Moorefield W.Va. – Dreama Kelly, Life Skills Coach and owner of the Your Life Coaching WV, LLC in Petersburg, WV, did a presentation at Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College (Eastern) on the topic of battling compassion fatigue, otherwise known as vicarious trauma and burnout. Kelly gave examples from her life, detailing ways she could have taken on the trauma of others from horrific stories she was told by patients while working as a nurse’s aide at seventeen, however, somehow, she didn’t, but talked about how there is no guarantee that someone else wouldn’t have. “Be careful and cautious of how much of someone else’s reality you take in, you accept,” said Kelly, “because you never know when it’s going to take you along with it.”
Burnout was another topic she presented, and how this feeling would start to manifest as having thoughts about not wanting to do something. Kelly talked about how if you ask yourself what the reason is that you don’t want to go to work or school, you can find the cause of burnout. Once you find the cause of the burnout, she went on to say, is when you can start making goals for yourself to stop burnout from happening in the future. Kelly gave tips on interpersonal effectiveness skills, and how being fair to others and yourself, don’t apologize to others unless it’s warranted, sticking to your values, and being truthful with others can help you gain a sense of self-respect. Being gentle with others, staying interested by listening, validating the experiences others have, and being easygoing are all ways to maintain healthy interpersonal relationships.
This free program is sponsored by WVHEPC/WVCTCS Campus Mental Health Grant.
Learn more about Your Life Coaching WV, LLC at https://ylcwv.com/