

After that, he felt refreshed enough to give his full attention to the group of grieving adults, and the session went very well. Here's what he did: he arrived fifteen minutes early and took a nap in his car. He knew that he really need to rest afterwards, but he had to go directly from the school to an evening support group for adults. “A bereavement counselor told me about a day he spent at a school where one of the students had committed suicide. I referred to this counselor in an earlier post on “ What’s Draining Your Battery? “Those are the people who get cynical and burned out, who drag down the morale of the rest of the staff and end up becoming less effective in treating clients.”

They may be patting themselves on the back for being so dutiful, but in the long run: The organization isn't understaffed, and their boss encourages the counselors to take comp time, so it's clearly a personal choice. It means doing what you need to do to take care of yourself so your help can be more effective.Ī bereavement counselor told me his biggest concern is for colleagues who don't take ‘comp time’ (equivalent number of days off) after working on the weekends. Similarly, practicing healthy self-care does not mean selfishly disregarding the needs of your colleagues, your family, and your students or clients.
#Caregiver self care checklist free#
In fact, feel free to look through their carry-on bags for enticing snacks or beverages.” Don't think at all about the other passengers. “In the event that you start feeling a bit hungry or thirsty, take as much as you can carry from the meal trolley. Nor have I ever heard a flight attendant say, “Put on your own oxygen mask and then ignore the needs of the people around you.” I’ve never heard in-flight safety instructions like, Remember that the advice is to put on your own oxygen mask first, before assisting others. This isn’t a justification for selfishness or self-indulgence. descend immediately to an altitude at which they and the passengers can breathe without supplementary oxygen.” (Source: If you are responsible for other people (as a teacher, school leader, counselor, parent, nurse, caregiver, etc.), you also have a responsibility to take care of yourself. It is essential that the flight crew don oxygen equipment as soon as possible. “Loss of pressurisation can very quickly lead to the incapacitation of the crew and passengers unless they receive supplementary oxygen. If the pilot loses consciousness, the plane will crash

On a flight, the first person to put on an oxygen mask is the pilot. That’s unfortunate, because it’s such a powerful metaphor. I doubt this is the first time you’ve heard that you should “put on your own oxygen mask first.” In fact, you’ve likely heard this advice so many times it doesn’t really sink in anymore.
