There is a price to be paid for being witness day after day to the pain and struggles of others. Accumulated exposure to many different struggles carries with it consequences for both clients and caregivers. As professionals we meet challenges each day with deep commitment and competence. Offering expertise and compassion often at the expense of time, health and self-care. Yet, rarely do we muster the courage to introspectively ask, “What do I need”?
Answering that question has a prerequisite. In order to understand what is needed there has to be an awareness of where the problem exists. Compassion fatigue embodies many different forms whether they are physical, emotional or spiritual signs of exhaustion. Usually the symptoms are normal displays of stress resulting from work performed on an day-to-day basis. This stress results in compassion fatigue, or even trauma, when it is allowed to accumulate over time without proper attention or debriefing. Warning signs and symptoms of Compassion Fatigue or Vicarious Trauma include:
- Emotional numbing (bottling emotions)
- Isolation from others
- Excessive complaining/blaming
- Over eating/spending
- Apathy
- Preoccupation
- Difficulty concentrating
- possibly Denial of fatigue/trauma
If you sense that you are suffering from compassion fatigue, chances are excellent that you are. Healing begins by employing simple practices such as regular exercise, healthy eating habits, enjoyable social activities, journaling, and restful sleep. Hopefully, this information will be of use to you and help you jump-start the healing process.
Mental Health Counseling helps in accepting the presence of compassion fatigue or vicarious traumas in your life. This acceptance only serves to validate the fact that you are a deeply caring individual. Somewhere along your healing path, the truth will present itself: You don’t have to make a choice. It is possible to practice healthy, ongoing self-care while successfully continuing to care for others.
Camishe R. Nunley, LMHC CTS