At its core, self-care is about intentionally taking steps to nurture your mental, emotional, and physical well-being. With my holistic health background, I'd call that mind, body, & spirit. It goes a little bit further than that for those of us who are in the field of library work. I'll say this from my direct experiencing working with the public, managing incidents and disruptions daily, and experiencing compassion fatigue, self-care is a necessity.
Library staff often carry the weight of compassion fatigue, the demands of helping diverse communities, and the mental strain of navigating tough days. Without self-care, it’s easy to burn out and feel overwhelmed.
If we look at the many ways that we can utilize self-care, we can see that it isn’t a one-size-fits-all. It can access a variety of different options to help ourselves such as:
Setting boundaries with our time and energy
Taking a mindful moment to breathe in the midst of a chaotic day
Prioritizing rest and relaxation
Practicing saying no every once in a while
Trying not to over commit ourselves
Finding joy in small and meaningful moments
Why do we need self-care? Because we literally can’t pour from an empty cup. When we take care of ourselves, we are preserving our own energy and well-being—and this helps us to be better equipped to serve our community, support our team, and show up fully for the work that we really do love.
Try this out for the next few weeks. When it comes to self-care if you are thinking “I don’t have time for this” try and change that thought to “I deserve this.” Because you need to take care of yourself and remember to refill your cup.
What are your thoughts on working in libraries and taking time for self-care? Share your thoughts in the comments I’d love to hear your perspective!
All the best,
the Compassionate Librarian
No comments:
Post a Comment