Self Care Toolkit

From the Introduction

This toolkit is written for Health Care professionals who have chosen to dedicate a lifetime to helping others. It attempts to recognise the unique nature of assisting clients who present with anxieties of mortality, a traumatic history, or mental illness, just to name a few.

As we are social beings, it is sometimes difficult to defend ourselves from the pain and distress of others. Even more so being in our chosen health professions.

The fundamental reason for working in our field is a desire to help others. The motivation to help others is altruistic and requires a high level of empathy. However, it is that empathic response that creates the greatest risk and vulnerability to stress, burnout, vicarious trauma and/or compassion fatigue.

Self-awareness, assessment and self-care are critical to preventing a toxic, unhealthy build-up of the negative and invasive effects of your work. The bad news is no one is immune to these effects. We are all human and naturally feed off the emotional state of others around us. The transformation of the negative effects can be subtle or pronounced, positive or negative. There may be an awakening of feelings, including the passion for social justice, the joy of helping those in need, or a sense of connection and belonging to others. The negative aspect of the work can lead some to struggle with finding and maintaining a healthy balance in their life.

This Self-Care Toolkit provides the definitions of the terms above, assessment tools to help identify signs of wear, practical stress relieving exercises to perform daily, and a self-care planning tool.