Burned out, soul tired
Hey everyone. I'm new here, just joined today as a matter of fact.
What do you do when your soul is so tired and you are so burned out that the job you love becomes passionless and monotonous and just surviving? I'm a 911 dispatcher at my local sheriffs office, and I'm weary. Like the kind of weary sleep doesn't fix. We talk about getting burned out all the time in the first responder community, and I'm willing to bet most of us deal with it at some point, but how do we avoid it?
Usually I can compartmentalize and separate my work from my everyday life, but when that sucks too, what do you do?
@Chellebabygirl
Make sure I have the basics covered like in the training
like web searches list here
https://www.bing.com/search?q=SELF-CARE+FOR+%22FIRST+RESPONDERS%22
this version has just videos and you can see the preview directly by hovering and if it says preview, then click the speaker x button to hear the preview. It's a fast way to find the best videos.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=SELF-CARE+FOR+%22FIRST+RESPONDERS%22&FORM=HDRSC3
here's the Google search version (similar)
https://www.google.com/search?q=SELF-CARE+FOR+%22FIRST+RESPONDERS%22
I'm not a first responder. Just sharing what I learned from related training below.
Making sure taking really good self-care is important. Good regular sleep hours all week, good sleep hygiene, good diet, good exercise or physical activities, good social connections. good mindset management and processing of events with peers if necessary, getting time off when needed, asking for support from employer resources when needed, setting good boundaries, having good routines. Sometimes journalling gets it out of one's head because it's on paper and the mind thinks it doesn't have to remember it as much then. Jumbling the memories can help weaken them. It all depends on the situation.
That's all I could think of off the top of my head. Best wishes.
Please forgive any typos above.
@7motivation
Thank you so much! It speaks highly of this forum to have a caliber of people that will offer support, even when it ain't their job! I see you seeing me right now!
You dont know how much it helps to just be reminded of the resources available to us on the web--the best place to begin is to start looking! Thanks for including the links too!
I think some of my stressors are not job related; however, given the nature of the emotional detachment tendencies I have, I just haven't really dealt with anything I'm facing. If I wave my hand in front of my face like John Cena, you cant see me, right?
But I'm sick and tired of running; I'm squaring up with this herd of renegade worries that have been trying to run me over. Gotta work to replenish, right?
@Chellebabygirl I know what you mean, its weird how burnout can creep up on you, and even though its a job that you love, it can feel utterly draining. In dispatch you are exposed to so many traumatic incidents in a shift it's unfathomable for most people, I remember being so surprised when I realised quite how many calls go through a control room in any given day. A sense of detachment is a normal reaction to being in that kind of intense environment, but that doesn't mean you have to just get over it, it can be really hard to deal with and can affect your life in so many different ways.
I found that taking some time off helps with burn out, do you have any methods which have helped you before?