How can you create a self-care plan to prevent burnout and compassion fatigue?

One of my favorite acronyms is HALT: H - are you hungry? A - are you angry? L- are you lonely? T - are you tired? Make sure your cup is full before giving to others.

The first step is to get to know yourself. Inquire into the patterns and beliefs that you set up in response to birth and early conditioning. Learn to let yourself feel whatever emotions arise in your body. Learn that you can function in integrity even if some fear is present. Learn to not believe those thoughts about yourself. Find out what you truly want for yourself at a deep level, so that this can guide you.

For me it is about creating a balanced life that work is an important part of. Work doesn't always fit into 9 - 5 and life doesn't always fit into 5 - 9. At MHFA England we are lucky that we can work flexibly. This creates a mind set where I feel in control and know I can make choices that work for me. On a day to day level, in this era of zoom and teams, I need to make sure I move plenty of times in the day. Sitting still facing a screen is my happiness hoover so I tend to do 5 min power walks and run around the block between meetings. I am *learning* to to listen to my body and brain. I get loads of signs that I may need to do more of something or less of something or nothing. When I listen to those signs I can make changes.

Burnout and compassion fatigue are not things that develop overnight. They generally brew quietly beneath the surface and take us over like a storm when not attend to in a timely manner. A good way to recognise this is to have regular check-ins with oneself - maybe at the start of the day or end of the day. This could be through journaling, meditation, or while engaging in physical workouts or other spiritual practices. I like to do a 3 step check-in with my body, mind, and breath, and write down possible reasons we feel a certain way. Over time, we can start observing patterns, triggers, and consequences to take corrective action

🌟 Start/end your day with a chill routine (think stretching or gratitude lists). 🍎 Eat healthy (lots of fruits & veggies) and stay hydrated. 🧘♂️ Take a few minutes for mindfulness daily (yoga, meditation, deep breaths). 🚫 Trim down on too many to-dos. It's okay to say no. 🎨 Make time for fun stuff that makes you happy (like painting or dancing). 🤝 Hang out with friends or family for support. 😴 Prioritize sleep for rest and recharge. Remember, self-care is all about balancing your needs, like keeping a garden healthy. Keep it simple and kind! 🌼💚

Specificity: Tailor your goals. Decide what aspect of self-care you need most, like mindfulness or workload management. Measurement: Set clear metrics. Aim for 10 minutes of daily meditation or reducing meetings by 20%. Attainability: Choose realistic targets. Ensure goals fit within your current lifestyle and capabilities. Relevance: Align goals with your personal and professional values for meaningful engagement. Timeliness: Assign deadlines. Perhaps a month to adopt a new habit or a quarter to reassess workload. Categorize goals to cover all self-care facets, fostering a holistic well-being approach.

Make sure your self care goals are things you take seriously. It can be easy to make an appointment with yourself to walk at lunch, for example, but decide to skip it because a meeting comes up. When you commit to take these goals to improve your own well being just as much as you commit to other things in life, you'll do better.

Cuando tenemos que hacer una tarea cognitivamente más costosa, un ejercicio de atención plena podría ser coger un objeto que tengamos cerca y por dos minutos observarlo. ¿Cuál es su color? ¿Y su forma? ¿Tiene algo escrito? ¿Cómo es su superficie? Estaremos más concentrados para la siguiente tarea y menos estresados.

For me this is about knowing the list will always be there and so going for the run, walking the dog, going horse riding, meeting a friend, whatever it is will all HELP me be able to power through the list. I tend not to set a goal around self-care, because for me self-care is doing the stuff which gives your brain a rest, so my goal is always to be unwavering in the knowledge that the list will always be there, to focus on the priorities and know that doing the things I love outside of work, will maintain my passion for work and the ability to power through the most important things on those never ending lists!

When you assess your needs you also have to find, accept and respect your limits. What brings you in the "red zone"? How much you can stay in this zone and still feel energised? Which are the signs that it is time to slow down? Important also to share this with your professional and private environment, so they can also respect your needs!

It's important to do self-care activities such as exercising, getting enough sleep, sticking with routines, and having a nutritious eating pattern. Take a look at what activities you enjoy doing too.

When choosing activities to care for yourself, consider doing an audit of activities you're currently involved in both within and outside of work. Ask yourself, which of these activities replenish or nourish me, and which of these drain or deplete me? Each week, see if you can add more of the nourishing activities and reduce or remove any of the draining activities.

Being intentional about how you use your time and energy can be a form of self-care too. Schedule breaks in your calendar in between meetings. Assess your energy levels at any given moment and work on tasks that match your energy. No matter the season, make sure your calendar reflects your overall values and priorities because you are more than just your work.

I recommend a practice often taught in Yogic studies called as Bare Minimum Sadhana. Often when we burnout or are feeling exhausted, time is our biggest constraint. So carving out more time for self-care activities (though helpful) might seem taxing. A good way to navigate this is to keep a bare minimum practice - Can't meditate for 20 mins, maybe you can do 1 minute of deep breathing instead? Can't afford a full-fledged workout, maybe a plank for a minute is a good substitute. Identify your bare minimum reps in your chosen self-care activity and get those in no matter how busy your days get.

One thing that I have found helpful is knowing how my Human Design influences what I need for self-care to prevent burnout and maintaining my personal energetic boundaries. Being a Manifesting Generator with a defined Will Center, I can go non-stop until I suddenly and unexpectedly crash and burn, when the intense Manifesting Generator energy burns through the limited resources that my defined Will has stored up. With the combination of these two aspects of my Design, when I'm on a roll, it feels like I'm unstoppable. But as a Sur-thri-vor with chronic health conditions, my body knows when it's too much and shuts everything down. Defined Will Centers have to plan regular, intentional practices of rest and renewal.

At MHFA England we have a My Whole Self MOT which gives some questions to ask about how you are feeling, thinking etc. It is a great way of tuning into ourselves and identifying any changes we may need to make. I do not want my self-care to be another thing I must do or another thing to track, I just want to enjoy doing the things I am doing and being in the moment. If I am going to track anything it would be, do I feel in a good space, am I in balance overall. Am I enjoying my work, is the fire in my belly and am I creating space and time to get things done and doing the things I love and that bring joy!

Nature prescriptions such as Prescribe Nature AI as part of a self-care plan, are gaining popularity because they offer numerous physical and mental health benefits. Engaging with nature can reduce stress, enhance mood, and improve overall well-being. It encourages physical activity, which is beneficial for cardiovascular health and can help in managing conditions like obesity and hypertension. The tranquility and beauty of natural environments also promote mental health, helping to alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression. I know spending time in nature can improve concentration, creativity, and foster a sense of connection to the world, enhancing emotional health.

Los planes no son fijos. Para que un sistema (el del autocuidado) quede funcionando al largo plazo, hay que darle un SEGUIMIENTO adecuado. Cuando yo trabajo con mis pacientes para evitar que caigan en un Burn-Out, después de realizar juntas un plan estratégico destinado al cuidado personal, meses después volvemos a evaluar el plan. De esta manera, ajustamos lo que en teoría sonaba bien, pero que no se ajustaba a las circunstancias actuales del paciente. Revisa lo siguiente: ¿Cuántas horas estoy durmiendo? ¿Estoy respetando mis horas de descanso y relajación? ¿Me estoy alimentado bien? ¿Disfruto de mi tiempo libre? ¿Me ejercito con frecuencia? ¿Saco tiempo para meditar? Estas preguntas te ayudarán ajustar tu plan si es necesario.

Burnout is considered a workplace issue and as such requires a workplace solution. No amount of self care will protect against high work demands, exposure to trauma or aggression, a lack of support or any other known psychosocial hazards. Reporting of the hazard to HSE/Leaders and engaging in discussions in how to mitigate or prevent harm from the hazard is likely to be a lot more productive than just developing a self care plan

If you're experiencing burnout and compassion fatigue in your workplace, I suggest communicating your self-care plan with your supervisor and peers. This will help you find ways to help you access additional support and learn more about self-care practices that you can use in your work environment.

Frustration, anger, irritability, disconnection, & many other negative flags, feelings & behaviours will likely raise at multiple points on this journey. Adding additional challenges to the process,it can make it more difficult to engage in self-care practices. Self-care & compassion can feel overwhelming, pointless or out of reach, & you may be more critical & judgemental (to self and others) & more likely to act on impulse with negative behaviours. Understanding that this is a coping mechanism in itself can help with being more compassionate towards yourself. Starting off with verbalising what you are feeling, acknowledging that somewhere under the negatives your subconscious is trying to protect you can help move through it.

Although self-care offers some relief from high stress, vicarious trauma and burnout, it's not a cure-all. Sometimes, to improve staff wellbeing, you need to tackle the problem at its root. This includes addressing issues such as heavy workloads, the level of exposure to stress in the workplace and boundaries between work and life.

Caregiving can be wearing if you neglect your health. My son and I are gluten intolerant we avoid gluten at all cost . However my son tends to be careless so keen observation can nip any negative outcome in the bud. I make sure i balance my diet and start my day with a 20 minute meditation and prayers .. followed by a healthy smoothie. A detox helps to keep one’s gut clean and your mood at even keel. I have close friends who ensure that i don’t miss great jazz evenings . I do resistance exercises Ive learned every other day when watching TV . I walk a lot! I’ve learned to let go and let God as a mother tends to love too much! I realise my son has to be left to make his own choices in order to grow.