Compassion fatigue is more complicated than feeling tired or burnt out. It refers to the impact, physical and emotional, of helping people recover from life’s challenges and traumas. The term is sometimes known as secondary traumatic stress. It describes the stress you feel after exposure to traumatized people, not exposure to trauma itself.
In a clinical setting, compassion fatigue is heavily related to emotional labor — managing your own emotions while performing work responsibilities. Healthcare professionals are expected to manage their emotions while helping others navigate traumatic moments. Over time, these strains on emotional labor can cause compassion fatigue.
Symptoms of compassion fatigue
Compassion fatigue will affect case managers, nursing assistants, and other caretaking professionals in different ways.
Here are some common symptoms:
- Physical or emotional exhaustion;
- Feelings of hopelessness or despair;
- Flashbacks to memories of patient trauma;
- Issues with personal relationships;
- Loss of empathy for patients;
- Headaches, back pain, and upset stomach;
- Heightened feelings of anger;
- Insomnia;
- Disdain for your job.
The effects of compassion fatigue can be both physical and emotional. They often influence your ability to think, perform work tasks, and process emotions.
Causes of compassion fatigue
Caretakers might experience traumatized patients on a regular basis, increasing their risk for developing compassion fatigue.
Here are some of the leading causes:
- Exposure to trauma in patients: Caretakers exposed to trauma can develop compassion fatigue over time. This is particularly true for healthcare workers who deal with chronic illnesses or abuse victims.
- Lack of professional support: Caretakers need support from their coworkers, family, and employers to appropriately deal with emotions. This support should also include visits to a mental health professional to evaluate their own emotional needs.
- Long work hours: A caretaker’s job responsibilities can be exhausting. Extended time in a caregiving environment can elevate your risk for compassion fatigue.
- Personal trauma: Caretakers with a history of trauma are sometimes at a higher risk for experiencing risk themselves.
- Personal investment in patients: Some patients experience setbacks during recovery. Caretakers personally invested in these patients can experience additional compassion fatigue.
While not an exhaustive list, these factors represent some of the main causes of compassion fatigue. Other causes sometimes include a lack of resources or control in the workplace.
The impact of compassion fatigue on caretakers
Compassion fatigue exacts a physical and an emotional toll on health workers. It can cause feelings like exhaustion, desensitization, and overwhelming fatigue. It can also make it more difficult to enjoy on-work life activities.
Impact on patient care
Compassion fatigue can reduce a caregiver’s ability to provide effective, quality care. It can decrease their capacity for empathy, increase stress, and elevate the risk of errors in care.
Burnout can quickly and negatively impact patient care. Health workers become less effective and less motivated in their roles, and more likely to disengage at work. A disengaged caregiver can quickly become an error-prone caregiver, particularly for patients who require hands-on care.
Impact on personal life
The impact of compassion fatigue can also extend to a caregiver’s personal life. It affects personal relationships, mental health, and even their sense of optimism or work-related satisfaction.
Compassion fatigue can lead to depression and anxiety. These symptoms represent serious mental health concerns and greatly affect a caretaker’s ability to perform tasks. Stress from the job can also disturb sleep, impact digestion, and lead to social isolation.
Managing compassion fatigue
All caregivers should learn to recognize symptoms of compassion fatigue and admit when they need help. Consider management techniques like self-care and professional support. Caregivers should also learn to set healthy boundaries between their personal and professional lives.
Self-care practices
Caregivers often depend on self-care practices like exercise and mindfulness to manage work-related challenges. It’s important to set aside time each day for these activities, even if it’s only a few minutes at a time. Self-care provides the opportunity to rest, reflect, and recharge before returning to a sometimes-traumatic patient care environment.
Here are some different self-care strategies that caregivers can use:
- Participate in physical activity that elevates your resting heartbeat;
- Practice visualization, meditation, self-reflection, or other mindfulness exercises;
- Learn to recognize your own mental health needs;
- End the day with a bath, a book, or other small privilege;
- Unplug from your phone at least 60 minutes before falling asleep;
- Avoid stressors at work and at home when possible;
Personal honesty is a necessary ingredient for effective self-care. Identify when to take a break, change activities, or set boundaries.
Seeking support from colleagues and professionals
Professional support is a valuable step in managing compassion fatigue. Visit a psychologist or a psychiatrist for answers about physical or mental health complications. You can also connect with a therapist or counselor to address unresolved or ongoing mental health symptoms.
It’s also important to stay honest with your coworkers when you experience symptoms. Make sure they understand how they can support you at work. Consider joining a support group or online community with others who experience similar symptoms.
Setting boundaries
Saying “no” is one of the most difficult challenges in healthcare. For caregivers, it’s also one of the most important words you can say. Saying “no” when appropriate helps to establish healthy boundaries. It separates your personal and professional lives and prevents you from accepting tasks that could cause excessive strain.
Setting boundaries also makes it easier to build other healthy habits. It preserves time in your day for activities like exercise and sleep — habits that also contribute toward self-care.
Managing stress
Every caretaker will manage stress in a slightly different way. For example, extroverted caretakers might seek out a support group or discuss their frustrations with coworkers. Introverted caretakers might seek out healing activities like walking, hiking, or reading. No matter how you destress, addressing emotional challenges is important to maintain a career in healthcare.
Diet, exercise, and sleep are all cornerstone strategies in managing stress. Make sure you protect the food you eat, the activities you perform, and the time you sleep each day. It’s also important to set realistic goals when managing stress. This means separating large dreams into small-scale goals, goals that you can track and accomplish.
Prevention of compassion fatigue
Prevention is the best strategy to address compassion fatigue. With the right approach, many caretakers can help neutralize symptoms before they ever arrive. Elements like education, training, and a supportive work environment are all important to keep stress from evolving.
Education and training for caregivers
All caregivers deserve education that helps them defend against work-related health conditions. This education should teach simple, actionable strategies that help health professionals build skills they can implement.
Empathy training helps caretakers embrace patients’ feelings without developing an inappropriate level of personal connection. Resilience training teaches people how to adapt in the face of inevitable challenges. Communication training focuses on expressing yourself fully and clearly — preventing miscommunications and helping patients feel heard.
Organizational support for caregivers
Caregivers also need resources and tools that equip them to handle compassion fatigue. These tools can include online resources, training, and counseling services.
Health organizations can also offer flexible scheduling to support employees. Caregivers can select the work times that work for them. It helps all health workers preserve a healthy work-life balance. Flexible schedules also give caregivers enough time to perform valuable self-care.
Creating a supportive work environment
It’s important that all health professionals — from nursing assistants to C-suite executives — support one another. A supportive work environment creates avenues for open communication and honest feedback.
Caregivers aren’t always comfortable providing direct feedback to a manager or employer. Consider options like performance evaluations or anonymous comment boxes, which encourage feedback on how well a work environment protects employees. Implementing these suggestions goes a long way in making caregivers feel supported.