Compassion Fatigue: Why It Starts & How To Recover
Whether you’ve just started in the industry, or you’ve been practicing for 20 years, you have certainly heard of compassion fatigue. If you’re feeling drained, exhausted, and like you are burned out–you may be suffering from compassion fatigue.
Compassion fatigue can start from taking on the emotions of so many patients, clients, and coworkers. It can start with sadness, exhaustion, resentment towards your job, and can quickly escalate if the appropriate measures aren’t taken.
The most important thing to do when you are struggling with compassion fatigue is to take care of yourself first. This may mean taking a break or a vacation, and that is okay. The Mental Health Services Administration says that there are four key areas to taking care of yourself: adequate sleep, good nutrition, regular physical activity, and active relaxation.
It can also be beneficial to reach out to your colleagues, coworkers, and managers and let them know what you are feeling. It can be very hard to know that someone is struggling if they do not tell you. Finding a licensed therapist in your area can also be beneficial, as they are clinically trained to help with issues such as compassion fatigue and burnout.
Please know that you are never alone, even though this is a tough field. There are numerous resources for coping with and recovering from compassion fatigue. For more tips for coping with compassion fatigue, check out this article from the AVMA:
https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/wellbeing/work-and-compassion-fatigue
Written by: Morgan Guiffre