The NAPRP Blog

May 15

Written by: NAPRP Admin
5/15/2009 6:45 AM

This week, I did the teleseminar with Beth Stultz, from Pet Sitters International (PSI) about Take Your Dog to Work Day. We had a good time chatting, even though there was a huge hailstorm raging outside. I'm mostly just pleased we didn't lose power. That would have been a major setback.

Speaking of setbacks, I think sometimes we all have to realize that "stuff" happens. When you are working at something you are passionate about, like rescuing animals, it's easy to blow small things out of proportion. If you've felt "out of control" recently, it may be an early sign of burnout.

The level of burnout among people involved in rescue and humane work is tremendous. When you are faced with life and death decisions every day, it's easy to stop taking time for yourself. If you aren't mentally and physically healthy, you can't help anyone. Burnout comes from working too hard for too long in stressful conditions.

When you start feeling like you're just plain "sick and tired" of everything, it's time to step back and look at how you are taking care of yourself (or not). Are you exercising? Eating well? Spending time with people outside of the humane world? Spending time with your family? Even taking your OWN dog for a walk?

Think about what you've been doing lately. If you feel awful, it may be time to focus on you for a while. After you've spent some time on yourself, you'll be able to return to your work with renewed enthusiasm. The critters will still be there, after all.

As always, thank you for all you do to help the animals ;-)

 

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