Burnout, self-care, and unfinished business

Health Care: Burnout, Self-Care and Unfinished Business

Health Care workers must deal with burnout, self-care and unfinished business for their patients, friends and families, and for themselves. My own self-care is physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, professional and a balancing act. There are specific signs of being unable to cope in my own life. Once I recognize them, I use a combination of resources to regain my coping skills, though sometimes in an undisciplined manner.

Describe how you take care of yourself. What signals tell you that you are not coping effectively? What do you do about it?

I am quite aware of the importance of self-care and consciously try to take care of myself physically, psychologically, emotionally, spiritually, professionally and by balancing all the important areas of my life. I try to take care of myself physically by regular eating habits, exercise, taking preventive/medical care, taking time off, having fun activities, getting enough sleep, wearing "favorite" clothes and making time away from my telephone, television and computer. I try to take care of myself psychologically by self-reflection, journal writing, recreational reading, listening to my inner voice, learning about areas completely unrelated to my work and learning to occasionally say "no" to more responsibilities. I try to take care of myself emotionally by spending time with friends, keeping in touch with the people who are important to me, congratulating myself when I have done a good job, allowing myself some comforts and letting myself expressing my emotions. I try to take care of myself spiritually by self-reflection, taking time for nature, accepting a force greater than myself and also accepting "not knowing" about things greater than myself. I try taking care of myself professionally by taking breaks, getting along well with coworkers, giving myself enough time and quiet to get my work done well, and seeking supervision and answers from my work superiors. Finally, I try to take care of myself by balancing all the important aspects of my life at work and in my private life (Saakvitne, Pearlman & Staff of TSI/CAAP, 1996; Curet, 2010).

The signals telling me that I am not coping well are: not being able to sleep as long as normal; eating more "comfort food" than I normally would; feeling slightly depressed; and having trouble concentrating and remembering things. It sometimes takes me some time to realize that I am not coping well; however, once I realize it, I do try to regain my coping ability.

Journaling certainly helps me sort through whatever is happening in my life. In addition, after reading Drench's book, I realized that I use a combination of appraisal-focused coping and problem-focused coping. I use appraisal-focused coping by determining whatever is bothering me, going through the different possible outcomes and preparing myself for them (Drench, Noonan and Sharby 291). I also use problem-focused coping by facing situations in which I must make choices, listing the pros and cons of each choice and then deciding which choice is the best option for me (Drench, Noonan and Sharby 290-1). Finally, I use feedback from others, whether they are close friends, coworkers or a work superior or an otherwise more experienced person who can give me their insights into the situation and what my courses of action might be. I must confess that sometimes there is a "scatter-gun" approach to regaining my coping abilities in that I sometimes need to relearn coping strategies and apply them haphazardly but even this undisciplined approach has worked for me so far in my life.

3. Conclusion