Community Health Workers: Don’t Neglect Your Own Cup

By Sarah F. Dix, IPHA Intern, Training and Community Engagement Program

I attended the IPHA 84^th Annual Public Health Conference hosted in Bloomington, Illinois as an intern of IPHA and a student at Eastern Illinois University. I participated in sessions all three days and listened to public health professionals share their knowledge and experience. I felt passion, a sense of pride, and love for the communities from every person I had interactions with. I witnessed people from many different agencies collaborate instead of competing with one another. It was inspiring to be in a room of hundreds of people that were all dedicated to helping others. There were several takeaways from this conference I will apply in my personal and professional life.

In the community health worker field, we pour into members of our community. We offer a connection to resources to help people and advocate for health equity. We also instill a sense of hope, a comforting face to turn to in difficult times, and we pour life back into our communities. From this conference, it was clear that we pour ourselves into our career of helping those in our community as well.

In the session Behavioral Health CHW’s Journey to Healing led by Kim Jay, Training Manager and Senior Community Health Worker at Sinai Urban Health Institute, she spoke about secondary traumatization. Secondary traumatization is the emotional impact from exposure to trauma from others. This can occur from trauma resurfacing from interactions with clients, friends and family, social media, or even the cultural climate.

Kim Jay then asked a question that resounded with me, “How do you deal with your trauma?” As a person that is called to serve people in their community, it is easy to get swept away in taking care of others while often neglecting ourselves. The truth of the matter is life can be hard, and some days can feel heavier than others. The pressure to navigate during a time of uncertainty and provide concerned people in our communities answers that we are struggling to find is hard. The political climate and social media are charged with negativity and hostility, and it is hard to absorb that this is the world we are living and raising children in. After being exposed to trauma by assisting our clients, friends, and families, we are experiencing secondary traumatization daily in our lives.

It is crucial now more than ever that we pour back into our own cups so that we can pour into our community at our highest capability. Whether it is a good cry in silence on the way home from work, giving yourself time to read that book that’s been collecting dust on your shelf, or attending a therapy session not as the therapist, DO IT. Schedule it. Make time for yourself. Recharge your social and emotional battery so you can continue to show up as a community health professional, spouse, mother, father, sibling, friend, etc.

As community health workers we provide support, empathy, and self-love to those we serve. It is easy to give advice, but it is more difficult to apply the same support to ourselves as we do others. Regardless of the form, trauma is trauma, and we could all give ourselves a little more grace. Take time to deal with your trauma before it resurfaces in your professional and personal life. Take the power your have to speak life into others and refill your own cup.