How to Manage Difficult Times While Feeling Compassion Fatigue

Now more than ever it’s important to focus on the essentials and prioritize preserving your energy. Being more empathetic and more aware of little details is a great asset as a Sensitive Therapist but can become overwhelming when life becomes stressful, scary, or we are supporting many clients through trauma. Our temperament makes us more prone to the effects of compassion fatigue or vicarious trauma, but thankfully we are also more susceptible to the beneficial effects of positive supports.


Time Off is Essential: Are You Getting Enough?

Taking time off is not optional, but essential to thrive in the work we do of supporting the emotional well-being of others. We have a greater need for downtime which means taking more time away to ensure our work is sustainable and doesn’t lead to burnout. This means planning ahead of time to ensure we have time away. Taking so much time off may bring up financial worries or feelings of guilt, but can be managed with budgeting and setting clear expectations with our clients.

Why Sensitive Therapists Are Struggling Right Now

7 ways to honor our needs and calm down the overwhelm and exhaustion many Sensitive Therapists are feeling now.  All therapists have been bearing the emotional toll of supporting clients as we ourselves experience a worldwide crisis, but Sensitive Therapists will have a unique reaction due to our heightened empathy, perceptive abilities, and need to process our experiences deeply.  Going forward, we will need to reflect on what has already happened and give ourselves time to ease into the changes ahead in order to tame the overwhelm and exhaustion we’re feeling right now.  Now more than ever we must go at our own pace, set strong boundaries in every area of our lives, and take time to rest.  

Teetering on the Edge of Compassion Fatigue

Supporting clients who are experiencing some of the same emotions and uncertainties as we are could lead to overwhelm, compassion fatigue, and burnout. It’s vital that we set strong boundaries, take time to ground ourselves, create space between sessions, get support from our therapist communities, and take time off if we need to.

4 Types of Vacations Every Sensitive Therapist Needs

Taking time off is not optional, but essential to thrive in the work we do of supporting the emotional well-being of others. We have a greater need for downtime which means taking more time away to ensure our work is sustainable and doesn’t lead to burnout. This means planning ahead of time to ensure we have time away not only for vacations and travel, but also for staycations to decompress, workations to catch up on administrative tasks and trainings to satisfy continuing education requirements. Taking so much time off may bring up financial worries or feelings of guilt, but can be managed with budgeting and setting clear expectations with our clients.

Is It Time for a Schedule Revamp?

When you look over your schedule for the next week or even the next few weeks, does everything feel sustainable or do you get an immediate sense of overwhelm and dread? Although it may seem impossible, there are ways to make your days run a bit smoother and to make sure what’s important to you makes it to the top of your priority list.