Preventing Secondary Trauma and Compassion Fatigue with Laura van Dernoot Lipsky

Published: April 25, 2022, 10 a.m.

With so much suffering going on in the world that\u2019s worthy of our compassion and engagement, it\u2019s easy to become overwhelmed by it even as we have the desire to remain engaged. Secondary traumatic stress is the stress we are exposed to when we interact with other people\u2019s stress, and it manifests at both an individual and societal level. When not managed effectively, it wears us down and diminishes our ability to contribute in a positive way.\nOn this episode of Being Well, Forrest talks with trauma expert Laura van Dernoot Lipsy about how we can better manage secondary traumatic stress, how to avoid burnout and overwhelm, and what it looks like to stay hopeful and live fully in the face of daunting societal challenges.\nAbout Our Guest: Laura van Dernoot Lipsky is the founder and director of The Trauma Stewardship Institute and author of Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others and The Age of Overwhelm. She is a widely recognized pioneer in the field of trauma exposure and has worked locally, nationally, and internationally for more than three decades. \xa0Laura is also the host of Future Tripping, a podcast about navigating overwhelm.\nWatch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You\xa0can watch this episode on YouTube.\nKey Topics:\n0:00: Introduction\n1:35: Laura\u2019s personal experience\n4:10: How secondary trauma shows up for people\n6:45: Martyrdom and the responsibility of organizations to create sustainable environments\n10:30: Concern with how trauma is normalized within communities\n14:10: Internalized oppression and overwhelm in the broader culture\n17:40: The broader systemic context and the ineffectiveness of burning yourself out\n21:50: The necessity of taking breaks\n26:40: How to feel okay taking time to unplug from discourse on charged topics\n33:35: Differentiating between spheres of control and acknowledging grief\n37:45: Finding ways to stay hopeful\n40:35: What Laura is grateful for and stressed about\n44:35: Recap\nSupport the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link.\nHave a question for us?\xa0\nEmail: contact@beingwellpodcast.com to submit questions or potential topics you'd like us to explore in future episodes.\nSponsors:\nJoin over a million people using BetterHelp, the world\u2019s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month!\nWant to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription.\nTry Splendid Spoon today and take meal-planning off your plate. Just go to SplendidSpoon.com/BEINGWELL for $50 off your first box\nConnect with the show:\n\nSubscribe on iTunes\n\nFollow Forrest on YouTube\n\nFollow us on Instagram\n\nFollow Forrest on Instagram\n\nFollow Rick on Facebook\n\nFollow Forrest on Facebook\n\nVisit Forrest's website