Live Well: Creating Compassion

May 6-12 is Mental Health Week in Canada. This year’s theme is healing through compassion.

The Canadian Mental Health Association explains that “Compassion is the strong emotion that moves us to take action to reduce suffering.” They further report that “In recent years, the need to extend compassion to the workplace is rapidly increasing. In fact, a recent study2 found that 71% of Canadian employees reported that their mental health impacted their ability to work. Plus, research found that compassion has been linked to higher job satisfaction, loyalty and trust in the organization, higher retention rates, and improvements in performance and motivation.”

As part of a caring profession, midwives exercise compassion every day—and may also experience compassion fatigue.

Two ways to overcome this are by creating compassion at work—connecting with colleagues in your practice in authentic ways by listening without judgment and honouring one another’s experiences and emotions—and by showing compassion for ourselves.

This month’s Live Well articles will focus on how you can show up for yourself, whether that’s practising self care, or learning when and how to reach out for additional help and support.

Need help now?

Your MFAP is always there for you. Midwives also have access to Dialogue Virtual Care and Mental Health+ supports. For other services in the community, Log into Understanding Your Plan, and look for “Mental Health” under the Benefits at a Glance menu.