To understand one’s world, one must sometimes turn away from it! To serve better, one must briefly hold it at a distance. Where can the necessary solitude be found, the long breathing space in which mind gathers its strength and takes stock of its courage.
Research shows that child welfare workers and professionals in social services experience a higher level of stress and vicarious trauma than most other professions. Not only does this impact workers’ quality of life, but it compromises their ability to fully support the children and families in their care.
If you’re struggling, feeling down, overwhelmed, burned out, or stuck, I want to give you hope that you CAN struggle less. You CAN use powerful, science-backed skills to live and work with more energy, joy, and sense of purpose. You CAN create a more supportive relationship with yourself, your thoughts, and your emotions, which will strengthen your resiliency and help you thrive.
Resilience is not about eliminating anxiety, fear, or uncertainty inherent in the work we do. Cultivating resilience allows us to face these and other stressful experiences with greater confidence, so we have the resources to bounce back. In posts that you can access below, I will be sharing articles, tools, and resources for building habits of mind and action—often in small but meaningful ways—that foster resilience.
Adopting resilience practices requires a change of attitude and habit. The promise is that by doing so, we may experience the power of simple approaches that, when practiced mindfully and full of intention, are self-renewing.
Be well. Stay well.
Breathing Space September 2023 by Dan Comer Ask For What You Want? Let me be clear: I saw something on Facebook and decided to copy it, just to see what would happen. I had been feeling down and posted the following message: “Tell me something good.
Breathing Space August 2023 by Dan Comer What Is the Opposite of Triggers? I have always been enamored with words and, like you, have seen the power a single word can have. I have just come across just such a word—glimmers! In our work, we are
Breathing Space July 2023 by Dan Comer Where to Look for Joy It is feeling kind of dark lately for many of us, at least that is what I am finding in my part of the world. My reaction to this is to be around joyful
Breathing Space June 2023 by Dan Comer How to Manage Caseloads in Social Work Are you overwhelmed right now? It feels like that is a given sometimes in the work we do. To keep going, we have to be able to manage our caseloads and not
Breathing Space May 2023 by Dan Comer Savoring the Day Imagine your day is like a river, a stream of events that carries you from one moment to the next. As your day begins, you have some idea of the direction that the river will take
Breathing Space April 2023 by Dan Comer A Sense of Social Connectedness I have been struck by how clear the research is about the importance of social connection. Some researchers actually feel that it is the key to happiness. That’s what Harvard’s decades-long Study of Adult Development discovered