CARE WITHOUT CARRYING
A new conversation about the future of care, healing, and sustainable service.
We know more about trauma than ever before.
We understand the impact of chronic stress, disconnection, grief, and adversity on our bodies, relationships, and communities. But for those of us who spend our lives caring for others, another question remains:
How do we care deeply without losing ourselves in the process?
I’m Nicole Steward—social worker, author, educator, and longtime advocate for the people who do the work of caring. For more than 25 years, I have worked alongside students, families, educators, social workers, foster youth, caregivers, and community leaders.
I have seen the cost of caring up close: Burnout, Compassion Fatigue, Moral Injury, Disenfranchised Grief, etc. Helpers are leaving the profession(s) at alarming rates and we're still having the debates about self-care...
I believe there is another way.
Radical Self-Care is what we need.
We can care without carrying.
Join me for an ongoing conversation in a series of podcasts. We'll delve deeper into the questions about Care Work and Radical Self-Care.
There is something about the cultivation of mindfulness that is healing, that is transformative, and that can serve to give our lives back to us..."
Jon Kabat-Zinn
Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness
'The practice of mindfulness involved feeling, recognizing, and making use of that in us which is already okay, already beautiful, already whole by virtue of our being human- and drawing upon it to live our lives as if it really mattered how we stand in relationship to what arises, whatever it is."
Mindfulness
Cultivating a practice of mindfulness (being IN the present moment, on purpose, and without judgement) is a very important skill to use when working with traumatized or vulnerable populations. By staying mindful as we do challenging work, we can decrease the amount of vicarious trauma we absorb and we can stay present for those we serve in a way that makes them feel seen & heard. Mindfulness also allows us to differentiate clearly what is our trauma and what is other people's "stuff" so that we can serve people in a focused and more informed way.