Norma Ward Sledge, B.S. M.A.

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SELF - CARE
LOOKING AT THE BIG PICTURE

• Norma Ward Sledge, B.S. M.A.
• Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault
• Trainer/Consultant

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Definitions of Self-Care

• Balance
• Positive
• Necessary in this line of work
• Boundaries
• Peer support
• Self-care is setting limits for yourself

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The ABCs of Self-Care

• Awareness self-care begins in stillness.
• Balance self-care is a balancing act. Balance
  guides our decision about embracing or
  relinquishing certain activities, behaviors or
  attitudes.
• Connection Healthy self-care cannot take place
  solely within your self. It involves being
  connecting in a meaningful way to something
  larger.

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SELF-CARE IS OFTEN
A NEGLECTED ISSUE
AMONG ADVOCATES
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What Self-Care Is Not

• Self-care in not an emergency response plan
  that is activated when stress becomes
  overwhelming
• Self-Care is not about acting selfishly (Its
  about me!!!)
• Self-care is not about doing more or adding more
  tasks to an already overflowing to do list
• Self-care is not just about making health
  lifestyle choices, it includes cultivating
  self-compassion, healthy boundaries, being tuned
  into your needs and staying true to your values

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Burn-Out

• Burn-out is the depletion of our resources, both
  physical and psychological caused by our desire
  to achieve certain standards and expectations
  that are often impossible to humanly achieve. At
  some point, we become overwhelmed with the
  knowledge its not possible, the cynicism,
  pessimism and negativity sets in. Burn-out can
  happen to anyone at home or on the job.

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Signs and Symptoms of Burnout Lansen Fineman
and Maslach

• Apathy
• Rapid exhaustion
• Melancholy
• Irritability
• Alienated, impersonal,
• uncaring and cynical
• attitude towards clients
• Feeling of failure

• Feeling of Hopelessness
• Disillusionment
• Forgetfulness
• Experiencing work as a
• heavy burden
• Tendency to blame one-
• self

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Early Symptoms of Burnout 1st Stage

• The speeding up of activity
• Drinking and eating more quickly on the job, we
  are always on the run
• Feeling under the pressure of time, cant catch
  your breath or keep up with all of the demands
• Feeling as if your are driven
• 
  Livingston-Booth,1985

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Later Symptoms Of Burnout 2nd Stage

• Disrupted sleep
• Over-reaction to difficulties
• Increased irritability
• A less reliable memory
• Beginning of physical symptoms

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• I love my work but lately I find it
  contaminating my personal life.
• I have nightmares about the horrible things I
  hear from my clients.
• My sex life has deteriorated, Im irritable and
  distractible,
• Im afraid for my kids and tend to overprotect
  them and I dont
• trust anybody anymore. I dont know what is
  happening to me.
• 
  Advocate/Counselor

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Vicarious Trauma

• Vicarious Trauma (VT) (McCann Pearlman, 1990) is
  described as pervasive changes that occur within
  clinicians over time as a result or working with
  clients who have experienced sexual trauma.
• The effects of VT can manifest itself in all of
  the following areas physically, emotionally,
  behaviorally cognitively spiritually it can
  persist for months and sometimes even years
  after working with traumatized clients without
  effective intervention.
• With repeated exposure to traumatic imagery,
  workers may begin to incorporate an accumulation
  of clients traumatic material into their own
  view of self and the world.

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STAGES OF VICARUOUS TRAUMA

• Numbness and Shock
• Confusion nothing makes sense
• Renewed Hope and Resilience

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Factors that Influence a PersonsVulnerability
to Vicarious Trauma
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Differences

• BurnOut
• Cumulative
• Predictable
• Builds over time
• Results in work
• dissatisfaction
• Unaddressed can lead to serious health problems

• Vicarious Trauma
• Narrower focus
• Harmed by the kind of work we do
• Intrusive imagery
• Changes the meaning of life
• Affects how we view the world

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Prevention General Principles
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ACTS

• SEXUAL ASSAULT
• DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
• CHILD ABUSE
• ABDUCTIONS
• HOMICIDE

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STRESS AND TRAUMA

• What is stress?
• What is trauma?
• What is cumulative stress?
• What is critical incident stress?

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Traumatic Issues for Front Line Workers

• DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
• CHILD ABUSE
• SEXUAL ASSAULT
• HOMICIDE

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An Unbalanced LifeSource Richardson, 1998. Take
Time for Your Life. New York Broadway Books
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Your New Life

• When you refocus the vision for your life whole
  life and build
• a strong foundation, you can think differently
  about your work.
• Reclaim your personal power, take charge of your
  life, and
• you naturally start to live a more balanced life.
• Life can stop revolving around your work, and can
  include
• your relationship, spiritual life and fun!
• Ultimately the goal is to have work add a
  dimension of
• richness to your who life
• Richardson, C. l988. Take Time For Your Life. New
  York Broadway Books.

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A BALANCED LIFESource Richardson,C. 1998 Take
Time for Your Life. New York Broadway Books