Welcome to tonight’s Topic Tuesday where we’ll be discussing burnout and compassion fatigue in the carer role.
I’d like to welcome all those who RSVP'd @Anony18, @Frangipani, @Shaz51, @plumbum, @crazy, @Tanoozle, @Princess, @Indigo71 and @Uggy78. Everyone else is of course welcome to join the dicussion.
This is a topic I can strongly relate to from a professional standpoint – as a Psychologist it only took me 3 years to burnout and that experience taught me lessons that I still apply today.
For me burnout was most evident as an emotional numbness and physical exhaustion. I started spending large amounts of the weekend in bed just to recover enough to start again on Monday. Of course, that’s a luxury that most carers don’t have. I wasn’t even really aware of the emotional numbing until a friend pointed out that I didn’t respond to things normally anymore. That woke me up.
But even then I didn’t change anything. Just as carer can feel without a choice, I felt obligated to keep going. To turn up for work everyday knowing that I’d come home just a little bit more harmed. It accumulated to the point that I became physically ill. My body stopped me moving which gave my heart and mind a chance to recuperate.
I had the luxury of stepping away – taking a different job for a few years until I was ready to return. Most carers can’t do that. So the real challenge then becomes how to balance things to keep burnout at bay and what to do if you feel that you’re already there.
That’s what tonight is about and so I’d love to hear about your experiences.
- Are you experiencing burnout or have you in the past?
- What was/is that like?
- What strategies have you tried so far and how have they worked out?
