2.4K
Downloads
54
Episodes
A raw and authentic podcast for those who work or volunteer in animal care, welfare, or activism, who are struggling with compassion fatigue, burnout, grief and loss, secondary traumatic stress, and other mental health concerns. Through both solo and guest episodes, I blend science, psychology, spirituality, and even a touch of "woo woo" to help you manage compassion fatigue, build resilience, and make your passion for helping animals sustainable. If you're involved in animal caregiving, rescue, trap-neuter return (TNR), sheltering, animal control, cruelty investigations, veterinary medicine, fostering, wildlife or marine rehabilitation and conservation, animal law or lobbying, ethical veganism, or any other role in animal care, welfare, or activism, and struggling with the consequences of caring so much that it hurts, this podcast is for you!
The host, Jen Blough, LPC, is a licensed professional counselor, compassion fatigue coach and speaker, and author with more than 35 years of experience in animal welfare and activism. She is the author of To Save a Starfish: A Compassion Fatigue Workbook for the Animal Welfare Warrior and the upcoming book, Beyond Compassion Fatigue.
Episodes
Friday Oct 10, 2025
Friday Oct 10, 2025
Join my free monthly newsletter!
In this episode, we’re tackling a struggle that every animal advocate knows all too well: feeling stuck, frustrated, or helpless when facing situations outside of our control. It can feel like banging your head against a wall—painful, exhausting, and ultimately unsustainable.
Drawing from my work as a therapist and my own lived experience in animal welfare, I share a simple but powerful framework with three options:
-
Leave the situation – Step back physically, emotionally, or mentally, and protect your own wellbeing.
-
Keep banging your head against the wall – Keep trying to change things you simply can’t control (spoiler: this leads straight to burnout).
-
Learn to live around it – Stay in the work you love, but develop coping strategies, boundaries, and self-care routines to make it sustainable.
We’ll explore how this framework applies to animal welfare, how to recognize when you’re stuck in an endless cycle of frustration, and how to choose the option that best supports your wellbeing.
Learn more about or join the waitlist for the next Compassion Fatigue Group Coaching Cohort here.
No comments yet. Be the first to say something!