One of the joys I have is teaching Compassion Fatigue to each class of new nurses at our hospital. This seminar helps to equip these registered nurses to take care of themselves while they serve in a high-stress career that too often leads to burnout within their first year. 

Those who work in the caregiving profession such as counselors, medical personnel, pastors, and social workers are especially susceptible to compassion fatigue. Simply put, it is physical and emotional exhaustion along with a decreased ability to empathize. It is the result of chronic stress. Experiencing it is more likely if ones’ personal life is simultaneously stressful. 

“A key component to being healthy is to practice diligent self-care. This means setting boundaries related to work and other obligations.”

There are many symptoms of it, some of which are: dreading work, feelings of irritability, anger or anxiety, depersonalization, isolating oneself, loss of pleasure in life, difficulty concentrating, feeling burdened by the suffering of others, feeling hopeless or powerless, frequent complaining about work, compulsive behaviors (overspending, overeating, sexual addictions), poor hygiene, indebtedness, chronic physical ailments, unusual weight gain/loss, impaired decision making, diminished sense of career fulfillment, denial. 

Caregivers are more susceptible because their vocational role requires an unusual degree of giving. Sometimes, caregivers are constantly concerned with the needs of others and wind up neglecting their own. 

A key component to being healthy is to practice diligent self-care. This means setting boundaries related to work and other obligations. It may include saying ‘no’ to overtime shifts, not taking on extra responsibilities at work or with volunteer opportunities. It requires maintaining a balance in diet, exercise, sleep, leisure versus work, healthy relationships, taking time for oneself, enlisting help from friends, utilizing a counselor, and being kind to oneself. Being kind to oneself can include gifting yourself with a special time away, a massage, a reward that boosts one’s spirits, or surrounding oneself with people who enrich and uplift. 

Regardless of one’s chosen profession, being compassionate is a means of blessing others as well as oneself. If you are in the caretaking profession, conscious self-care enables one to effectively serve others and to minimize compassion fatigue.