What is Compassion Fatigue?
The term “compassion fatigue” refers to the negative effects of helping others on one’s body, mind, and spirit, frequently as a result of stress or traumatic events. It puts emphasis on crisis and trauma counsellors, who offer therapy to people with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
As a result of helping or wanting to help a traumatised person; red cross employees, nurses, medical professionals, and other caregivers frequently develop secondary traumatic stress disorder (STSD) or “compassion fatigue” themselves.
It is often confused with compassion fatigue and is also referred to as burnout, which is a long-term feeling of exhaustion or dissatisfaction.
What are compassion fatigue and compassion stress?
Compassion fatigue is a condition characterised by emotional and physical exhaustion that reduces one’s capacity for empathy and compassion. It is frequently referred to as the unfavourable side effect of caring.
Compassion stress is a type of Compassion fatigue that can be referred to as second-hand shock and secondary stress reaction. It is a term used to describe a type of stress brought on by helping or desiring to help people who are traumatized or experiencing severe emotional stress. It is also
Ways nurses can combat compassion fatigue
1. Be kind to yourself
It is critical to be kind to yourself, especially when you are under a lot of stress at work.
Spend at least 10 to 15 minutes a day away from work doing something you enjoy, whether it’s time in nature, walking, or spending time with friends – anything that will replenish your emotional cup. Regardless of how hard you work, try to be gentle with yourself.
Being gentle basically means admitting that you are human… Recognizing that you are capable of making mistakes in some way and acting accordingly. Instead of berating yourself when you “mess things up” or things don’t go as planned, treat yourself with kindness and compassion.
2. Professional Limits
To balance one‘s personal and professional involvement, nurses can benefit from learning to set appropriate boundaries. Between compassion and over-involvement, there is a fine line.
Professional boundaries are “the limits that protect the space between the professional’s power and the patient’s vulnerability,” according to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.
Overstepping boundaries can be detrimental to your well-being and nurse-patient therapeutic relationship. If professional boundaries aren’t upheld, it may lead to legal problems, burnout, high staff turnover, moral distress, compassion fatigue, and even negative mental health effects.
3. Consider what you’re eating.
Instead of becoming stressed and reaching for sugary snacks, be mindful of eating healthily and frequently to refuel yourself. One cannot deny that nursing as a profession is both challenging and rewarding. However, if you don’t take care of yourself, your overall health may suffer.
As a result, good dietary choices and an active lifestyle are essential for all those who want to be good nurses. It you concentrate on promoting healthy eating behaviours. You will not only perform better as a nurse but also be more productive if you maintain healthy habits such as a nutrient-rich diet and high levels of physical fitness.
4. Maintain a work-life balance.
Maintain a well-balanced work-life. Many nurses feel obligated to work overtime if their unit is understaffed. Overwork or exhaustion can result in poorer patient outcomes, increased stress, burnout, and other health issues such as compassion fatigue.
Give yourself permission to say “no.” Understanding and recognising the signs of compassion fatigue can help you manage it and help others more effectively.
Make a list of the tools you can use to build resilience. Consider professional counselling if you constantly struggle to maintain boundaries. Accept that taking care of yourself is an important part of caring for your patients. Resurrect
5. Spend time relaxing.
It’s easy to stay on the treadmill of life but you need to take yourself down to baseline anxiety level. This could be by doing something as simple as listening to music, doing mindfulness exercises, tai chi, or anything that helps with your breathing.
Try to practice when you’re not feeling stressed so you can use it as a tool when you are.
6. Allow time for meditation.
Nurses frequently put their own needs aside to care for sick people. Patient care has long been regarded as a stressful profession, with the perioperative setting being especially challenging.
This Chronic stress and burnout have had a negative impact on perioperative nurses since then.
Mindfulness meditation can assist nurses in reducing stress, gaining insight, and improving performance. Regular meditation has been shown by researchers to provide numerous health benefits.
Meditation has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety, and burnout in healthcare professionals while also increasing resilience.
Here are ten compelling reasons to meditate:
- To develop patience and tolerance.
- To concentrate on the present.
- Reduce your stress levels
- Facilitate better communication
- To enhance concentration
- Reducing negative emotions
- Developing a fresh perspective
- Develop stress-management skills.
- Improving self-awareness.
- Increasing one’s imagination and creativity.
7. Reenergize yourself on daily basis
If you’re experiencing daily exhaustion, it may be beneficial to take some steps to reactivate yourself. After a long day, it can be tempting to simply sit in front of the television. However, this usually makes you feel even more tired.
Rather than sitting down to recharge, get up and move around. Even 10-20 minutes of walking or biking can leave you feeling energised for hours. It’s critical to pay attention to your mind when it comes to recharging your personal battery.
Thinking about the things that irritate us makes it difficult to recharge. Here are the simple best ideas to help you relax and energise your mind:
a)Take a relaxing bath.
b) Aromatherapy
c) Get more rest.
d) Exercise
e) Meditate
8. Practice Self-care
To be able to care for others, you must first take care of yourself. You cannot assist others if you are incapacitated. The same holds true for nurses. Many nurses underestimate the value of self-care. This is a set of regular practices and actions that nurses should engage in to reduce stress and help them live longer, healthier lives.
You can’t keep giving to others if you don’t first give to yourself. Self-care is frequently overlooked in nursing.
Nurses must believe it is selfish, and in particular, must practise good self-care if they are physically and emotionally exhausted. Self-care is not a luxury, but rather a daily discipline, similar to brushing your teeth.
Self-care does not have to be a time-consuming or complicated process. This is due to the fact that self-care relieves stress, replenishes a nurse’s capacity for compassion and empathy, and improves care quality.