Dear Carolyn: Like other people who provide services to others in trouble, do you ever feel burned out? If you don’t, congratulations, but what do you advise to keep it at bay?
— Burnout
Burnout: Sure, I’m susceptible.
I do a few things: I take the vacation time I’m given. (Not all of it yet, but I’ve gotten better.) I also try to space it out over regular intervals so I don’t get too worn. I make sure that when I quit for the day, I really quit — no nighttime email surfing, for example, unless it’s a specific circumstance that will soon pass, like digging out after a week off. I set goals for the day and end my day when I reach them. That means sometimes I’m still plugging away after typical business hours, but it also means that sometimes I’m done early and have a few hours of afternoon to myself.
I also keep a few things in mind as I read letters from people in pain:
1. Things resolve or pass, often without our having to do anything.
2. Pain is inevitable. I may read about yours and feel pain in sympathy, but I’ve had my agonies as well, and it was okay that you didn’t feel mine with me — or at least were able to sympathize but then forget about it a few minutes later and get on with something joyous or even just ordinary in your life. None of us can afford to live and die by others’ suffering, nor are we built for it. At least most of us aren’t. One way to be respectful of those in trouble is to appreciate when you’re not one of them. As I hope they will do with renewed fervor when the order of their world is restored.
[For more on this story by Carolyn Hax, go to https://www.washingtonpost.com...rc=nl_hax&wpmm=1]
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