Feeding Your Fire (Without Burning Out)

I was on a call to help a dog that was hit by a car, and I showed up and it was a sheltie," he says."And I've owned shelties all my life, and immediately I saw my dog on the side of the road, dead."Abi-Hassan, executive director of the Halifax Humane Society in Daytona Beach, Fla., who teaches workshops on stress management and compassion fatigue issues, says it was one of many moments that showed how much he and other animal welfare workers need to develop the emotional skills to survive."It really took me back and made me realize that what I need to take care of is me," he says, "because if I don't take care of myself, I'm not going to be around to take care of these animals."It makes sense, and yet … animals need so much, and so many of them are suffering.And whether you work hands-on in the field or in the shelter, in your home as a foster caregiver, or in an office on policy issues that can help animals on a national level, what needs to be done can seem endless.In a recent employee feedback session at The HSUS, staffers were asked to share ideas about how to make their work environment better.A huge sheet of paper was pinned to a wall, and employees sounded off about ongoing challenges, offering suggestions and commenting on each other's thoughts.In one spot, someone wrote: "People feel like they have to be on the job 24/7/365!There needs to be more work-life balance."Next to that, someone had retorted: "Animal cruelty doesn't end at 5 o'clock."Others had chimed in on each side, drawing arrows and plus signs and saying, "Exactly!"It's a debate many animal welfare advocates have regularly, among each other and within themselves.The suffering we confront is so great it seems to demand all of our hearts.Yet if we give all of our hearts, what's left of us to keep giving?Advocates working for major societal change frequently wrestle with the implications of psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl's credo: What is to give light must endure burning.Many accept that sacrifice to a greater cause.But how can we keep our fires lit without burning out, take the time to refuel, and find the "kindling" we need to stay healthy?In the standoff between I-have-to-help-more-animals and I-need-some-space-to-breathe, some people never figure out the answer.Some figure it out-and change jobs.And some manage to find a balance that works. A Field That Eats its YoungFor those who have good coping skills, healthy boundaries, or natural resilience, animal welfare work can be stressful, but is usually manageable.But even the most mentally flexible folks can get overloaded.And for others, coping with endless animals and people in need, repeatedly bearing witness to their suffering, and knowing that not all of them can be helped can bring on compassion fatigue, a kind of secondary post-traumatic stress disorder caused by exposure to the pain of others.It's a problem common among people who treat and respond to those who've been directly impacted by violence or other types of trauma-injuries, sickness, loss of home and family, all the things that shelter and rescue workers see daily in the animals they help.When caregivers don't give themselves enough care, it can threaten the work they pursue so passionately.One burned-out animal advocate who spent years trying to keep animals out of shelters so they wouldn't be euthanized speaks of reaching a point where, to her horror, she just didn't careIt was a moment that Miguel Abi-Hassan will never forget: CARE ABOUT CATS?HUMANESOCIETY.ORG/ABOUT/DEPARTMENTS/HSISP/ 27

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