Take 5 for Yourself! May 21, 2023 Funeral service is often a stressful job. It can be hard to remember to take care of yourself when you’re focused on caring for grieving families. You may find yourself worn down by stress and fatigue. The good news is that you can take just 5 minutes for yourself to identify and address the stress in your life as a funeral service professional. Available online 24/7, Take 5 is a series of short activities designed to give you – both NFDA members and nonmembers – information and practices to better care for yourself. The interactive series features short videos, quizzes, self-assessments and self-care tips and is based on the Funeral Service Foundation’s “Caring for Families & Caring for Yourself: A self-care handbook for funeral service professionals,” written by Dr. Alan Wolfelt. As you work through the Take 5 series, you will learn to: Identify their sources of stress that personally impact them on the job and at home and gauge their level of burnout. Recognize symptoms of burnout and common, often unhealthy, coping mechanisms. Use strategies for minimizing the impact of stress on the job and tips to develop a personal plan for self-care. Be proactive and prioritize your self-care in small, manageable steps. Understand the wide range of free resources available to funeral professionals to further explore self-care and mental health with articles, screenings and toolkits. Visit www.nfda.org/Take5 and take a few minutes for yourself!