The Burlington Food Bank is learning about burnout and compassion fatigue thanks to Feed Ontario training. (Compassion fatigue is a condition characterized by emotional and physical exhaustion leading to a diminished ability to empathize or feel compassion for others, often described as the negative cost of caring. It is sometimes referred to as secondary traumatic stress (STS) ). The most important thing is to be able to recognize that it is happening within yourself and/or your family and close friends. It’s become a rather common side effect of this pandemic with friends that work in the social services, or in healthcare, and in charities of all kinds right now. Check in on them and ask if they are eating properly, getting sleep, and if they are able to discuss some of the troubles they are dealing with right now. It’s important to recognize compassion fatigue and be able to talk about it but sometimes we aren’t able to open up like we should. Exercise is important – simply going out for a long walk is a good way to decompress.

• Be aware of changes in your level of compassion fatigue
• Make self-care a priority
• Spend time with friends
• Use positive ways to cope with stress