Compassion fatigue is sometimes called vicarious traumatization or secondary traumatic stress disorder. It occurs when you become overwhelmed by hearing about or witnessing a traumatic event. that happened to someone else.
Who Is Vulnerable to Compassion Fatigue?Professional caregivers and others in the helping professions are most likely to develop secondary traumatic stress disorder. This includes nurses, doctors, social workers, counselors, police, paramedics and firefighters.
However, compassion fatigue can also affect friends and family of trauma victims.
In fact, In the age of instant media, even strangers can experience compassion fatigue--many people reported symptoms of secondary traumatic stress after watching sustained media coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and their aftermath.
You are also at a higher risk for developing compassion fatigue if you have a personal history of trauma.
What Are Compassion Fatigue Symptoms?
The most obvious symptom of compassion fatigue is psychic numbing or emotional shutdown. If you are experiencing psychic numbing, you likely have trouble connecting to others and summoning feelings of sympathy or empathy. Clients and co-workers may perceive you as "cold" or uncaring.
Another symptom of compassion fatigue is withdrawal. This occurs when you go out of your way to avoid situations where you might be re-traumatized. A counselor, for instance, might make excuses to cancel appointments with clients.
Other symptoms of compassion fatigue, such as exaggerated startle responses, vivid nightmares and thinking obsessively about the traumas you have heard about or seen are similar to those of post traumatic stress disorder.
Compassion Fatigue vs. Burnout
Some symptoms of compassion fatigue, like avoiding clients and taking multiple absences from work, are similar to the symptoms of burnout, but there are some key differences between these conditions.
Burnout usually occurs over a long period of time, as you become disenchanted with your workplace conditions and come to believe that nothing you can do will make a difference. While the effects of compassion fatigue are sometimes cumulative, more often than not compassion fatigue can be traced back to one specific stressful occurrence.
Another difference between burnout and compassion fatigue is that a person feeling burned out is likely to experience emotions like boredom, frustration and helplessness. If you are experiencing compassion fatigue, on the other hand, you are more likely to experience the symptoms of trauma discussed above--reliving the traumatic event, having nightmares about the traumatic event and trying to avoid circumstances that remind you of the trauma.
It should be noted that it is possible for a person to experience burnout and compassion fatigue at the same time.
Compassion Fatigue Avoidance - Critical Incident Stress Debriefing
One intervention that seems to reduce the risk of developing compassion fatigue is critical incident stress debriefing. Critical incident stress debriefing involves having a trained mental health professional meet as soon as possible with the people who were affected by a traumatic event.
The professional guides those affected in expressing their feelings, normalizes the reactions that may occur over the next few days and weeks, and helps those vicariously traumatized to identify the steps they need to take to go on with their lives.
During critical incident stress debriefing, the mental health professional assesses the group to identify any people who seem to be having an especially difficult time. They are given individual attention.
Compassion Fatigue Treatment - What Helps?
If you are not fortunate enough to work for an agency that provides critical incident stress debriefing, there are still things you can do to heal yourself from compassion fatigue.
The first step is admitting that the trauma occurred and that it had an impact on you. In many of the helping professions, being "tough" is rewarded. Admitting that you were deeply affected by one of your cases takes courage, but if you are able to break through the wall of silence, you are likely to find other colleagues feel the same way you do.
Next, find someone to talk to about the traumatic incident. This may be a co-worker who did not experience the trauma, a supervisor, a member of the clergy or a professional counselor. Most of the helping professions have confidentiality laws that prevent you from sharing too much with friends and family.
Finally, separate yourself from the trauma. As sad and as horrifying as it may have been, it did not happen to you. Take steps to reconnect with your own life. Spend time with your family and friends, and make extra time to enjoy favorite activities. It's also important to engage in basic self care, like eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep.
Compassion fatigue is a serious problem among members of the helping professions, but you can get through it by acknowledging it, communicating about your feelings, and staying connected to the good in your own life.
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