You, Me, Empathy - Episode 43: Caring For Yourself While Caring for Others with Janet Fouts

On Episode 43 of You, Me, Empathy, Janet Fouts stops by to explore what it means to be a caretaker, the burden we put on ourselves as feely humans, and caring for yourself while caring for others.

As someone who nearly died from trying to care for others while completely ignoring my own health, I empathize and relate to Janet’s story. Her dear partner had a battle with cancer, and it really tested her own mental health, and ultimately led her to write When Life Hits the Fan – A Mindful Guide to Caring for Yourself While Caring for Others. If you’ve ever cared for anyone who was ill—or just have that caretaker bone in your body like Janet and I do—this episode is a must listen!

We also talk about the magical empathy of animals, self-care and mindfulness tips, giving up the power of controlling everything ourselves, the time Janet got to work with Desmond Tutu, discovering self-compassion, and the mantra Janet voices in her heart with each person she comes across:

“May you be safe. May you be happy.”

For links we mentioned during this episode, scroll down.

Thanks for listening, and thanks for empathizing with us!

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Empathy Links:

• Janet Fouts

• Janet on Twitter: @jfouts

• Janet’s book, When Life Hits the Fan

• Hardwiring Happiness by Rick Hanson

• The Center for Compassion at Stanford

• Kristin Neff

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Special hugs to David Grabowski for the music for You, Me, Empathy and special hugs to Grant Snider for the art!