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THREE TIPS FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS STRUGGLING WITH COVID-19, COMPASSION FATIGUE AND ADDICTION BY FACE IT TOGETHER While her husband was in the hospital with COVID-19 for two months, she didn’t miss a day of work. “To live with it and deal with it at work —I was immersed,” she said. Vicki is a big believer in letting go of the things outside of her control; it’s a skill she learned at Face It TOGETHER. She first reached out after discovering how serious her loved one’s addiction was. “I can’t control how people act, but I help them as best as I can, protect myself and my boundaries and move on,” she said. “I have a nice work/home separation because of coaching.”
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There’s nothing wrong with attending to others, but not taking time for yourself can cause resentment and put you in a worse position to help.
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I
T G O E S WITH O UT SAY I N G that this last year
2. PUT YOUR NEEDS FIRST
has been a difficult time for healthcare workers,
Too often, caregivers put the needs
patients and the loved ones of both.
of others before their own. We see
Unfortunately, as we’ve seen at Face It TOGETHER,
this often in our loved one members;
it gets even more complicated when there’s someone in the
they take on the role of caregiver
family struggling with addiction. An addiction wellness non-
at work and at home, which leaves
profit, Face It TOGETHER has grant funding available for those
them exhausted. There’s nothing
impacted by COVID-19, particularly healthcare workers.
wrong with attending to others, but
Below are just a few recommendations for healthcare
not taking time for yourself can
workers who are struggling with compassion fatigue and
cause resentment and put you in a
moving on from COVID-19, regardless if addiction is affect-
worse position to help.
ing their life or not. We’re also sharing the stories of Vicki*
Early on in coaching, Vicki
and Paul*, two healthcare employees who received
stressed about nearly everything
grant-sponsored loved one coaching.
going on in her loved one’s life. She learned to take a step back,
6
1. ROUND OUT YOUR TOOLKIT
they’re incredibly beneficial.
remind herself what she can con-
Make sure you have several
trol and meet her needs first and
Coping skills look different
to rely on when you’re faced
foremost.
for everyone, but they’re
with a challenge.
“You can’t help others if you don’t
critical when it comes to
As an acute care health-
take care of yourself,” she said. “My
handling stress and difficult
care worker for more than
nutrition, exercise and sleep—I’m
emotions. Many are simple
20 years, Vicki has been pro-
protective of those things. I need
—like deep breathing or a
fessionally and personally
them in order to help and listen to
daily gratitude practice— but
challenged by the pandemic.
others, including my loved one.”
MidwestMedicalEdition.com
