In the third of our series about helping in a crisis, co-founder of Refugee Support Europe Paul Hutchings talks to one of our brilliant Coordinators, Kelley Reszetylo, about avoiding burnout.
Everyone is going to experience burnout at some point so knowing the signs mean you can recognise it in yourself and other volunteers:
– In a crisis, many volunteers feel they have to keep helping or keep putting others first because the need is so great – that will inevitably lead to burnout
– Signs are: getting more emotional than normal, feeling like you should not take a break, overly critical of yourself or others, a decrease in empathy, general exhaustion, despair that things will never improve
– When you see the signs in yourself or others: talk about it, do something that has nothing to do with the work (go for a walk, read a book, call a loved one…), don’t just talk about work
– It is OK to take a break: you can’t help others if you can’t help yourself
You can view all the videos in the series here.
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