition in which the person you loved was in.