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About Jahmeelah Gamble Jahmeelah Gamble is a public figure with many roles in her community. She is currently an Educational Resource Facilitator for the Peel District School Board, Epilepsy Ambassador of Peel, Family Consultant, Community Advocate, and host/producer of 'A Voice For All' on Rogers TV Peel. In addition, Jahmeelah is the founder of ‘Ms. Jam's ’ and ‘EmpowerMe Fitness and Education’

Tonight’s Discussion Will Include  The role of being a helping professional  Compassion Fatigue Regaining your love for your job  Burn Out How to extinguish your emotional fire Please Note: There is several helping professionals who experience compassion fatigue but tonight we will focus on educators, parents, and front line staff.

Strategies I DON’T want you to use

What is Compassion Fatigue? Compassion fatigue has been described as “cost of caring" for others in emotional pain. (Figley, 1982)

Symptoms of Compassion Fatigue: Normal symptoms present in an individual include: Excessive blaming Bottled up emotions Isolation from others Compulsive behaviors such as overspending, overeating, gambling, sexual addictions Voices excessive complaints Chronic physical ailments such as gastrointestinal problems and recurrent colds Apathy, sad, no longer finds activities pleasurable Have you ever felt any of these symptoms? If so, this doesn’t mean you no longer care about your work but do need to become more aware of what is going on.

Organizational symptoms of Compassion Fatigue include High absenteeism Constant changes in co-workers relationships Inability for teams to work well together Desire among staff members to break company rules Outbreaks of aggressive behaviors among staff Inability of staff to complete assignments and tasks Inability of staff to respect and meet deadlines Lack of flexibility among staff members Negativism towards management Strong reluctance toward change Inability of staff to believe improvement is possible Lack of a vision for the future Does this sound like an organization that anyone would like to work in?

Self Reflection Activity Being in the field of Developmental Services, there are times I am ready to throw in the towel or let out a big cry after I have dealt with a traumatic situation, an irate parent, or medically fragile client. On a sheet of paper, I want you to write as many words as you can describing how you felt in an emotional difficult situation.

So You’re experiencing a bit of Compassion Fatigue…

Does that make you a bad person? NO!!! HUMAN It makes you HUMAN

Compassion Fatigue vs. Burn out What’s the difference? Compassion Fatigue refers to the profound emotional and physical erosion that takes place when helpers are unable to refuel and regenerate Burnout is a term that has been used a great deal to describe the physical and emotional exhaustion that workers can experience when they have low job satisfaction and feel powerless and overwhelmed at work. Know the difference in what you may be experiencing.

Dr. Ballard let us in on 10 signs you may be experiencing burnout: 1. Exhaustion 2. Lack of Motivation 3. Frustration, Cynicism and Other Negative Emotions 4. Cognitive Problems 5. Slipping Job Performance 6. Interpersonal Problems at Home and at Work 7. Not Taking Care of Yourself 8. Being Preoccupied With Work … When You’re Not at Work 9. Generally Decreased Satisfaction 10. Health Problems

The 411 on Burn Out “A lot of burnout really has to do with experiencing chronic stress,” says Dr. Ballard, who is the head of the APA’s Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program. “In those situations, the demands being placed on you exceed the resources you have available to deal with the stressors.”

Which Picture Best Describes How You Look When Burned Out?

Or maybe this?

What Can I Do To Go From This to This?

Self Reflection Activity #2

Ryan Gosling Knows Best.

Thank You! If you have any additional questions or comments, get connected! MsJamPccs