Combating Compassion Fatigue
"Compassion fatigue can be physical, emotional, or spiritual exhaustion that overtakes the otherwise positive and fulfilling experience of helping others when we over-empathize. Although they come in rather aggressively, the effects of compassion fatigue can come in silently, impacting caretakers for some time before they realize the root cause of their ailments. Therefore, combating compassion fatigue begins with awareness.
Awareness
Symptoms of compassion fatigue can be physical, psychological, emotional, and behavioral. They can include:
- Physical: unusual sleeping patterns, weakness or tiredness, lack of energy, frequently falling ill, and changing eating habits.
- Psychological and emotional: feeling sad, empty, lonely, numb, agitated, despair, stuck, or a loss of control.
- Behavioral: withdrawal, lack of connection/avoiding connection, rejecting others, or feeling rejected.
When a caretaker becomes aware of their symptoms and the cause of these symptoms, they can then reflect on how triggers are linked to personal beliefs or vulnerabilities, such as self-criticism or low self-compassion, in order to counteract them. Caretakers can then create realistic expectations for themselves, which guides them towards the next step, which is finding balance.
Life Balance
Fostering Connection
Purposeful connection can take on many forms in many spheres of relationships. Loved ones, friends, coworkers, teams, and communities—there are a number of ways to connect and meaningful connections to make. Caretakers should make the effort to build and maintain valuable and supportive relationships on a number of levels. These connections can be lifelines in moments of need.
Read the complete article available at Psychology Today!
Reflection:
Have you experienced compassion fatigue before? How did you deal with it?
#Compassion #Fatigue #Coping
@comfortableNight4463 This is very important. Compassion fatigue can occur to everyone as they can get affected by the negativity they are expected to help someone combat. People share things to be helped but the result is dragging someone down with them temporarily.
We need to know that this is normal and we should accept it in order to face it. This is a reason why we should always remember that mental health professionals need respect and understanding and it is encouraged htat they take therapy as well.
Thank you for the post!
@comfortableNight4463 I think this is a very real thing that we experience, but I've never heard it called this before! I think it can be very common here at 7 Cups and I'm sure many of us have experienced it. I think it's important to remember to set those boundaries and take time away from the computer to practice self-care and reset ourselves every once in a while😊
@fruityPond7887 Yes, I agree. When you extend compassion to others, it's also important to extend it to yourself and take a break when things gets tiring.
@comfortableNight4463
I never knew it before, but after reading this, I realize I have experienced it before.
I’ll have to make note on integrating more healthy habits.
Thanks for the post!💛✨
@innateJoy9602 You're most welcome! I wish you well on your journey of integrating better habits.