Compassion Fatigue

[kmbishop111]

Feeling kind-of down today and a lot on my mind. I've read some about compassion fatigue and shelter burnout. I've worked with animals in some form or another for numerous years either as a vet tech, animal shelter director, TNR, etc. I left the shelter this time last year. I couldn't handle the euthanasia anymore. We were down to as close to a no kill shelter (4 euths in 6 months) as you could get without being no kill. Then they brought someone else in to "generate money" I left.

I spend a great deal of time feeling like I can never do enough for the cats in my colonies. I'm not sure if I need to find another hobby in my life to balance out things or if it's completely normal feeling this way. Just wondering what you guys do to reach a happy balance of things in your life?
Love,
Kris

 

[neely]

I think what you're feeling is perfectly natural. I was working full-time and volunteering for a non-profit organization for many years. I loved volunteering but after 16 years had to take a step back since I held two different positions. Not sure but maybe you need to do the same or for the time being try something different. You have given a lot of your time to worthy animal causes and should be very proud of your accomplishments.

 

[Kreatorcat]

Everything happens in cycles...including the ups and downs in life. You are/have done a great thing for others,it may be time to take a little break for you. Chances are,you will miss it a lot and feel better about it when you go back.

 

[raysmyheart]

Hi kmbishop111 , I 'm so sorry to hear you are not feeling well. My thoughts are that it is completely normal to feel you are not doing enough for the cats when you have the constant stress of their situation before you on an ongoing basis. I was never involved in shelters or rescue, so I don't know how that stress feels, but I did have caregiver fatigue at one time. Like you, my thoughts were that I was not doing enough but in fact, looking back, I was doing all that I possibly ever could. Things felt a lot better when I did, as you mentioned Balance, get a little opportunity to do something for myself here and there. These days, I do have a different type of fatigue, as I have to work too many hours to make a living, and I want to say I am not comparing your situation to mine, rather what I mean to tell you is that I take small steps to do something that interests me like reading or old movies or just going for a drive when I have free time. The idea is to refuel me for more work. I think everyone needs refueling on a continual basis. I feel there's no harm in doing both- caring for cats and having an interest to spend time on. Again, I am not under the same stress as you are experiencing, but the word you used, balance, really jumped out at me. I know others here will have some other suggestions, but I really wanted just to write here and say that I am sorry you are feeling stressed. Marianne.

 

[LTS3]

Google "compassion fatigue and animals" and you'll get tons of articles about what is is, how common it is with animal shelter workers, how to deal with it, etc. It's totally normal to experience this when working in any care-giving situation. There are different ways to deal with the stress. Try different things to see what helps. Gentle exercise, reading a book, meditation, knitting, and other simple things can be helpful.

 

[kmbishop111]

Thank you everyone for the kind words and suggestions. Sometimes it's nice just to know your not alone in the way you feel. I think I will try to spend a little more "me" time and stop feeling guilty when I spend any extra money on myself. Maybe go get my hair done, pick up a book or learn to knit. As for now, I have 40 kitties to go feed and check on.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

That sounds really normal to me. I used to work for a non-profit that helped people with disabilities. I loved a lot about that job but it got very hard to maintain the same level of compassion I started with. I never really figured out how to balance that and my program ended up closing. I'm not sure that was the right line of work for me anyway. But sometimes I do miss parts of that job and it's been more than 10 years since I worked there.

 

[kmbishop111]

So I have a good friend who happens to be friends w the manager of mini storage right next door to an abandoned building where I feed roughly 20 ferals. I have had problems w the property owner of the abandoned building for some time now. WELL, I found out just this am that the owner of mini storage is hopefully buying the property next door!! (Where my 1st colony is) AND the manager of the mini storage told my friend to tell me he would take care of the kitties from here on out if I would like. Wow. Talk ab being careful what you wish for!

I'm going to have to give this a lot of thought and consideration. This was my first colony. I don't know that I could stay away. Lol But it would lessen the load for a bit. I'm still in a bit of shock. Not many in my neck of the woods care too much for community cats. Like I said, just Wow.

 

[nansiludie]

So I have a good friend who happens to be friends w the manager of mini storage right next door to an abandoned building where I feed roughly 20 ferals. I have had problems w the property owner of the abandoned building for some time now. WELL, I found out just this am that the owner of mini storage is hopefully buying the property next door!! (Where my 1st colony is) AND the manager of the mini storage told my friend to tell me he would take care of the kitties from here on out if I would like. Wow. Talk ab being careful what you wish for!

I'm going to have to give this a lot of thought and consideration. This was my first colony. I don't know that I could stay away. Lol But it would lessen the load for a bit. I'm still in a bit of shock. Not many in my neck of the woods care too much for community cats. Like I said, just Wow.

Are you sure they mean they would feed and care for them or just get rid of them or harm them? Sometimes when people say they'll take care of things, they don't literally mean they care. Just please be careful.

 

[kmbishop111]

Oh, no no no no. He has been feeding them for a few years now also. I've had him checked out. Lolol

 

[kmbishop111]

I do understand what your saying tho. The present property owner of where they'e located has threatened to "take care of them." That's another reason I'm super excited to here of the possibility of the mini storage buying his property. I know they would be safe, finally.