Overcoming
Compassion Fatigue
taken from PSPinformation.com
- Help along the way
You're drained, tapped out, have little energy to give
others. We’ve all been there. Usually, after a
little break we revive and step back up to the plate.
What happens, however, when these feelings don’t
pass - going beyond fatigue and turning into something
much worse, like apathy? This could spell trouble for
those caring for an elderly parent or sick child, or
for health care professionals rendering care to others.
In this interview, one of the nation's leading medical
experts talks about compassion fatigue, a condition
that plagues many individuals working in and out of
the home. What actions can you take to prevent this
serious occupational health hazard and risk to caregivers
in general?
Q: What is compassion fatigue?
A: This term has replaced the more familiar
term "burn-out." It refers to a physical,
emotional and spiritual fatigue or exhaustion that takes
over a person and causes a decline in his or her ability
to experience joy or to feel and care for others. Compassion
fatigue is a one-way street, in which individuals are
giving out a great deal of energy and compassion to
others over a period of time, yet aren’t able to
get enough back to reassure themselves that the world
is a hopeful place. It’s this constant outputting
of compassion and caring over time that can lead to
these feelings.
Q: What causes it?
A: Compassion fatigue comes from a variety of
sources. Although it often affects those working in
care-giving professions - nurses, physicians, mental
health workers and clergymen - it can affect people
in any kind of situation or setting where they’re
doing a great deal of caregiving and expending emotional
and physical energy day in and day out.
Q: Who is most at risk of developing compassion fatigue?
A: Although those in the health care and mental
health professions are most at risk of developing these
feelings, it is not limited to these arenas. It affects
those who don’t work outside the home as severely
as those who do. Take someone who is actively engaged
in taking care of a family member, especially during
a crisis period when there is a higher need to give
out feelings of compassion and sensitivity. If the crisis
doesn’t pass quickly and the individual continues
functioning at this level, he is just as susceptible
to compassion fatigue over time as those in high-risk
professions.
Q: What are some telltale signs of compassion fatigue?
A: First, you should understand that it’s
a process. It’s not a matter of one day, you’re
living your life with a great deal of energy and enjoyment,
and the next, you wake up exhausted and devoid of any
energy - both physical and emotional. Compassion fatigue
develops over time - taking weeks, sometimes years to
surface. Basically, it’s a low level, chronic clouding
of caring and concern for others in your life - whether
you work in or outside the home. Over time, your ability
to feel and care for others becomes eroded through overuse
of your skills of compassion. You also might experience
an emotional blunting - whereby you react to situations
differently than one would normally expect.
Q: If you have this condition, what can you do?
A: The most critical need is to acknowledge
that you may be experiencing it. All of us have multiple
demands and energy drains in our lives - some positive,
some negative - which all require a great deal of emotional
and physical attention. There are, however, many hands-on
things you can do to mitigate the feelings of compassion
fatigue. For one, start refocusing on yourself. Before
you can tend to and be sensitive to the needs of others,
you have to take care of your own well-being. This can
be as simple as getting plenty of rest, becoming more
aware of your dietary and recreational habits, and cutting
out negative addictions in your life like nicotine,
alcohol and caffeine. Remember, the healing process
takes time, as does the development of the problem.
Q: What if you’re in a high-risk profession
and the feelings don’t pass? Should you quit your
job, request a transfer or take an extended vacation?
A: All of these are options depending on your
situation. Sometimes people who witness a lot of trauma
as part of their jobs - like law enforcement agents,
paramedics and fireman - will opt to choose different
lines of work. Even if they recuperate and successfully
combat these feelings, they sometimes feel they don’t
want to begin again the process of exposing their heart
and feelings day in and day out. For others, a vacation
may do the trick. Vacations are healthy, restorative
interventions that can head off negative feelings so
that they don’t progress beyond the point of no
return. Transferring to another unit either temporarily
or permanently is another alternative. A job that’s
more mechanical and less human service-oriented can
sometimes give people just the respite they need to
regain their balance and their empathy towards others.
Q: Is there anyway to prevent compassion fatigue?
A: Preventing compassion fatigue is really the
key. It’s much easier to stop it from occurring
in the first place than it is to repair things once
it sets in. You have to continually practice good emotional
health maintenance along the way and maintain some sort
of balance in your life. There has to be a portion of
your life inn which you need to take, rather than give.
Beyond practicing fundamental self-care skills, you
need to put yourself in situations in which you see
the positives in life, for example, attending a field
trip with your child where you’re truly enjoying
the experience, or volunteering where you’re able
to give and receive. Sometimes, you can’t prevent
compassion fatigue from occurring. We see this a lot
with individuals working in professions with a high
degree of human interaction and human service. However,
practicing some of these techniques can restore your
ability to feel compassion for and sensitivity to the
troubles and difficulties of others.
Q: If you’re in a health care profession, could
you be a danger to your patients if you have compassion
fatigue?
A: Maybe yes, if you took the scenario to its
extreme; however, this isn’t what usually happens.
What typically occurs is a numbing of feelings or a
distancing and detachment from a patient and his family.
It rarely results in a serious medical mistake, but
rather prevents the individual from bonding and connecting
with those under his care. It’s akin to being on
auto-pilot in which those affected put up an interior
wall to separate their feelings from the tasks they
need to do.
Q: What if you’re caring for an elderly parent
and develop these feelings?
A: You need to seek assistance from others -
siblings, relatives, friends and neighbors - to give
yourself a breather. You also might rotate duties with
a sibling, for example. If you’re the one responsible
for accompanying your parent to chemotherapy sessions
- a highly charged and draining event - you might let
your brother or sister do that task for a while while
you pick up another.
Q: We’re all bombarded with bad news everyday
just by listening to the news or reading the paper.
Can this desensitize us as well and what can we do about
it?
A: We live in a world in which the media constantly
bombards us with images of poverty and violence, bringing
us to a point where we almost shut down because it becomes
too emotionally taxing to feel for others. One way to
prevent this from happening is to refrain from watching
the news or reading the paper for a while. This mild
escapism can help prevent your heart strings from being
constantly tugged by all the sad things taking place
in the world. 
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