Our lives are full of distractions, so it can be difficult to find the time or headspace to check in with our mood. Learning to recognize one’s symptoms of compassion fatigue can serve as an important “check-in process for a helper as it can allow you to develop a warning system for yourself.
If you’re the type of person who struggles with holding themselves accountable, try one of these methods for integrating check-ins into your routine:
Set reminders throughout the day to quickly check in on a scale from 0 (‘not at all’) to 10 (‘extremely’) of how stressed, anxious, or down you’re feeling. It can be a 2 minute “how did I do today?” or “how did my day rate on a scale of 1-5” process. Maybe for you, it is journaling at the end of your day.
Another option is to find a buddy to check in with. Whether it’s a longer conversation once a week or hopping on a quick call to share highs and lows from the day, partnering with someone (or a small group of people) will help hold you accountable. Plus, you’ve got a built-in support system!
A quick way to check in with your mental health is to ask yourself whether you’re feeling excited or hopeful about the future. If you’re not excited about the direction of your day, week, month, or year is going in, it’s probably time to pay extra attention to your mental health and compassion fatigue.
So how do we help ease the feeling of hopelessness? Begin by playing devil’s advocate with yourself. When you’re feeling hopeless, you talk yourself out of trying new things because you feel there’s no point. Due to this lack of action, your hopelessness wins, and your negative thoughts become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
So, make the decision to doubt your hopelessness! Take a moment to consider that you could be wrong, and maybe even experiment with some optimism.
If optimism seems hard right now, try doing something new. Let go of how you’ve been thinking and acting if they haven’t been working for you. If you’re complaining, avoiding, or participating in other actions that aren’t beneficial, try something new!
Can you think of any actions, thoughts, or patterns that you’re engaging in that are no longer serving you? Can you think of any changes you can make that might help you create a brighter outlook for yourself and your future?
Repeat this practice over a span of a few weeks to get a better gauge of how you’re coping with the stress and compassion fatigue in your life. It’s normal for some days to be worse than others, but if your scores are remaining high over the course of a week or two, it’s definitely time to make your mental health a higher priority.