x. VT, Compassion Fatigue and Burnout

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What Is Burnout?
The voice of burnout is not YOUR voice. Burnout will say you aren’t cut out for it, that you don’t enjoy it, that you aren’t good at it. Don’t make career decisions while you are burned out. Switch employers, cut down hours, get a side gig selling slotted spoons on eBay, do what you need to do to equal out your stress and your support resources.
Stress Doesn't Cause Burnout
Burnout doesn’t look like simply “not liking” what we do – it will tell us we aren’t good at what we do, and that we don’t like it or don’t care about it anymore. It can eventually destroy our ambition, our idealism, and our sense of worth. And stress doesn’t cause burnout alone; stress alongside inadequate resources does. If the demands of a job outweigh the resources to cope, then burnout is likely.
Burnout PSA #1
#Burnout doesn’t look like simply “not liking” what we do – it will tell us we aren’t good at what we do, and that we don’t like it or don’t care about it anymore. It can eventually destroy our #ambition, our #idealism, and our #senseofworth.
Burnout PSA #2
The main takeaway: burnout isn’t weakness, incompatibility with the field, or even a simple response to stress: burnout is what happens when we are exposed to more stress than we are given resources to cope with.
Burnout & the Workplace
It’s no surprise in a culture that prizes “pulling oneself up by the bootstraps,” even as it become increasingly socioeconomically impossible to do so, exists a model for burnout that blames employees for their experiences of burnout. The more modern neuroscience studies burnout, however, the more we find the cultural narrative about it and its causes is mostly myth.
Despair in Our Family of Origin
People who grew up in a family of origin in which arguments were avoided, tears were shamed, and big feelings were rarely soothed by a caregiver often learn by the time they are adults that protest is a waste of energy. When they feel missed, misunderstood, or even violated in a relationship, someone prone to the despair response won’t pick a fight; instead, they may emotionally withdraw, give a partner the silent treatment, or physically leave in an attempt to protect themselves.
Illustrated Embodied Grounding Exercise - Free Printable
Social media can be a dark, divisive place sometimes. On the other end of the spectrum, depending on the accounts you choose to follow, it can be really easy to find yourself surrounded by toxic positivity. Toxic positivity is the sort of blind optimism that refuses to entertain the potential for complex human experience that makes space for diverse combinations of emotional experiences. Make space to experience these emotions. Breathe. Notice. Repeat.
Making Meaning of COVID (for Kids)
Older kids (kids who are about eight and older) are likely to remember much of this experience. Most will remember it as a chaotic season – it IS a chaotic season. One way that parents can help kids cope with the coronavirus pandemic is to 1. Provide some shelter for kids from the chaos, and 2. Help kids organize this chaotic experience into a narrative that promotes resiliency. Explore this list - or follow the link to the related article - to learn more.
Printable: Daily Mental Health Checklist
On bad mental health days, basic self care can be hard. Really hard. I designed this resource to provide gentle structure and a mood-boosting sense …
4 BuJo Layouts for Mental Health Support
In this article, I explore existing research on how journaling and expressive writing can benefit mental health and, from that research, outline three ways to maximize the mental health benefits of your bullet journaling practice. Along the way, I’ll show you a few of my therapist-developed bullet journal layouts available for download.
HAES: Internal v. External Authority
In case no one has told you lately: YOUR BODY IS WISE. Your body is not the enemy. It does not require being caged, restricted, or controlled. It deserves to be treated with the care you'd give to someone you love: Let it take up space. Don't ignore it when it's talking, and if it's just whispering, pause to listen- because its voice matters.
Burnout + The Brain
Burnout isn’t weakness, incompatibility with the field, or even a simple response to stress: burnout is what happens when we are exposed to more stress than we are given resources to cope with. A portion of these needed resources are self-care, but it’s more about professional resources: good supervision/management, time and space to process our work at work, and time off to recharge.