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This image speaks to my core!  Self care for me is always looking for the joy in the little things, quieting my mind, and know that everything is figureoutable!

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I did not realize that there was such a thing as empathy burnout, and I really did not consider that it was something that I might have experienced or experience regularly in my professional life. I have always made a point to incorporate "self care" into my daily routine because I believe that you can not take care of anyone else if you are not taking care of yourself. Realizing that I often speak about my clients as their disorder, issue, or behavior really struck a cord with me. When this happens, I realize that I need to press pause and focus on being more present when I am working with people. In order to do this, I MUST be aware that sometimes I will be affected by my client's stories and that I need to have a plan for when I experience burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary trauma.

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I have always been a "you can't pour from an empty cup" kind of person. It is critical that we take the best care of ourselves in order to be at our very best for our clients. This means that we have to incorporate healthy self care daily and recognize that we are in a profession that may require a mental health tune-up for ourselves from time to time. If we drove for Uber as a profession, we would not keep driving the car if the engine light came on. It is not just OK, but mandatory to maintain our own mental health.

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Find quiet in the chaos: When I am having a day that is particularly challenging, I carve out time to let my body and mind reset by taking 15-20 minutes for quiet meditation.

Structure Fire: As a school counselor, my day can be very unpredictable. A solid daily routine is one thing that helps me me my best. When I arrive home from school every day, I chill with the dogs on a big comfy chair and practice Duolingo. At school, I try and organize my calendar tightly, but with room for flexibility.

It will all work out: I may not get to the gym as regularly as I would like, but fitting in movement everyday helps with fatigue. I have also discovered that taking this time whether it is delivering paperwork to students and walking the building, going to Pilates, or walking the dogs, I am able to be more focused when I return to my work tasks.

I am sure I will be adding to these as the course goes on!