Special Guest: Dee McB - Compassion Fatigue

Summary:

This week on The Tragedy Academy, Jay invites Dee McB. Dee is a zookeeper and lover of all animals, and in this episode, we get into compassion fatigue and growing up with ADHD. Dee educates us on animal behaviors and touches on how her nurturing personality contributes to compassion burnout. 

Key Points:

😪 Compassion fatigue

💨 ADHD

❤️ Nurturing

🦧 The difference between the four great apes

🐒 Howling monkeys and Macaques

🐈 Interacting with animals as with humans

⚱️ Death

🦇 Bats

Episode Highlights:

[00:01:55] Dee shares the concept of compassion fatigue or fatigue burnout; is mainly experienced by veterinarians or those in any form of medical care. She explains the toll animal care takes on people, specifically when euthanizing litters at a time.

[00:14:20] Jay and Dee discuss Olympic athlete Simone Biles and her refusal to continue participating during the 2020 Olympics. They point out the strain in which athletes are put through both mentally and physically and point out that in the end, a life of stress is not sustainable. They also touch on the indifference people have toward athletes.

[00:16:54] Dee gives some background on growing up with ADHD. During the first quarter of her life, Dee never considered having ADHD because she earned good grades in school – mainly because she had a teacher-parent. Naturally, Dee did not assume there was nothing to treat. It wasn't until a friend helped her recognize that her scatterbrain tendencies were a symptom of ADHD.

[00:22:24] Dee describes herself as highly nurturing, even to her detriment. She notes that although she loves bringing joy to others, she recognizes that compassion fatigue is a symptom. Her zookeeping proclivities transferred over into helping her friends – an everybody keeper. 

[00:27:14] Dee breaks down the difference between the four great apes; bonobos, gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans. Gorillas are the most loyal but not the brightest, orangutans are mechanically minded, bonobos are the "hippies" of the group, they solve everything with sex, and chimpanzees are the most aggressive.

[00:37:04] Jay recalls his experience with Howler monkeys and Macaques. He details the piercing, screeching yells of howler monkeys and their constant movements through the jungle. Jay also gives an anecdote with a Macaques; he shares the story of almost getting his finger bitten off over a bag of Cheetos and a sprite.  

[00:48:02] Dee shares the difficulty in trying not to form bonds with animals as a zookeeper. She notes that animals are frequently moved from zoo to sanctuary and vice versa, especially if the endangered ones. Dee describes how it's near impossible not to feel compassion and form a bond with the animals for which she cares.

[00:51:00] Jay and Dee agree that we need to destigmatize Death. There is beauty in Death; it's the body decomposing and returning to mother earth to continue the circle of life. Dee also touches on the existence of conservation cemeteries.

[01:05:00] Dee shares her experience dealing with a terrible waiter. She notes that her previous experience working in food service has the credentials to weigh in how a waiter should treat guests. Jay details the waiter's point of view and how we should have sympathy on what they might be going through.

[01:24:50] Dee shares her love for her two favorite animals, bears and bats. Jay shares his disdain towards bats, specifically Vampire bats from Panama, due to their method of attacks and the contents of their tongues that can cause a numbing effect.  

[01:34:25] Outro
 

Contact Dee: 

Instagram | @thedeemcb https://bit.ly/3p5OvK3

TikTok | @deemcb https://bit.ly/3yCUWaN 

Mentioned in this episode:

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