So, who is supporting you?
You are the front line. You are exposed to vicarious trauma and often are victim to first-hand trauma experiences. You put in more hours than your partner or friends and you never turn down someone who asks for help. You always show up. And then when you leave the office, your work leaves with you too.
People in helping professions often experience burn out or compassion fatigue without knowing it.
You find yourself more irritable at home (or sometimes in the office.)
When you get home, you sit in front of the TV, binge watching shows or are on Facebook or Instagram, scrolling for hours on end.
You feel disconnected from your clients at work or your family at home.
You're having trouble feeling rested after a night's sleep or lack the motivation to exercise before or after work the way you used to.
You think about calling out of work, but the guilt of letting people you support down gets you out of bed in the morning.
As a helping professional myself, I can tell you, you are not alone and it is possible to combat, process, and learn ways to regain your energy in life and reawaken your passion for helping others in your current role.
A lot of us are tempted to ignore our self-care, not spend money on ourselves, and just power through it all. As the weeks go by, things only get worse. Your relationships suffer. Your passion wanes. You feel more exhausted and cranky and defeated each day.
We all only get so many days. Letting them creep by in low-level suffering is not what we were meant for. The faster you talk to someone who truly, deeply gets it, the faster you get to feel like yourself again.