Compassion fatigue was most common among those in the helping professional but over recent years with the instantaneous media coverage it has bled over into a multitude of people’s lives.
Some symptoms of compassion fatigue are:
Feeling burdened by the suffering of others
Blaming others for their suffering
Isolating yourself
Loss of pleasure in life
Difficulty concentrating
Physical and mental fatigue
Bottling up your emotions
Increased nightmares
Feelings of hopelessness or powerlessness
Frequent complaining about your work or your life
Overeating
Excessive use of drugs or alcohol
Poor self-care
Beginning to receive a lot of complaints about your work or attitude
Denial
Some helpful tools to reduce compassion fatigue are:
Clarify your personal boundaries
Be kind to yourself
Express what you need verbally, and
Take positive action to change your environment (speak up to colleagues, family, friends, etc.)
Connect with friends and/or family who can validate your needs.
Limit the amount of daily news you watch or read about.
Use gratitude.
Take time off from work if needed for rest and resetting.
Use breath work to regulate your nervous system.
Remember: you can not feed someone who is hungry from an empty spoon (you’re the spoon!). Take care of yourself & take time to rest so you can provide the best care to those around you.
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