There is no way I can express the tension in the air today, Election Day.

I can say that I will be greatly relieved when it is over because I just can’t stand one more negative ad campaign, or one more snarky remark from the pundits, although the latter will surely continue to a lesser degree.

 

Regardless of which of these lesser two evils wins, I know it won’t be over, as they are both powerful enough and bull headed enough to drag it out for months, but I am sensing there will be some relief and I’m ready for it.

 

Last night Chelsea arranged for our lecture speaker to be Samantha Tubbs Crews, a therapist who talked on Compassion Fatigue.  I didn’t think she was a very good speaker and she didn’t appear to me as being a good therapist, but by the second slide everyone in the room was crying.  By about the time she was through defining what Compassion Fatigue was, the bawling was so obvious throughout the packed room that I went and got napkins and passing them down the rows like hand outs.

 

Jamie couldn’t even stay in the room.  She listened from around the wall so no one could see her losing it.  I don’t know how to help her through this.  I’ve seen this topic presented three times and Jamie has always been stuck in the Angry phase and nothing I say, do nor suggest helps her.  I just seem to make her angrier.

 

I need to help her and all of our volunteers find ways of coping with the losses of so many cats.  We are losing about 24 a year…2 a month…so no one can finish the grieving process before they are hit with another huge loss.  Dr. Crews reported that:

 

A recent study by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reveals that animal rescue workers have a suicide rate of 5.3 in 1 million workers. This is the highest suicide rate among American workers; a rate shared only by firefighters and police officers. The national suicide average for American workers is 1.5 per 1 million.  Read more at http://stories.barkpost.com/compassion-fatigue-animal-workers/

 

A small step I can take is to create a Compassion Fatigue section to our BigCat.me site and ZooCollege.com Just knowing the signs is a big step for most people.  I’ll keep looking for ways to actually assist them in coping too.

 

Mediation was one such coping mechanism and I’m thankful to have found Lilian Eden’s guided meditations on YouTube.  Her voice soothes me and helps me get to a place, outside my body, where there are infinite possibilities.

 

I’m thankful for all of the love our volunteers and supporters pour into helping the cats.  They inspire me.

 

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and I’ve been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk