How to Cope with Compassion Fatigue

War, school shootings, natural disasters and a nation in crisis on so many levels has led to the need for medical professionals and psychological therapists/counselors to help those who have experienced these events. Unfortunately, those professionals that are specially trained to help others weather through their ordeals are only human themselves. Often, psychological clinicians and therapists experience something known as compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue occurs as a result of hearing about and helping those that suffer through traumatic experiences, and is considered to be a secondary-post traumatic stress and also referred to as vicarious traumatization. Symptoms of compassion fatigue are similar to those associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. Since this is a relatively new disorder, it is necessary to learn how to cope with compassion fatigue.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Identify the symptoms associated with compassion fatigue. Symptoms include: mood irritability, anxiety, flashbacks, lack of focus, diminished self-esteem, lack of trust in others, withdrawal, appetite and sleep changes, panicky and depressed.
2. Seek out help. It may be harder for a person that is educated and trained to help others and to assist them with psychological care to admit they may have a problem. However, when symptoms of compassion fatigue are obvious, it is important for the person to seek out help. By prolonging acquiring help, the person will be doing a disservice to their health and wellness as well as their patients.
3. Acquire support from family and friends. It can be soothing and helpful to vent and talk to people that are trusted and who better to trust than close family and friends.
4. Make sure to attend debriefing sessions that are designed for clinicians. The place of employment should provide these services, but if they do not, it might be necessary to ask the employer to provide it. Debriefing sessions are a good way to help a person with compassion fatigue decompress and normalize what they are experiencing.
5. Refrain from comparing yourself to others. Remember, every person experiences events differently and internalizes them differently.
6. Limit stress. Learn to say no and lessen stress that may be apparent at work and home. This can give you needed time to regroup and build personal energy in order to move through the compassion fatigue and get passed it.
7. Avoid alcohol and non-prescription drugs. Since compassion fatigue is a mental instability, it can make it easier for the person that is experiencing it to become self-indulgent of alcohol and drugs as a way to numb the pain and dull the experiences. This will be unproductive and cause more problems.
8. Get adequate exercise and maintain a healthy diet. It is smart to keep the body healthy as a means to better handle the stresses that are present.
9. Lessen the amount of news coverage that is viewed. Viewing the news can reinforce an exposure to more stressful and traumatic experiences. So, be selective with what is viewed.
10. Practice meditation and relaxation. This is a good way to give the mind and body a rest and escape from the stress of work, family and life. Compassion fatigue is stress related, and meditation can help the person rejuvenate.
11. Keep a journal or diary. By writing down what the person is experiencing, they can better approach the situation, work through the situation and find clarity. It will allow the person to take the stress that is weighting them down and put it into something else.
12. Find a compassion fatigue support group. Being around others that are dealing with the same thing can assist the person with finding other useful techniques to help them work through it. It also helps the person not feel alone with what they are going through.
13. Figure out a middle ground. In other words, a person that is experiencing compassion fatigue may fall prey to either being overly objective and come off insensitive, or they may be overly empathetic and cry with their clients. So, find a balance.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not allow yourself to be overwhelmed by compassion fatigue and seek out the medical attention you need to get passed the problem. Allowing yourself to linger on suffering from compassion fatigue will only diminish the good you can do for others and yourself.