Compassion Fatigue

Yesterday I spoke to Dr. Patrice Buckner Jackson, a sister I met through Purpose to Platform. I invited her to be a guest on the Thrive mini-series and she not only served myself, but others who joined in. I'll share some pointers from the video and then you can watch the full replay for yourself.

1. "Start with you" - Patrice Buckner Jackson

2. "Boundaries teach others how to treat you." - Ashley Mehu

3. "No" is a full sentence, by itself.

4. Knowing what you value is important; should be apart of your 'non-negotiables' list.

5. You have to know what you're refusing to lose, so you don't lose yourself in the process.

Compassion fatigue involves taking on others' responsibilities, and absorbing their woes, while neglecting yourself. This, can lead to cycles of burnout. I recently took care of a patient with a poor prognosis. After months of watching her decline, it was hard to face the family members with the knowledge I had, which they knew.

It led to me feeling irritable, helpless and upset. And the sad part is, I wasn't the only one affected. My coworkers understood our individual limits and bounds. We knew that we had to support each other; providing consecutive care beyond one shift, was tolling for one person. This is an example of when compassion fatigue meets burnout.

It's important that we understand what we need individually, and when we need to take a break or ask for help. PBJ said scheduling self-care is important; burnout is what happens when their is a lack of intentional self-care. Some of us have been "superheroes" for so long, that we feel guilty for taking the cape off.

Whether you're a mom, healthcare worker, professional worker, CEO, COO or custodian, I want to invite you to step back and put you first. Here's the replay of last night. I hope it blesses you.