Rekindling: Compassion Fatigue Solutions For Animal Workers

It's a fact that there are more euthanasias during the holidays than at other times of the year. Financial pressures, guests, busy schedules and family members coming home all can play a role in why. Animal shelters see more surrenders during this time of year too for a variety of reasons, one being they were given a pet as a gift and didn't want it. Whatever the reason, the fact remains that we have to come to terms with the increased incidence of euthanasia during an already stressful time of year for so many in vet medicine and animal welfare. This episode can help!

Join me in the last offering of Compassion Fatigue Rx of 2019 www.rekindlesolutions.com/enroll. Substance abuse is a sign of compassion fatigue. In this episode I will share my beliefs about how our society currently looks at alcohol addiction, my own story of quitting, tips to help you if you want to take a break and what benefits I've experienced by being sober for 5 years.

Compassion Fatigue Rx registration is OPEN! www.rekindlesolutions.com/enroll This episode is about being present in our lives. If you pay attention you will find we hardly ever actually are in the here and now. We spend a lot of time in the past, in the future and frankly distracted from the present. But the present is where our life is and the people we love. Check out this episode if you want to be more mindful and more present with yourself and those you love. That's a gift that keeps on giving!

I have this imaginary thing called a Mental Health Bank Account. I'm always either making deposits or withdrawals against it. I try to make mostly deposits so when sh*t hits the fan (and it will!), I have some reserve. We all need a plan for when life throws us lemons. Check out this episode to find out what to do when you find yourself amidst the lemons!

So you've experienced trauma in your personal life or your work with animals or both, now what? In Part 2 of my interview with Dr. Hilal Dogan, we talk about how to process your own trauma, trauma clients may be experiencing and her Veterinary Confessionals Project. Check out her articles at www.rekindlesolutions.com/resources

The things we experience and situations we bear witness to can have a lasting impact on us, especially as it relates to our work with animals. Traumatic stress is the result of being exposed to extreme or life threatening situations and it's time we talk about it. This is Part 1 or a two-part interview in which I interview Dr. Hilal Dogan, veterinarian and certified trauma professional.

You likely fall into one of two categories: you make tons of decisions and have "decision fatigue" or you lament about all the decisions you have to make afraid you will make the "wrong" one. But what if there are no "wrong" decisions and instead there are just the decisions we make? What makes a decision "wrong" is just what we think about it. In this episode I will teach you how to use your body to help you make decisions and you will learn that there are no "wrong" decisions. So make the decision to listen to this episode right now!

In honor of National Veterinary Technician Week I'm talking about burnout in this episode. Specifically as it relates to vet techs. Check out my interview with Josh Vaisman of Flourish Veterinary Consulting where we talk about a recent survey he conducted on this topic as well as all things related to burnout in vet med.

Misanthropy is the hatred or distrust of humans. When we are exposed to situations where humans have harmed animals we can start to believe that "People Suck". Our brain then goes to work to constantly seek evidence to prove that thought true. The problem is that in order to truly help animals, we have to also help people. And believing that "people suck" ultimately only hurts us and the animals we are so desperately trying to help. Check out this episode and share it with your friends!

We've been culturally conditioned to view failure of any kind as a bad thing. But what if it's actually essentially for our growth? We're either succeeding or learning, seeing things as a failure is totally optional. So what are you willing to "fail" at in order to grow? I'll share my list of 10 with you in this episode. Check it out!

The opposite of compassion fatigue is compassion satisfaction and we don't talk about it enough. It's an antidote to compassion fatigue in a sense. Compassion satisfaction is what lights us up about our work, what brings us joy and meaning and fulfillment. We have to deliberately look for it because we're hard-wired to see the negative but you'll find it's all around you. Worksheet can be found at www.rekindlesolutions.com/31

When we blame others for our negative emotions, we embody victim mentality and essentially abdicate all of our power to the other person(s). But here's where we go wrong, believing someone else's words or actions causes our negative feelings. They don't!

What if we talked about mental health issues like we do the common cold? What if we weren't afraid to be open, honest and share these parts of ourselves with each other without shame? If we ever want to change the stigma of mental health issues in vet medicine and in our society, we will have to get real. In this episode I get real with Dr. Bethany Sabatino and her own journey with mental health issues and how she remains mentally healthy in veterinary medicine.

I believe much of why we get compassion fatigue is because we experience so much loss in our work with animals but we never actually grieve. We may intend to but something else or someone else needs us. And there's not way through but through. In order to heal ourselves, we have to feel what we're feeling. We have to make time to be with ourselves and our emotions. It might just change everything!

Anxiety. Not only is it a sign of compassion fatigue but for some it can be debilitating and cause extreme misery in one's life. But what if we could learn to manage it? You can. Anxiety may never go completely away but I have some strategies that can have a major impact in the way you experience anxiety. Get the worksheet at www.rekindlesolutions.com/27.

Compassion fatigue can make you question whether or not you should quit your job. As a life coach, many of my clients are wondering the same thing. Before you decide, there are some things you should think about that I discuss in this episode. They may just help you with your decision!

Boundaries are an extremely important component of preventing compassion fatigue and as animal workers we often have a hard time creating and enforcing them. Essentially boundaries are about respect, self-protection and self-care. Listen to find out how more!

Are you a people pleaser? Women are socialized to be people pleasers, to be nice, to be accommodating, to not "disappoint" others. But if we are doing and saying things just to influence how others think and feel about us, we are being dishonest. Listen to this episode to learn how to stop.

What if I told you that you could create any feeling you wanted? You can. You are always the creator of your emotions but chances are you've never used that power to your advantage. Well I'm going to show you exactly how to do that! Also registration is open for Compassion Fatigue Rx, my online course. Check it out at www.rekindlesolutions.com/enroll.

We love animals! But many of us don't love ourselves. What you believe about yourself is the foundation of your mental health and wellbeing. It's everything. Let's start by loving the fact that we're really good at helping animals. That's a great place to start. Check out this episode and the worksheet that goes with it to learn how to love yourself. It could just change everything! www.rekindlesolutions.com/22