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It takes a big heart to help people who have been through so much in life.<\/span><\/p>\n From listening to giving these people the care they need, working with people who have experienced trauma is challenging but is also fulfilling.<\/span><\/p>\n Does your work involve dealing with people who have suffered trauma<\/a>?<\/span><\/p>\n Employees in the healthcare system may encounter a condition where they feel extreme distress and tiredness, and this is called compassion fatigue.<\/span><\/p>\n How can this affect our health caregivers, and what are the different signs of compassion fatigue?<\/span><\/p>\n Not everyone can effectively and efficiently deal with people who have experienced trauma. It takes a big heart to be there to listen and to show empathy. It’s admirable to see our health care workers take care of the people who have been through so much.<\/span><\/p>\n They may not have been there, directly exposed to the scene that caused the trauma, but as they hear the story, their empathy <\/a>takes over. These workers put their time, mind, and their heart into every patient they have.<\/span><\/p>\n Unfortunately, even health care workers can suffer from compassion fatigue.<\/span><\/p>\n The definition of compassion fatigue is the physical, psychological, and emotional impact of helping people who have experienced trauma.<\/span><\/p>\n Compassion fatigue<\/span><\/a> syndrome is also known as secondary traumatic stress, secondary stress reaction, or vicarious trauma. It can affect many of our caregivers and professionals.<\/span><\/p>\n Some people may think of this as a form of burnout, but it’s not the same.<\/span><\/p>\n Burnout, by definition, is physical and emotional exhaustion<\/a>. It can be because of your schedule, workload, toxic working environment, and such. It doesn’t specifically revolve around someone else’s traumatic experience.<\/span><\/p>\n With burnout, everyone, no matter what industry they are in, can experience it. However, burnout can be resolved by changing the nature of your work.<\/span><\/p>\n Now, what causes compassion fatigue is when the person helping becomes too involved in saving their patients that it starts to interfere with their own emotions.<\/span><\/p>\n Being in constant exposure to patients experiencing trauma can also impact the caregiver’s physical and mental health. It is where a caregiver experiences signs of compassion fatigue, such as physical and psychological exhaustion.<\/span><\/p>\n That is why it’s vital to be aware of the different signs of compassion fatigue. This way, you will know how you can start treating compassion fatigue.<\/span><\/p>\n Before we proceed with the signs and symptoms of compassion fatigue, we must first understand what can cause it.<\/span><\/p>\n According to <\/span>Grady Shumway<\/span><\/a>, LMHC:<\/span><\/p>\n Recognizing the sources of compassion fatigue is the first step in preventing burnout and protecting your well-being. With awareness and support, caregivers can learn to set healthy limits and sustain their capacity to help others.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Healthcare workers and chronic caregivers are the most susceptible people to compassion fatigue. Their job description requires them to care, listen, and devote themselves to caring and healing.<\/span><\/p>\n Chronic caregivers<\/span><\/p>\n Hospice Workers<\/span><\/p>\n Nurses\/Nurses Aids<\/span><\/p>\n Emergency care staff<\/span><\/p>\n Law Enforcement<\/span><\/p>\n Mental Health Professionals<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n – Being too close to a patient and losing them is one reason a healthcare worker can experience compassion fatigue.<\/span><\/p>\n – There are also instances where, despite all your efforts, you realize that you can’t save this person from a disease.<\/span><\/p>\n – For mental health professionals, there can be many triggers that can cause compassionate fatigue. Being threatened by a patient, being close to a patient, and then discovering they had committed suicide or giving care to someone who lost their child.<\/span><\/p>\n – Social workers who help survivors of domestic abuse. Sometimes, the abuse is so grave that the person giving aid also experiences the effects of it.<\/span><\/p>\n All of these situations can take a toll on the healthcare worker. It is the cost of caring for someone else. For some, having empathy is both a blessing and a curse.<\/span><\/p>\n If you are in the healthcare industry, then you have to know the compassion fatigue warning signs. This way, in any event that you start experiencing these signs, you would know what to do.<\/span><\/p>\n Signs of compassion <\/span>fatigue<\/span><\/a> can be different for everyone. Some people experience physical and emotional changes, while others experience mental or spiritual symptoms.<\/span><\/p>\n After a long day’s work, you try to rest and fall asleep, but you can’t. Thoughts of your patient’s situations haunt you, even in your sleep. <\/span><\/p>\n You become restless and have trouble falling asleep. Over time, this can take a toll on your mental and physical health.<\/span><\/p>\n Emotional intensity is how you express what you feel. It can be happiness, sadness, and even anger.<\/span><\/p>\n When you are experiencing compassion fatigue, you will have a hard time controlling these emotions<\/a>. It’s like feeling a complex of different feelings all at the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n This can be confusing, hurtful, and frustrating.<\/span><\/p>\n Because you’re too invested in the emotions that you are feeling, chances are, your judgment will also suffer. <\/span><\/p>\n Most of the time, instead of having a clear mind and analyzing the situation, you’re left with extreme emotions that cause a clouded or biased judgment.<\/span><\/p>\n When you work on cases where, for example, a child experiences extreme <\/span>abuse<\/span><\/a>, it’s normal to feel anger at the person who did it.<\/span><\/p>\n However, if anger becomes too much that it fills your heart with hate, and your work, judgments, and thoughts are affected, this is one of the signs of compassion fatigue.<\/span><\/p>\n You still have other patients, other cases to work on, but you can’t focus.<\/span><\/p>\n Your mind is filled with random thoughts, scenarios, plans, and so much more, yet you can’t put them into action, and you end up being unproductive.<\/span><\/p>\n Watch this video to learn how to focus better:<\/span>What is compassion fatigue?<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>What does compassion fatigue mean?<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>Is compassion fatigue the same as burnout?<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>What can cause compassion fatigue?<\/span><\/h2>\n
Some of them are:<\/b><\/h3>\n
Here are some compassion fatigue examples.<\/b><\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\n<\/span>15 Signs that you may be suffering from compassion fatigue<\/span><\/h2>\n
1. You have trouble sleeping<\/b><\/h3>\n
2. Increased emotional intensity<\/b><\/h3>\n
3. Impaired judgment<\/b><\/h3>\n
4. Anger and hatred towards the cause or perpetrators<\/b><\/h3>\n
5. You have trouble focusing<\/b><\/h3>\n