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All Posts By

Barbara Rubel

Barbara is a leading authority and best-selling author on managing burnout, secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma. As a nationally recognized keynote speaker, she motivates audiences to build their resilience and create work-life balance. Her programs help leaders and teams manage workplace chronic stressors and get over burnout at work.

Barbara's newest book, "But I Didn't Say Goodbye: Helping Families After a Suicide", is available now on Amazon - https://amzn.to/2FwS6JI

• Three weeks prior to giving birth to triplets, her father died by suicide. Her story was featured in the Emmy award winning documentary, Fatal Mistakes, Families Shattered by Suicide narrated by Mariette Hartley. Many employees are grieving personal loss. She offers programs for leaders on lost productivity and performance while managing grief at work.

• As a sought-after keynote speaker who has presented to over 500 groups since 1991, including corporations, state and national associations and non-profit organizations, Barbara offers work-life balance strategies for leaders to implement right away. With clarity and humor, her speaking engagements are designed to give audiences powerful and practical strategies of work-life balance, wellbeing, and self-care that can be implemented immediately.

• Barbara is a Board-Certified Expert in Traumatic Stress and Diplomate with the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. She received a Bachelor of Science in psychology and a Master of Arts degree in community health, with a concentration in thanatology, both from Brooklyn College.

Email: BarbaraRubel@BarbaraRubel.com
Website: www.barbararubel.com

Jun 22
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giraffe and hot air balloon

A Magical Way to Get Over Burnout at Work

By Barbara Rubel Burnout, Well-Being at Work No Comments
Consider the power of magic to manage burnout. You can create the magic that helps you mitigate the impact of burnout at work. You may have a high workload. Your workplace may not share your values. You may have low control over your job. Yet, there is a magic formula to follow, so you can manage the daily stressors that are causing burnout. Tips to Manage Burnout at Work Magic…
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May 23
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burnt out

Are You Burnt Out Because of Rigid Thinking?

By Barbara Rubel Burnout No Comments
A Gap Analysis A gap analysis is a well-defined learning strategy that can help you manage being burnt out. A gap analysis is a simple tool for establishing any gaps between your strengths in managing being burnt out and your organization’s ability to assist you in putting those strengths into practice. Let’s explore the issue of rigid thinking and being burnt out. Current State Focus on your current state of…
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Apr 01
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Work-Life Balance

By Barbara Rubel Work-Life Balance, Mental Health, Stress No Comments
Achieve balance between work and your personal life How in the world do you achieve work-life balance after the world changed due to the pandemic? Your assumptive world has been shattered and professional life has changed. For that matter, so has your personal life. For many, the workplace has moved to the kitchen table. For others, the hours spent in the actual workplace have increased, limiting time spent appreciating one’s…
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Mar 24
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work management

How to Achieve Balance with Life and Work

By Barbara Rubel Work-Life Balance No Comments
A balance between work and nonwork life is essential for job engagement. A flexible working schedule allows for more time with children. Job flexibility involves career breaks (e.g., maternity or paternity leaves). Moreover, part-time employees need flexibility in scheduling, length of work, and location. Studies show that more women request flexible work than men. Although men consider flexible working to develop their organizational commitment, women consider it a way to…
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Mar 18
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balancing life and work

8 Tips to Balance Work and Life

By Barbara Rubel Resilience, Work-Life Balance No Comments
As you pursue work and personal interests, be mindful that work-life balance means different things to different people. Prioritize what is important. Put energy into those things that mean something to you. Here are eight simple ways to manage the stress of work-life balance: Start the day with a healthy breakfast and take a scheduled lunch, as diet management is important for your overall health. Begin work on time and…
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Mar 10
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signs of stress and burnout

Burnout vs Compassion Fatigue

By Barbara Rubel Burnout, Compassion Fatigue No Comments
As we explore the question of what is compassion fatigue, we recognize that it is not the same as burnout. Compassion fatigue and burnout are two types of stresses that bring about mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion. Signs of compassion fatigue are headaches, sadness, grief, avoiding working with certain people, nightmares, and changes in belief systems. They may also experience emotional disconnection from others. Symptoms can mirror post-traumatic stress disorder,…
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Mar 04
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what is compassion fatigue

Dealing with Empathic Distress

By Barbara Rubel Compassion Fatigue No Comments
Empathic distress, also known as compassion fatigue, is the absorbing of another person’s traumatic material. Compassion fatigue is a unique phenomenon to those who work with those impacted by trauma, grief, bereavement and stressful circumstances. Although the experience did not happen to the helper, the other person’s painful experience is extremely felt. Some consider compassion fatigue the convergence of secondary traumatic stress and burnout. However, these definitions are uniquely defined…
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Mar 01
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secondary traumatic stress

Secondary Traumatic Stress

By Barbara Rubel Secondary trauma No Comments
Secondary traumatization is a term that refers to the stressful consequence to working with traumatic material. When you are empathetic, you open yourself up and become vulnerable to internalize the traumatized individual’s experience. This is especially the case when workplaces do not offer enough recovery time between emotional cases. Symptoms you may feel Arousal symptoms from secondary traumatic stress such as irritability, avoidance, and intrusion can be difficult to manage.…
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Feb 25
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secondary trauma

Secondary Trauma

By Barbara Rubel Secondary trauma, Vicarious trauma No Comments
Where should you start when you want to mitigate the impact of secondary trauma? You may want to immediately go to mindfulness training and self-care techniques. However, first, you need to learn about secondary trauma, risk factors, and symptoms. To fix the problem, you need to understand the problem. Being that the emotional toll of caring can compromise your functioning, this article lays the foundation for your self-care and addresses…
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Dec 09
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grieving child

Grieving Children and the Holidays

By Barbara Rubel Grief, Holidays No Comments
Do you feel as though you may not be strong enough to support your grieving child this holiday season? I recently spoke to grieving parents. They believe that they don’t have the strengths needed to support their bereaved child. I believe they can spiritually nurture their child if they are brave; have a love of learning; are honest, hopeful; have gratitude; are spiritual; and show their love, as they talk…
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Aug 14
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In Remembrance

From the Firehouse to the Playhouse

By Barbara Rubel Memories No Comments
I am on a mission to survive and thrive. As I brace the wind and the cold, my quick step edges me closer to Broadway. I keep reminding myself that I will be warm once inside the theater. Although it is only mid-November, the weather is surprisingly frigid. Picture this, only a block away from the theater, a frosty breeze pushes the cozy jacket hood off of my head at…
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Aug 07
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Unpack Your Emotional Baggage

By Barbara Rubel Emotional Baggage No Comments
I can’t imagine traveling without baggage. It’s usually at the exact moment when I stand by my airline seat, when I realize the bag I packed is too heavy to lift into the overhead compartment. This past month, I took several flights across the country. With each trip, I remind myself that I must lighten my load. I do not check my bag. Rather, I lug it along with each…
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Aug 01
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The Place I Learn the Most

By Barbara Rubel Mental Health No Comments
My “relaxing” weekend begins with my watching political reporters and talking heads arguing with one another. They sound more like columnists espousing their own views as they present bias questions to candidates. There are tensions among the electorate and strong rhetoric on both sides of the issues. I listen in hope of learning something new. There is a lot of noise coming from the television set. I turn the channels…
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Jul 28
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Sentimental Clutter

By Barbara Rubel Memories No Comments
Who would have thought that sentimental clutter could mean so much? Several boxes of varying sizes are stacked neatly in a row. Children are often responsible for vacating their parent’s home. And that is what I did when my mom died. Although I sold much of her personal belongings and gave away items to family members, I kept those things that I could not part with. Now, several years later,…
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Jul 14
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Turn Rigid Thinking into a Growth Mindset

By Barbara Rubel Mindset No Comments
Whether you like it or not, a rigid mindset can prevent you from turning obstacles into opportunities. Do you think in all or nothing thinking–in extremes? Perhaps you use words like, “always,” “never” or “impossible.” Likewise, people with a growth mindset are able to replace negative thoughts with positive ones and are tolerant of their mistakes. As one who has a growth mindset, I realize that although self-criticism can work…
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