Leaning Into Love and Respite for Compassion Fatigue

10/06/22 • 16 min

Rayna Neises, ACC, host, reflects on her interview last week with Dr. Ed Smink (Episode 137). Dr. Ed shared his personal experience with burnout and how important it is to be aware of compassion fatigue. Rayna continues the conversation with tips on how leaning into love and respite can help overcome this condition for family caregivers:

[1:06] Compassion fatigue is described as a condition characterized by emotional and physical exhaustion, leading to a diminished ability to empathize or feel compassion for others.
[6:27] What would happen if you wrapped him in a hug and told him you loved him
[9:00] Leaning into love is one of the things you can do when you begin to focus on the task more than the person.
[11:40] Finding respite at home:
- [11:47] Identify roadblocks.
- [12:36] Ask for help.
- [13:42] Brainstorm ideas.
- [14:32] Do it!
[15:01] True compassion fatigue will take more than a little respite, but start small and explore what you can do to re-energize.
[15:45] This episode is brought to you by the Encouragement Series, a special gift coming in November. Visit www.EncouragementSeries.com to sign up to learn more about this faith-based series that will offer you hope in this difficult season.

[1:06] Compassion fatigue is described as a condition characterized by emotional and physical exhaustion, leading to a diminished ability to empathize or feel compassion for others.
[6:27] What would happen if you wrapped him in a hug and told him you loved him
[9:00] Leaning into love is one of the things you can do when you begin to focus on the task more than the person.
[11:40] Finding respite at home:
- [11:47] Identify roadblocks.
- [12:36] Ask for help.
- [13:42] Brainstorm ideas.
- [14:32] Do it!
[15:01] True compassion fatigue will take more than a little respite, but start small and explore what you can do to re-energize.
[15:45] This episode is brought to you by the Encouragement Series, a special gift coming in November. Visit www.EncouragementSeries.com to sign up to learn more about this faith-based series that will offer you hope in this difficult season.

Previous Episode

Overcoming Compassion Fatigue

Rayna Neises, your host, speaks with Dr. Edward M. Smink, Ph.D. Dr. Ed is a speaker, coach, and author of The Soul of Caregiving: A Caregiver’s Guide to Healing and Transformation. He holds multiple degrees including two M.A.s and a Ph. D in Psychology. In addition, Dr. Ed holds a title as a Board Certified Chaplain and an Associate Coach. He attributes his skills to his experience at the bedside as well as to overcoming severe compassion fatigue and burnout. Dr. Ed offers hope now to caregivers suffering from similar issues. He provides the following insights:

(3:34) Often times caregivers feel guilty when they ask for help.
(6:33) Compassion Fatigue is not a mental illness, but instead something we all experience when we care to the point of exhaustion.
(10:23) Three cultural taboos that prevent caregivers from seeking help:
- (10:26) If you just keep trying harder, you can get it done.
- (11:23) Don’t talk to anyone about your experiences.
- (12:35) Don’t show emotion.
(16:40) Compassion Resilience means you are able to absorb a situation and not have it take you off-balance.
(20:18) It is important to be able to find the boundary to take on what you need to, but allow the rest to come off.
(22:38) Self-care is the ability to reflect and take care of yourself.
(25:04) Contact Dr. Ed at his website soulofcaregiving.com and order his book there or on Amazon.
(25:33) When you find yourself overwhelmed, do the easiest thing.
(27:11) This episode is brought to you by the Encouragement Series: Hope Over Regrets. This free faith-based series will be coming in November. If you would like to receive updates, visit EncouragementSeries.com.

Next Episode

Dementia Caregiver’s Story - A Transparent Look

Rayna Neises, your host, speaks with Carolyn Birrell. Carolyn worked for the American Cancer Society at their National Headquarters and then as a real estate agent before retiring to Idaho. Soon after her move across the county, Carolyn made the difficult decision to relocate her aging mother, Fay, to be near her. She then spent the next eight years caring for Fay while she journeyed with dementia. Carolyn’s documentation of their time together led to her book, “Walking with Fay”. She describes it as the book she was searching for but could not find during her time as a caregiver. She provides the following insights:

(5:14) Typically, caregiving for a parent falls on one child’s shoulders.
(7:00) When caring for a person with dementia, it is at times necessary to just answer their questions in a way you think is going to make them happy.
(8:00) Deciding when the time is right to take over your loved one’s care can be difficult.
(14:00) The pages of her book came from email interactions she had with friends describing the situations she experienced while caring for her mother.
(16:27) The book is unique in that Carolyn admitted her mistakes and her feelings for the average reader to benefit from.
(17:07) Contact Carolyn at her website www.carolynbirrell.com and order her book there or anywhere you can buy books online.
(17:42) Please leave reviews online as they are very important for the algorithms used by the sites as well as enabling others to find the book.
(18:07) This conversation has been brought to you by the Encouragement Series created just for you to encourage, inspire, and offer you hope in this season of life. By joining, you can learn some new tips and tricks to help you take care of yourself. Enroll today at www.EncouragementSeries.com.

A Season of Caring Podcast - Leaning Into Love and Respite for Compassion Fatigue

Transcript

Dr. Edward Smink00:00:00.000

All caregivers experience compassion fatigue. It's not a mental illness it's something we all experience and he says we all experience it because we care. And because we care we keep on caring and we get exhausted. It's something we love to do but we don't take care of ourselves enough and we develop compassion fatigue

Rayna Neises (2)00:00:24.794

That was Dr. Ed Smink, our guest on episode 137, where he sha