Strategies for Overcoming Compassion Fatigue and Burnout

Part 3 of 3 (Links to 1 and 2 are below)

In this third and final part of our series on addressing compassion fatigue and burnout, we will explore prevention and support strategies to help you, your friends, and if you’re an employer like me, your staff.

As Director of the MBFI, I’m the go-to person who knows how to fix technical errors, answer practice or content questions, and clarify any assessment and competency tasks. In the early days of the MindBodyFood Institute, I was still running my private practice while teaching courses and workshops in-person. A couple of years later I wrote our flagship Dual Certification and moved the Institute online – building the website from scratch myself! From social media and website design to writing blogs, replying to course enquiries and assessing workbooks for graduation… I was truly embodying a one-woman show!

Eventually I began hiring key staff to teach specific roles to but of course there are always things that need attention, updating, developing and implementing alongside teaching, supporting, and writing new courses. I’m always thinking of where and how we can grow our offerings and streamline our processes, but all of that leaves little time for writing or not thinking about ‘work’.

Truly, I don’t always know how I fit in so much but I now understand why I had become so tired, irritable and frustrated. While focusing so much on work and my students, I didn’t notice the toll it was taking on me…

I didn’t want to let anyone down but the thought of preparing for a live call or leaving an email go unanswered if a student needed help on a Sunday had my mind in knots (now I don’t work on Sundays at all).  The increasing headaches and exasperation at little things were alerting me to a problem that only I could solve.

When we’re not paying attention, compassion fatigue creeps up and grabs a weighted hold. The following strategies are necessary for both personal wellbeing and maintaining high-quality professional care to help refocus your personal responsibility to include looking after yourself.

Prevention Strategies for Burnout and Compassion Fatigue

Helping professionals are human beings first. So I’ve divided the following prevention strategies into two areas of focus: personal strategies, and professional strategies. 

Personal Prevention Strategies:

1. Find a Supportive Community: Seek out colleagues or friends who understand the challenges of your profession. Share experiences, concerns, and support one another.
2. Self-Care for Your Wellbeing: Prioritise self-care for your personal life, focusing on physical and mental health. Ensure a balanced diet, sufficient sleep, and regular exercise.
3. Emotional Expression: Find healthy outlets to express your emotions, such as journaling or talking with a trusted friend, or a supervising therapist.
4. Set Personal Boundaries: Learn to say “no” when faced with requests or commitments that exceed your capacity. Pause, and tune in by asking, “Do I currently have capacity to take this on?”.
5. Mindfulness and Breaks: Practise mindfulness to stay attuned to your thoughts and feelings. Take breaks during the day to relax and recharge your energy.
6. Early Warning Signs: Be mindful of your own emotional state, so you can identify early indicators of compassion fatigue or burnout. Self-awareness is key to timely intervention.

Professional Prevention Strategies:

1. Maintain Work-Life Boundaries: Establish clear boundaries between your work and personal life. Avoid taking work-related calls or emails during your personal time.
2. Scheduled Breaks: Incorporate regular breaks and vacations into your work routine. Stepping away from the demands of your profession is essential for recovery and rejuvenation.
3. Embrace Relaxation Techniques: Consider incorporating relaxation techniques like yoga or meditation into your daily or weekly routine to manage workplace stress.
4. Supervision and Support: Engage in regular supervision sessions or join peer support groups within your professional network. These platforms provide opportunities to discuss challenges, gain fresh perspectives, and receive validation from peers.
5. Continuous Learning: Stay up-to-date with the latest approaches, research, and self-care techniques that can enhance both your personal well-being and your effectiveness in your professional role.

In addition to the personal and professional prevention strategies I’ve outlined above, I think it’s equally important to have effective support systems in place for supporting others who are already struggling with signs of burnout and/or compassion fatigue.

Supporting Friends or Colleagues

If you know a friend or colleague who you suspect may be grappling with compassion fatigue or burnout, there are several ways you can assist them:

1. Express Concern and Care: Start by letting them know that you care about their well-being. A simple, heartfelt expression of concern can make a significant difference.
2. Active Listening and Validation: Encourage them to talk about their experiences and feelings. Listening without judgement and validating their emotions can be immensely therapeutic.
3. Encourage Professional Help: Gently suggest seeking assistance from a therapist or counsellor. Professional help can provide valuable coping strategies and a safe space to explore their emotions.
4. Offer Practical Assistance: Providing practical support, such as helping with workload, can alleviate some of the stress they may be experiencing.
5. Respect Boundaries: It’s essential to respect their boundaries and preferences. Not everyone may be ready to talk or accept help immediately.
6. Show Patience and Compassion: Understand that healing takes time. Be patient, compassionate, and empathetic as they navigate their journey towards recovery.
7. Acknowledge Their Contributions: Remind them of the significant contributions they’ve made in their profession. Recognizing their work and value can boost their self-esteem.
8. Inspire and Motivate: Inspire and motivate them to take action and make positive changes in their lives. Sometimes, a gentle nudge in the right direction can be transformative.

Supporting Staff in the Workplace

If you are an employer, supervisor or manager, I encourage you to invite an open discussion within your workplace and educate your staff on the importance of noticing the signs and symptoms of burnout. Normalising the toll that helping professions can take on the helper can highlight how important it is not to neglect our own self-care, and it shows genuine care and concern for your employees. 

I don’t want my staff – most of them qualified coaches and counsellors – to experience the functional freeze that I went through because they continue to take on too much in service of doing a good job. As the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup. Throughout my own burnout experience, I’ve made extra effort to check on my staff regularly, ensure they are not too overwhelmed with tasks, and encourage them to regularly attend to their basic needs throughout each work day – hydrate, eat, stretch, ask for help, take it steady.

Here are some strategies you can implement to help your employees feel supported and heard towards preventing burnout:

1. Emphasise a Culture of Wellbeing: Create a workplace culture that prioritises wellbeing. Encourage employees to take breaks, practice self-care, and seek help when needed. I like to acknowledge staff birthdays with a gift voucher or physical gift that I have delivered. At other times I’ve purchased vouchers for massages and magnesium floats as a little extra encouragement to take time out and attend to their health or stress levels throughout the year. Knowing that my staff feel cared about and appreciated for their contribution helps them feel valued as a person first.
2. Connect and Care: Stay connected with your employees and demonstrate care for their mental and emotional health. Regular check-ins can help identify early signs of distress. I like to enquire and remember key things happening in my staff’s personal lives so I can checkin and make sure they’re feeling supported enough through difficult times.
3. Provide Flexibility and Control: Offer flexibility in work schedules and provide employees with a sense of control over their tasks. Empower them to manage their workload effectively.
4. Make Room for Grief: Recognise that employees may experience grief and loss in response to the emotional toll of their work. Create a space where they can acknowledge and process these emotions.
5. Lead Change Wisely: When implementing changes in the workplace, consider the potential impact on employee wellbeing. Ensure that changes are communicated clearly and with sensitivity. Invite your staff to ‘ideas sessions’ where they can provide feedback and input towards any changes that may impact them so everyone feels included and respected. 

These types of support strategies can help you create a more compassionate and resilient environment for those dealing with fatigue challenges in your workplace. Supporting each another can go a long way towards prevention, whilst also encouraging and maintaining a healthier work/life balance.

In addressing my own compassion fatigue and burnout, I’ve had to accept my limitations – mental, emotional, physical, energetic – and remember that I, the helper, also need help, support and rest.

Final Words

As someone who has always wanted to help others, it’s been a challenging process to accept that I cannot continue to ‘do it all’. In addressing my own compassion fatigue and burnout, I’ve had to accept my limitations – mental, emotional, physical, energetic – and remember that I, the helper, also need help, support and rest.

I’ve had to learn to set firmer boundaries, release my own high expectations, and be okay with letting people down in favour of prioritising my own health and rest. I’ve had to make some tough decisions to reshape the way I do business and to better balance the working lives of not only myself, but the wellbeing of my staff.

It’s certainly a work in progress, but as I continually stay mindful of my own needs and time, it becomes easier to remember what is my responsibility, and what is not.

Whether you recognise the signs of compassion fatigue or burnout in yourself or not, I hope this series has brought awareness to your current state and helped you re-evaluate where and how you’re spending your precious time. 

Read Parts 1 and 2 below:

• Read Blog 1 – Addressing Compassion Fatigue and Burnout in Helping Professions
• Read Blog 2 – Recognising the Symptoms of Compassion Fatigue and Burnout for Helping Professionals