Rekindling: Compassion Fatigue Solutions For Animal Workers

Today's guest is Dr. Lauren Smith, relief veterinarian and founder of the Vetitude. I recently read a blog post of hers that made me reach right out and invite her on the podcast. The post was titled "Let's Not Forget About the Human-Animal Bond" whereby she exposed a mindset that the client's needs are secondary to the pet's. She makes the case that what is good for the client is most often also good for the pet and how to be more accommodating towards the client's needs.  You can follow Dr. Smith on these social channels: Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thevetitude IG https://www.instagram.com/thevetitude/ Also, check out the blog post we discuss in this episode: https://thevetitude.com/lets-not-forget-about-the-human-animal-bond/

It's not that it's hard to say "No". Everyone can do it but what's hard is the feelings that come in the aftermath of saying no. Particularly guilt. But guilt doesn't actually come from saying no, it comes from what we think about saying no. When you change what you tell yourself about saying no, it becomes easy. When you reassure yourself that saying no is not only ok but necessary, you become someone who says no to things and yes to themselves. 

I've taught about feelings a lot on the podcast but today I'm teaching something I haven't taught before. Emotional health doesn't happen by accident, it requires our intention and learning how to process negative emotions.  I'll guide you through that giving you an example from my current life that I've been managing a lot of anxiety around.  Check out the Feelings Wheel here .

My guest, Debbie Boone is a Veterinary Practice Management Consultant focused on Communication, Team building, Employee Engagement and Customer Service issues. She offers custom consultation services for veterinary practices who desire to improve their practice and their life. No judgement, she just helps.  She has over 23 years" in clinic" experience managing AAHA small animal veterinary practices. Her mission: Helping Veterinary Teams live their best life through coaching, better leadership and communication. Here's all the places you can find Debbie: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVU41sDEnXV_OSVllDpswMA/featured   (The Bend)  https://dboone2managevets.com/ (Debbie's Website) https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbiebooneveterinaryconsultant/ (LinkedIn)

What if instead of talking negatively about someone (behind their back) we talked positively about them and made the most generous comments, assumptions and acknowledgment? Not only would that be so fun, you'd feel like a million bucks afterward.  In this episode I'm going to share with you what I mean by Gossiping Well. Give it a try! 

Today my guest is Dr. Lynn Hendrix, Certified Animal Hospice and Palliative Care Veterinarian, VIN Hospice/Palliative Medicine/End of Life Care Consultant, President and Co-Founder of the WVPMO and Author of "Animal Hospice and Palliative Medicine for the House Call Veterinarian".  This is a rich episode filled with gems like: -why she chose the path of animal hospice and palliative care as a veterinarian -what being so intimate with death has taught her about life -why she wrote a book -what would surprise us all to know happens quite often in end-of-life situations    -how she copes with all the "feels" Here are all the ways you can connect with Dr. Hendrix: FB link:  https://www.facebook.com/ThePalliativeVet Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/the_palliative_vet/ Email: drhendrix@belovedpetmobilevet.com  Her book "Animal Hospice and Palliative Medicine for the House Call Veterinarian"  is available here: USA:  https://www.us.elsevierhealth.com/animal-hospice-and-palliative-medicine-for-the-house-c

Taking care of yourself can't be an afterthought but it requires two things: attention and intention. Attention to what is going to be or could be challenging and what you're going to do about it (intention).  We often get blindsided by situations, trips or events that we didn't think through and then find ourselves bamboozled with lots of anxiety, stress and overwhelm.  I want to encourage you to start thinking ahead and planning for these types of things. You know yourself best. Look over past experiences to see where you've gotten hung up and found yourself feeling out of sorts.  And follow the guidelines I walk you through in this episode to create and develop a plan for yourself. A way to care for yourself and support yourself in these types of situations.  This is self-care at its most fundamental.  To join my bi-weekly email list, text REKINDLE to 66866. 

Louise Hay is arguably one of the first self-help teachers dating back to the 1970's. This week I was scrolling through her bestselling book "You Can Heal Your Life" when I stumbled on a chapter entitled "Resistance to Change".  In my work as a life coach I see a lot of resistance. We resist what the clients are doing, how are co-workers are behaving, what are boss says and even things in the world that we can't control. Resistance is exhausting.  Louise offers us some amazing insight that I share with you in this episode.  Text REKINDLE to 66866 to recieve my bi-weekly emails and stay connected. 

In this episode I interview LVT Kimberly Shaffer. Kimberly has 20 years of experience working in vet med and we riff on all of it!  -How low-stress handling isn't just a benefit for the patient but also for the staff.  -What has changed in vet med in the past 20 years -Sources of burnout for vet techs -The enormous impact veterinary professionals make in the world It's a great convo! Check it out. Kimberly has a podcast called The Vet Detective which you can find here.

Our emotions and behaviors can affect each other positively or negatively. We call this emotional contagion and it turns out that it's pretty normal to be affected by others mood, facial expressions and body language. As social creatures our brains are designed to pick up on and even mimic others. This is great when we are surrounded by happy unicorns. Where it gets problematic is when we are surrounded by other humans!  In this episode I address negative emotional contagion and although we can't control others, there are many things we can do to combat negative emotional contagion in the workplace. 

Compassion fatigue is an imbalance. Too much secondary trauma and not enough opportunity or resources to offset it.  My guest in this episode is In Home Euthanasia veterinarian Dr. Amanda Doran. She has a passion for combining science, art, mysticism and spirituality in the most amazing way.  We have the most delightful conversation. Enjoy!  You can find our more about Amanda, her Artist Way program and her upcoming podcast "Dinner With A Side of Death" here: Instagram: @dr_amanda_doran Facebook: @dramandadoran https://linktr.ee/dramandadoran

Patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. Sound like a pipe dream? Well maybe it's more available than you think.  In this episode I teach you the 4 Steps to Patience and what "Practicing the Pause" means.  Patience equally relates to how we interact with others as well as how we relate to ourselves.  To join my email list please text REKINDLE to 66866. 

When you work with animals you can have many unconscious beliefs about their lives. Especially ones that relate to the impact you believe  you have over their unintentional death.  Beliefs like "If I make a mistake, an animal could die" are not helpful to think and yet we all nod and agree when someone says it.  In this episode I explore these unhelpful unconscious beliefs, how they lead to perfectionism, fear and anxiety and how to instead create confidence, empowerment and trust in yourself. Text REKINDLE to 66866 to join my bi-weekly email list. 

It's not what happens, it's how you treat yourself. We all have seasons in our lives. Times we are growing, times we are raising kids, times we're expanding in our career, times we're grieving and times we are thriving.  Some seasons are more challenging than others and knowing how to care, support and nurture yourself during the season you're in is everything.  In this episode: -you'll learn why acceptance, grace, self-love and self-compassion are important -how to match your thinking to the season you're in -how other's can't give you want you really need -what your Inner Child needs during the tough seasons -I'll give you an assignment  Oh and are you on my Monday and Friday email list? Well you need to!  Just text the word REKINDLE to 66866 and I'll sprinkle a little sunshine in your inbox twice a week! 

This episode is not about judgment of clients and their judgment of you. This episode is about the judgment that’s coming from "inside the house", if you will. The judgment we have of each other in the vet community.  Humans are judgmental. But I want to raise your awareness to it and I want to ask you to recognize it in yourself, in your practice or organization, with your colleagues and I want to ask you to make a decision to stop it.  Because it’s hurting you. 

Women tend to think they are failing at it all and not measuring up to what they think being an ideal mom is. But few have actually questioned their beliefs around what a "good" and "bad" mom even is.  I want to encourage you to question that. Journal on these 4 questions. Think about them deeply. And then redecide for yourself what makes a "good" and a "bad" mom.  1. What has the world told me makes someone a good mother? 2. What has the world told me makes someone a bad mother? 3. What might I not be seeing because of my beliefs of good or bad? 4. What do I want to decide for myself makes someone a good mother? It can be tempting to want to save your kids from their negative emotions. I want to encourage you to support them through feeling them. Here are some helpful questions to guide that support.  -Can you name the feeling you’re feeling? -Where in your body do you feel it? -What does it feel like in your body? -Can we just sit with it for a moment? -Can we see that although it doesn’t feel great, it’s o

Welcome to Part 2 of a deeply riveting conversation I had with Dr. Eve Harrison, host of the House Call Vet Cafe Podcast.  In this episode we discuss: -the importance of knowing how to return back to our grounded center in order to be able to help animals -toxic positivity and the misunderstanding of it -how to handle feedback while also feeling your emotions that get triggered -what it means to "hold space" for clients or others that are having their own emotions -my current personal grief practice -how compassion fatigue and feeling our feelings relate to one another -my experience speaking at the House Call and Mobile Vet Conference You can find out more about Dr. Eve Harrison by visiting her website, https://www.dreveharrison.com

In this episode, house call veterinarian Dr. Eve Harrison and I interview each other and talk about all things related to vet med, having boundaries with clients, how to protect your energy in a challenging field and how to come back to your center, or what I call "coming home to yourself".  You can find out more about Dr. Harrison, including her podcast "The House Call Vet Cafe Podcast" at  www.dreveharrison.com

Most people think feeling doubt, fear or discomfort is a reason to stop. Sometimes it may be. We have to know the difference between fear due to danger and fear due to not wanting to be uncomfortable. But growth doesn't happen when we are comfortable, it happens when we feel the fear and doubt and uncertainty but do it anyway because we know the situation will result in our growth. 

Our thoughts might just be more powerful than gasoline! What we think can take us farther than any fuel. And yet we aren't encouraged to pay attention to what we are thinking and how to use our thinking to create what we want in our lives.  This episode will highlight: -how our thoughts create our reality -why this isn't toxic positivity -the importance of AND You can get the worksheet at www.rekindlesolutions.com/tfa