I received an email this week that broke me...

I was scheduled to speak with a team at 7:30 AM about patient experience, but something I can't describe prompted a last-minute change. Instead, I decided to focus on Fueling and Refueling Compassion through Gratitude. I began the discussion by addressing a crucial issue: Compassion Fatigue. We explored the human cost of compassion fatigue/emotional exhaustion, including the tragic reality of caregiver suicide. I emphasized to everyone, "𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘖𝘒 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘖𝘒, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘖𝘒 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺." and "𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦." We also discussed resources available for anyone experiencing thoughts of self-harm. The second part of the discussion focused on gratitude.

I've given this talk numerous times and as a presenter or public speaker, regardless of the topic, you always hope the right words reach the right people who need them most.

The next morning, I received the email that stopped me in my tracks:
"...𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵...𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮..."

I just stopped. I read and re-read it with tears flowing down my cheeks. I felt immense sadness for this caregiver who was suffering. I felt grateful for the opportunity to speak to that team and for the decision to change the topic. I was profoundly thankful to the leader who fostered an environment where this caregiver felt safe to say, "𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘖𝘒. 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱."

Thanks to that leader, the caregiver was connected with an Employee Assistance Team and is beginning to receive the help she needs.

This experience further solidifies a vital truth: 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹-𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. 𝗪𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗺𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽.

𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙊𝙆 𝙩𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙊𝙆, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙊𝙆 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚.

If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out:
Dial 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Visit 988lifeline.org
Chat with someone at 988lifeline.org
Reach out to a trusted friend or colleague