Compassion and psychological strength
We have to have great psychological strength to relate effectively with those affected by trauma. We feel a Friend’s distress without it overcoming us. Prolonged intense emotions are stressful. Over time, they can erode our composure and sap our strength. To help others effectively, we need friends who will listen to our stories, who support us as we support others. Every helper needs a helper.

We also need time alone for relaxation and reflection. Volunteers in Red Cross responding to disaster, for example, commit themselves for three weeks. Every seven days they have one day off. They need this time off (and reasonable breaks) even when clients are lined up outside the doors to the Service Center.

Flight attendants tell parents of young children to put oxygen masks on themselves first and then their children. Caregivers who exhaust their resources lose their effectiveness. Family Services volunteers, for example, cannot help their clients if they have to return home from exhaustion

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Finding the Center of the Storm