Combatting Compassion Fatigue

Combatting Compassion Fatigue
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Professionals in health care are most susceptible to compassion fatigue because their work involves support and care to patients on a continuous basis. They encounter patients’ suffering from the effects of life threatening conditions, traumatic experiences and grief. They require to not only deal with the ordinary work related distress but also the emotional and personal sentiments emanating from exposure to clients’ suffering (Day & Anderson, 2011). Many definitions of compassion fatigue exist and common to all are the aspects of emotional devastation and overly engrossing which results numbness. Another aspect is an impaired ability to function effectively which occurs as a result repeated exposure and memories of people that are suffering (Bush, Compassion Fatigue: Are You at Risk?, 2009). It occurs in a process that begins when the caregiver responds to the recipients’ anguish and experiences an inability to separate from giving care simultaneously. The experience is also characterized by dissatisfaction with the care situation resulting in stress, which culminates into compassion fatigue after prolonged exposure (Yoder, 2010). Manifestation of compassion fatigue is characterized by both emotions and responses following exposure to people that are suffering.
Some of the indicators of brewing compassion fatigue may include feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, apathy and disengagement with the patients (Day & Anderson, 2011). Others may include a protracted physical fatigue and job dissatisfaction. Caregivers report experiencing general feelings of hopelessness and a change their perception of work from a profession to a job. They sense being overburdened, lacking in support and unrecognized for the physically and emotionally draining contribution in their work place. They also feel helpless in the sense that their added effort to save ...