Tag: caregivers

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Mental Health: Empathy & Compassion Fatigue

Hey everyone, we’re raising awareness about mental health this month. CMHA has featured empathy in their mental health week campaign this year – and empathy is very important in communication and in relationships!

However, and as CMHA highlights here in “Empathy and Compassion Fatigue” by Allison Dunning (Peer Support Canada), it’s important to know about and be aware of the “downfall” of empathy: compassion fatigue.

Compassion fatigue happens when we spend so much of our human energy trying to listen, understand and support others that we become exhausted ourselves.  We can spend so much time thinking about other peoples’ experiences, needs and well-being, that we can forget to think about our own.

“Empathy and Compassion Fatigue” by Allison Dunning (Peer Support Canada)

Self-care and guarding against compassion fatigue are important parts of being in a caring profession. There are many resources available online as well as lots of posts on our website with information, resources, and strategies to help with compassion fatigue.

You can also check out suggestions to guard against compassion fatigue while still engaging in empathy in the original article on the CMHA website here, or their further suggested reading on strategies here.

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Mental Health: Empathy & Practice

Hey everyone, we’re raising awareness about mental health this month and today we’re asking you to consider practicing empathy!

Did you know that empathy is like a skill? It’s something you can learn, and something you can get better with at with practice.

CMHA has featured empathy in their mental health week campaign this year – and you can check out 5 ways to incorporate and practice empathy in your life here! Why not pick one and give it a go?

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Mental health: Listening & Relationships

Hey everyone, we’re raising awareness about mental health this month and today we’re asking you to consider the art of listening!

Do the people you listen to feel understood? Does the way you listen enhance and enrich your relationships?

Listening is the communication skill that links up with EMPATHY – which is what CMHA has featured in their mental health week campaign this year – and communication is at the heart of relationships. If you’re interested in developing quality relationships in your life, or want to enhance the quality of the relationships you have, check out the art of listening (and get some great pointers!) here.

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Dance the night away on May 20th!

Thanks to Nelson Cares for passing this along!

Queer Dance Party at the Royal

Kootenay Pride is hosting their first event of the year on Friday, May 20th from 8pm ‘til midnight at the Royal. This will be a fun evening to celebrate inclusion and equality for everyone, with awesome music from Mraki and our friend DJ Unalive. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at https://www.theroyalnelson.com/events. All proceeds will go to the Christopher Moore Legacy Fund to help trans community members access gender-affirming care.

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Mental health: Empathy & listening

Hey everyone, we’re raising awareness about mental health this month and today we’re asking you to consider how you listen!

Do you listen to others to understand, or do you listen to others to judge? Check out the difference here!

Listening is the communication skill that links up with EMPATHY – which is what CMHA has featured in their mental health week campaign this year. The great news is that they’ve also published an article with a checklist that goes through steps to effective listening! Check it out here and brush up on your listening skills.

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Re-connect on May 19th!

Thanks to Nelson Cares for passing this along!

Self-Advocacy Group Meeting at Lakeside Park

The Nelson Self-Advocacy Group will be holding our first in-person meeting since the start of the pandemic at Lakeside Park on Thursday, May 19th from 1-3pm. We will be meeting in the covered area with the picnic tables by the tennis courts and snacks will be provided! This is a great opportunity to re-connect with the group or learn more about what we do. There are a lot of great ideas for what the group can do this year and now is the time to have your say and be part of the plan! Email Jaymes (that’s me!) at vocationalcounsellor@nelsoncares.ca for more info or if you need help getting to the park.

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Emergency Preparedness Week: BUILD A KIT!

Hey everyone, as part of Emergency Preparedness Week we want to share some helpful resources to support everyone to build their emergency kit.

Check out this video that walks through the process of putting together a kit — and some special considerations, like medications and mobility.

Check out the lists on this page to make your own kit, or start off with a guide like this one. You can also find information online about where to get a kit. There’s also a great resource here about preparing a kit on a budget.

Don’t forget to consider having an emergency car kit if you drive or own a vehicle! You can check out information on emergency car kits here.

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Emergency Preparedness: Distress vs De-stress!

Hey everyone, we’ve been posting emergency planning information and resources for Emergency Preparedness Week, and we want to take time to talk stress.

Emergencies can be stressful to think about. Planning for emergencies might seem like a big chore, or it might seem like it’s an impossible job to be ready for anything, or it might make you feel scared or sad.

It’s important to know that having a plan is one of the best emergency response strategies you can have: it will help you stay calm if you’re ever faced with a real emergency. So, while emergency planning might seem like a challenge, it’s definitely worthwhile!

Here’s some videos to help lighten things up and simplify some key concepts (and a website to got with them!).

GRAB AND GO BAG:

EMERGENCY KIT:

GRAB AND GO BAG vs. EMERGENCY KIT (What’s the difference?)

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