Comments on: An Open Letter to Funeral Professionals Who are Losing Their Minds to Stress

By: Funeral Blog. The official blog for the funeral & cemetery professions. » Blog Archive 3 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before Becoming a Funeral Director

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 15:37:47 +0000

[…] In school, we learn about burnout. It is extremely common among funeral directors because of the highly stressful environment and long working hours. I’ve experienced it myself. I was depressed for a long time and […]

By: Funeral Blog. The official blog for the funeral & cemetery professions. » Blog Archive 6 New Years Resolutions Every Funeral Professional Should Make For 2014

Thu, 26 Dec 2013 18:31:01 +0000

[…] It sounds silly, but I think one of your New Years resolutions for 2014 should be to make a New Years resolution. Writing down your goals for yourself and your business is the first (and most important) step in achieving them. Choose between 1-10 goals for yourself and your funeral home, and keep them in a place where you can review them regularly. And when you do achieve one of your goals, celebrate it. It’s this continuous goal setting cycle that will help you live a meaningful life, and have a meaningful career. […]

By: julie pope

julie pope — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 15:28:00 +0000

The best lessons are learned from living experiences. Kudos to the author for sharing her lesson. It will save us a lot of time if it applies and we listen. Every one has so much to say…they don’t chill and listen. Thanks for posting this…totally makes sense.

By: Arthur Raynor

Arthur Raynor — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 12:06:00 +0000

Good article and after 30 years as a Firefighter/EMT, I can fully agree about the job related stress…daily!

By: kimstacey

kimstacey — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 19:51:00 +0000

Wonderful piece, Krystal. I agree with you on all points – reducing the amount of INPUT (from television, computers, smart phones…), and increasing the amount of creativity-inspiring “down time” is essential for all of us living in this information-saturated world. But especially important to those of us who work in funeral service. Nice job of getting personal with a powerful message!

By: Michael L. Hays

Michael L. Hays — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 17:59:00 +0000

Great article, Joe. I don’t know who Krystal is–because as the blog opens is simply says “by Krystal Penrose of…–but she’s shared from her heart and in the way of what I’ve called “The Wounded Healer (since reading a book by that title in the late 80’s).”
At “Turn off the TV,” Krystal may also have mentioned the smartphone, tablet and computer, which seem to be obsessions for many of us today. I think sometimes that all technology–unless using it to stream music into your “meditative space”–just gets in the way of relaxation.
Funeral Directors, especially Funeral Home owners, are very “stressed out” as a class; frequency of burnout is high. Krystal’s 5 points are not new, but we’d certainly do well to adopt them.
Mike Hays ~ LifeSteps Services, LLC, Louisville, KY