At the annual ADEC (Association of Death Education and Counseling), I spoke with Dr. Howard R. Winokuer about burnout after the death of a loved one and how we can take care of ourselves.
In the video below, Howard shares advice on how to deal with burnout following the death of a loved one.
Here are some key takeaways from the video:
- The first thing that comes to Howard’s mind, which is from his own experience dealing with the death of his parents, is that no matter how much you know about grief it doesn’t make the process any easier.
- It’s hard to take care of yourself while also taking care of others during the grief process. One of Howard’s suggestions is to get up in the morning and do yoga and mediate every day.
- Howard also recommends finding a hobby you enjoy. For example, Howard spends 3-5 days a week playing tennis.
- Having quiet time to yourself is also important, and so is setting aside time to spend with your friends.
- Those who work with and take care of others need to make a concerted effort to make time for themselves. There’s never enough time in a day, so you need to carve out that time yourself.
- If you’re going to be responsible for taking care of others, you also have to be responsible when it comes to taking care of yourself. If you’re not in a healthy place yourself, you can’t really take care of others.
For more video interviews, please see the Open To Hope YouTube channel.
I worked as a Pastoral Care provider at a hospital. I counseled lots of people about grief, death and dying. Kuber-Ross was the “guru” at that time. I gave seminars at churches and work.
This was years before I lost my husband.
When he passed away, I realized that I knew absolutely nothing about grief.! It has been the worse time of my life and not knowing what to do, how to get better.
Sometimes I feel that I’m moving on, then it hits me again and I spend a day or two crying.
I was glad to hear Dr Winokuer say the same thing!
Thank you for your helpful words.