Caring for Self & Others
Transforming Burnout, Compassion Fatigue, and Soul Loss
A literary oxygen mask and a paean to health care workers, psychiatrist David Kopacz’s understanding self-help book illustrates how relatable and treatable issues like burnout are.
Kopacz, having himself experienced burnout, notes that “as a doctor and a patient … my views on caring for self & other have been continually changing.” His book laments pandemic times of uncaring and draws upon the story of Chenrezig as an example. A Bodhisattva, Chenrezig vowed to alleviate the suffering of all beings or burst into a thousand pieces; their story ends in transformation rather than fracturing, though.
This resonant book’s solutions distinguish themselves from generic ideas of resilience to demand more, cultivating not just bodily, emotional, and spiritual health, but values like creativity, intuition, and community caring. A series of grounding, embodied practices are present for support, alongside accommodating recommendations that can be employed at any time throughout the day—to hold a rock while meditating, keep a stone in one’s pocket to rub, or walk barefoot in the grass.
There are a multitude of different ideas and approaches to working with burnout throughout; the book’s general focus is on self-care and developing new skills. The book’s first nine dimensions are dedicated to one’s inner parts; the last is dedicated to leadership and caring for all, tying individual practices and institutional reform together at last. And the book issues a call to change centered in the idea of “thinking of yourself as a verb—a process of becoming—rather than a noun trying to maintain its objective thing-hood,” reframing change as a healing process that’s separate from the pressures of time.
A hopeful, practical guide for those experiencing exhaustion, Caring for Self & Others explores individual solutions to contemporary public health woes.
Reviewed by
Stephanie Marrie
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
