5 Tips and Action Steps for Direct Support Professionals (How to Avoid Burnout)
If you are reading this, you are tired. You are burnt out. You are asking yourself how to keep going when some days it feels so meaningless. As Direct Support Professionals, this is so common.
But you are also reading this because you see hope. You see those moments of light – when your client, individual, resident, child, friend, etc. finally accomplish their goals. There is a need, and you are striving to respond.
You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t care.
I need you to know that you are doing good and necessary work. You are supporting those who cannot support themselves alone. You are making change, even when you can’t see it.
Every time you offer a smile, a helping hand, or a listening ear, you are changing someone’s life. You are showing someone that they matter, no matter what their circumstance.
So, how can you better support yourself in order to support someone else?
1. Take time off.
While this may seem like the obvious answer, it is the most crucial piece of advice. It may seem like your work needs you at every moment. It may seem like it might be hard for the person you support if you aren’t there. But you need time away.
The only way you can truly give of yourself and be fully attentive to the person you support is if you pull yourself away when you need to. You know your limits, and you have to respect yourself enough to listen to your body and mind. You will be more ready to help and support the individual, because your cup will be full and can overflow onto the person you support.
But, your time off has to include doing things that bring you life. This could include spending time with your favorite people, spending time with your hobbies, or spending time doing nothing at all. This will refill your energy, and it will prepare you to give your all to the person you support.
Action Step: Plan your next vacation or staycation, or pick out times that you will set aside for you each week for refueling.
2. Learn from the person you support.
Often, the person you support can teach you subtle lessons about your own life. This could come in the form of childlike wonder and awe at something new they encounter or something they truly love. This could come in the form of answering a question so simply that you wonder how they learned it. It could even come in the form of being present and living one day at a time.
No matter what they teach you, you need to listen. Pay attention to these subtle actions and examples that they are setting each day. If you allow it, these lessons can help you reflect on your own life. You can even learn ways you can simplify your life and live more intentionally.
Action Step: Reflect on the little details of your interactions with the person you support. Write down all the lessons you learn each day.
3. Live like you teach them to live.
Direct Support Professions or caregivers usually help to dictate the way the person supported has to live. It is important for them that they are healthy and safe. They have goals that staff must implement, specifically when it comes to making money, life skills, and behavioral skills. Also, Direct Support Professionals are responsible for listening, laughing, and teaching the person supported.
As staff, we teach them how to make decisions for themselves, how to communicate better, and how to take care of themselves. So, are you doing that for yourself? If no, why not?
We need to learn to use our coping skills more, how to manage our money better, and take care of ourselves. On the other hand, are we setting goals for ourselves and actually working towards those goals? Do we communicate well with the people around us? Are we making it important to find time for fun in our lives?
While we act like we have it all together, it is important to make sure we are teaching them things that we would do for ourselves. However, if we aren’t, we need to ask ourselves why.
Action Step: Next time you are serving the person you support, ask yourself if you are actually practicing what you preach.
4. Set your vision of a preferred life and work towards that.
We ask the persons we support to create goals for themselves for their Individual Support Plan, and then we actually set ways for them to accomplish their goals. When is the last time you set a vision for your preferred life? When is the last time you set actionable steps to accomplish that goal?
For me, it’s never. I can always set the goal, but I have a hard time actually coming up with steps I can take to accomplish that goal and follow through on it.
What’s more is that there are actually set times to follow up on their progress, and they have a whole circle of support that holds them accountable for their goals.
We need to learn from this process. When we set goals, we look towards the future and plan for a better life for ourselves to achieve our dreams. We need to set goals, action steps, and times for following up on these goals. We need to ask people to hold us accountable and form a team of people who can make sure we are working towards our goals.
Action Step: Think about your vision of a preferred life. Set goals, set action steps, and set dates for reflecting on your progress. Find your circle of support that will hold you accountable.
5. Love yourself.
You know that the person you support is loved and is worthy of love – no matter the diagnosis or disability. Do you know that about you?
We teach them that their quirks and differences are what makes them unique and special, and we teach them that they are valuable people of society. You need to recognize that worth in yourself. In doing this, you will be able to love others and the person you support more freely.
It is also so important to know what makes you unique and what makes you loved, because you will be able to more openly recognize the amazing qualities of the person you support. You will be able to recognize what makes them worthy of love, and you will see them in a new light.
This will also help you bring your unique talents and abilities to the table when it comes to serving the person you support. If you are compassionate and energetic, you will be able to provide a listening ear and an active lifestyle to the person you support. If you are adventurous and shy, you will be able to give the person you support new experiences and have someone to share that experience with.
Action Step: Write down every quality about yourself that you love. Write down every quality about yourself that others love about you. Embrace these qualities and use them to provide a more meaningful day for the person you support AND you.
In Review:
- Take time for yourself.
- Write down the lessons you learn from the person you support.
- Practice what you preach.
- Set goals and find a circle of support.
- Embrace your unique qualities.
By doing these 5 self-care tips, you will not only provide more meaningful service to the person you support, but you will also be able to find more joy in your days with them. Instead of burning out, you will be able to fully make a change in that persons life, because you will actually have the energy to truly be present with them.
In conclusion, you are doing beautiful and necessary work. As Direct Support Professionals, we take care of others for a living, so please don’t forget to take care of yourself!
