Self Care Practice Papers

Words: 961
Pages: 4

My self-care practices As I enter the helping profession, there are many qualities that I need to acquire to become an integral professional helper. One of these qualities is being able to take care of myself in order to care for others. This quality is not only the most important quality but a necessity in order be an excellent helper, and avoid syndromes like “burnout” or “compassion fatigue” which are very common things that can happen to professional helpers. Before I started this journey, I was not educated about the benefits that taking care of ourselves can have on our bodies and in the relationships we have. Additionally, I did not know that exercise reduces the risks of developing diseases that can affect your physical, emotional, and mental well-being, as well as affect the type of relationships you have with different people. Therefore, I did not care for the well-being of my own body and mind, and it was affecting me physically and emotionally.
It was not until I moved in with a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW), that I realized I needed to learn about all the benefits of taking care of
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Even my husband can see the difference when I don’t go to the gym. As a professional helper, this could put me at a greater risk for developing compassion fatigue, which is a syndrome that causes the afflicted to internalize the negativity brought to them by others, causing personal stress and trauma, according to Compassionfatigue.org (Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project, 2015). Because of this, I wouldn’t be able to release my personal stress, plus the indirect stress I would get from my clients, and I would end up soaking their problems and concerns as well, which eventually will lead to burnout. I could also put my family at risk if I am taking other people’s problems into my personal life, as my