Compassion fatigue refers to the physical, emotional, and psychological impact of serving in a helping role. These experiences leave people feeling depleted, rundown, and disconnected from the things that matter most to them. If this describes you, read on to learn tools you can start implementing today.
A quick note on the idea of self-care for compassion fatigue. Being told to “fix it yourself” can be extremely frustrating when so much of compassion fatigue is driven by factors out of your control. You can’t meditate your way out of insufficient resources in your workplace. Eating a healthy lunch doesn’t magically fix the housing needs of a family you may have just met with.
Working on yourself doesn’t mean that you are condoning the disappointing realities of your field. But, you have a lot more power to influence yourself than to influence the massive systems that make decisions on your behalf. This leaves you with one of two options: 1) Change nothing and wait for systems to improve over time; or 2) Take charge of what you can while you wait for systems to improve. Option 1 is guaranteed to leave you feeling the same or worse, whereas Option 2 opens the door for greater wellbeing.
Strategies for Addressing Compassion Fatigue
Pay attention to your own stress levels and responses: One of the most critical things you can do is start to build awareness of what you are experiencing as opposed to pushing away these painful thoughts and feelings. What changes have you noticed in yourself? How have they impacted you and those around you?
Ask for help and support from as many places as you need: Be sure to reach out to the right people for different needs. No one person can provide every kind of support.
Seek out other staff and volunteers in your organization to process your shared experiences, both wins and losses. Acknowledge the profound impact you made and reflect on the limits of what you were able to do in a given situation.
Stay in regular contact with family and friends outside of your organization, even if it’s just to catch up or chat about something unrelated to work.
Look inward. Follow the advice you’d give your loved ones in a similar situation, and treat yourself with the same compassion and understanding.
Seek out professional help when needed.
Tend to your physical and mental health: Although this overused advice can seem overly simplistic, it truly holds weight: Our physical health has a profound impact on our mental health. Strengthening this foundation helps protect us from the harmful impacts of stress.
Regularly get enough hours of restful sleep.
Eat healthy foods.
Stay physically active.
Try different tools for stress management, like mindfulness, breathing exercises, and journaling.
Spend time doing things that are aligned with your core values, even when it feels exhausting or impossible to make time for.
Rely on your tried-and-true self-care strategies. After all, you know best what makes you feel good in mind and body.
Take breaks that actually recharge your battery: Taking a break when needed is not “giving up” or “being lazy.” In fact, by allowing yourself to recharge, you can better show up in your everyday life.
Know what your boundaries are, and respect them. For example, if your social media accounts are pushing content that worsens your symptoms, block and/or change settings.
Take breaks from aspects of work that are particularly challenging, if you’re able to. Instead, use this time to engage in productive, personally fulfilling activities that still contribute meaningfully to the mission.
Get the right kinds of rest. True rest involves doing things you enjoy and that recharge your battery even if they involve more time or effort.
When to Seek Additional Support
For many reasons, such as a lack of time or capacity, sometimes we realize we need to start working on addressing compassion fatigue when things have gone a step too far.
Signs that you may benefit from additional support include recurring upsetting thoughts or memories, strong and ongoing feelings of anxiety or sadness, irritability or anger that is interfering with your relationships or other areas of life, persistent difficulty sleeping, nightmares, or reliance on unhelpful behaviors to cope.
Finding a therapist with experience treating compassion fatigue can be helpful for working through a challenging time, recharging, and reconnecting with your mission and purpose.
If you’re interested in learning more, or you’re ready to address compassion fatigue, reach out to CVB Living.
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