The occupational burnout of both institutional and family caregivers for older adults with cognitive disorder is a phenomenon worthy of great attention. Drawing on Maslach’s three-dimensional theory as a research perspective，this study conducted in-depth interviews with family and institutional caregivers for older adults with cognitive disorder in three cities of Anhui Province. Using the grounded theory to analyze their occupational burnout dilemmas，this study found three major sources of occupational burnout：the emotional labor loads and physical exhaustion in high -intensity caregiving，emotional exhaustion and career development barriers resulting from the absence of support systems，as well as ethical conflicts and responsibility gaps arising under the professional stigma. In response，the article proposes three coping pathways：alleviating emotional labor pressure and improving the care support system；enhancing professional connectedness and expanding career growth and support opportunities；reshaping the perceptions of caregiving values while developing responsibility and value-oriented mechanism，thereby providing theoretical insights and practical experience for caregivers’self-perceptions and their roles in senior care services.