Compassion Fatigue Training
Empowering Caregivers to Care for Themselves
Many people, especially those in caregiver roles, frequently find themselves feeling drained of energy, experiencing health issues, and losing joy in their lives. Caregiver roles vary, and include providing care for a loved one in the home, preforming daily work as a healthcare professional, and animal care workers. Public officials such as fire fighters, police officers, and emergency care workers suffer as well.
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The compassionate person feels empathy and often takes on the suffering of others. In the health care profession, we experience death, illnesses, and losses of others. Animal caregivers see sick or stray animals that will ultimately be euthanized. Firefighters and police see accidents, and all types of trauma most of us cannot even imagine. Each of these things, if only one event, could be handled, but the cumulative impact of multiple trauma results in compassions fatigue. I like to compare this to carrying a heavy backpack. Walking 10 feet with that heavy pack may not be an issue, but carrying the heavy backpack every day saps the energy and strength of the person carrying it. This is similar to the onset of compassion fatigue. Without noticing, you may experience the onset of symptoms:
Difficulty sleeping; waking up tired; difficulty getting out of bed
Mood swings- flying "off the handle" without knowing why
Health issues such as high blood pressure, joint pain and headaches
Memory loss, difficulty concentrating
Inability to find joy in life
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Compassionate people tend to feel compassion for others, but not as effectively for themselves. My workshops teach the dimensions of wellness, not only physical but emotional, social, intellectual, spiritual, and vocational wellness. Through the practice of qigong- meditation through sound, vibration and movement- participants learn how to take care of themselves. Without these tools of self-care, one finds they cannot give what they do not have. I often receive comments from participants stating they did not realize what was wrong, and they feel relief that they have the ability to care for themselves.
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In the picture above I am leading a Compassion Fatigue workshop and teaching simple qigong practices to a group of 500 caregivers.
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For more information on workshops and pricing please email me at ntxqigong@gmail.com