For the past 15 years, Secondary Trauma specialist and compassion fatigue educator Françoise Mathieu has been exploring tools to help all of us navigate the challenges of sustaining compassion and empathy towards others - both as individuals and professionals. This talk explores ways to find the right balance between caring for others while staying healthy and empathic. 

This talk was given at a local TEDxSnoIsleLibraries event and produced independently of the TED Conferences. Frances Lewis, university professor and researcher shares tips on caring for those who routinely give care at home or professionally. Although Fran’s work is based in compassion and the desire to make things easier for people with chronic, life-threatening illness, she is known as a methodical scientist who thoroughly tests interventions that might be useful. The University of Washington professor of nursing has developed ways to measure how family members manage the impact of cancer on their everyday lives. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Caregivers are often so busy caring for others that they tend to neglect their own emotional, physical, and spiritual health. Studies confirm that caregivers play host to a high level of compassion fatigue. In this insightful talk, Patricia Smith suggests the path to wellness begins with awareness, and recommends simple self-care measures such as regular exercise, healthy eating habits, enjoyable social activities, journaling, and restful sleep. With support, insightful information, and authentic self-care, caregivers can begin to understand the complexity of the emotions they've been juggling and, most likely, suppressing. As founder of the Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project© (www.compassionfatigue.org), Patricia Smith writes, speaks and facilities trainings nationwide in service of those who care for others. With a background in journalism, she has authored books and training materials including the award-winning To Weep for a Stranger: Compassion Fatigue in Caregiving.

Dr. Kevin Brazil, Professor of Clincial Epidemiology and Palliative Care at McMaster University, discusses the moral distress that can occur when health care providers feel they cannot provide the level of care they want to provide their patients.

"There's always an emotional attachment to wanting people to be better. But we can't always make the difference that we want to make."

Health care providers talk about their experiences with compassion fatigue.

Dr. Brené Brown is a researcher professor at the University of Houston, Graduate College of Social Work, where she has spent the past ten years studying a concept that she calls Wholeheartedness, posing the questions: How do we engage in our lives from a place of authenticity and worthiness? How do we cultivate the courage, compassion, and connection that we need to embrace our imperfections and to recognize that we are enough -- that we are worthy of love, belonging and joy? Brené is the author of several books, including; I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn't): Telling the Truth About Perfectionism, Inadequacy, and Power (2007); The Gifts of Imperfection (2010) and Wholehearted: Spiritual Adventures in Falling Apart; Growing Up, and Finding Joy (2011).