Compassion Fatigue Essay

Tahereh Mafi, Shatter MeThe health complaint industry is made up of nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals who be dedicated to the wish and healing of others. The forward-looking medical field is a very fast-paced, nerve-wracking, and demanding environment. Often, the constant stress and demands of the frolic lav adversely affect the health apportion provider. Not surprisingly, those who go into the health get by industry, do so be stimulate they nominate a sincere desire to sire a difference in peoples lives and provide care for a patients spiritual, mental, and carnal demand.However, this type of career requires brawn and dedication way beyond that of other comparable careers. Compassion wear d ingest is a common side-effect. Compassion tire out sewer be delimit as, the gradual decline of shame over age as a result of caregivers being exposed to events that assimilate traumatized their patients (Cherry 497). In fact, the damage that results from this fix has been linked to more sick days, high turnover rates, and decreased productivity. If left(a) untreated, this condition behind adversely affect patient safety, so it is alert that hospitals and health care providers are able to accurately recognize mercy tire and treat it early. (Landro, L. 2012)Compassion is an important and critical gift necessary for the care of others. Compassion can be defined as, sympathetic consciousness of others engendering together with a desire to alleviate it (Merriam-Webster 2013). No one is insubordinate to compassion sap. In fact, anyone caring for another person can suffer from it. However, compassion fatigue is more prevalent in the health care industry due to the extenuating nature of the work. The reality is that healthcare providers have an exhausting array of job duties that entail lengthy shifts, self-importanceless(prenominal) service, fadeless dedication, love, and compassion. Due to the extreme demands, medical professionals often neglect their own individual(prenominal) needs for the sake of others. Every single day, healthcare professionals come seem to face with disease, illness, decline in health, and death. Over era, it can be fabulously traumatizing.Compassion is a verb. Thich Nhat HanhIf not prevented or left untreated, compassion fatigue can forbidly affect a caregiver ruttishly, spiritually, cognitively, physically and behaviorally. exemplar signs can manifest themselves in a variety of ways.The emotional effectuate of compassion fatigue can overwhelm mood disturbances, increased apathy, lassitude, irritability, discontentment, hopelessness, aggressiveness, hostility, numbness, and helplessness. (Eagan, T. 2012) new(prenominal) signs may include oversensitivity, restlessness, depression, anxiety, and even substance abuse. (Lombardo, B., Eyre, C., 2011)The spiritual effects of compassion fatigue may often be harder to pinpoint. Warning signs may include subtle things such as startin g to question ones purpose in life, an change magnitude sense of disbelief or an increasing sense of aimlessness. (Ginter, C. 2010). The caregiver may start to question their personal unearthly beliefs, become increasingly skeptical and even question lifes meaning. (Portnoy, D. 2011)The cognitive effects of compassion fatigue can be easier to identify. Its subdued to observe when someone is having difficulty concentrating or is unable to counseling on tasks and duties that are critical to the job. The work ethic and performance of the healthcare provider may also be affected, resulting in increased absences, gloomy morale, decreased motivation, and overall negativity in the workplace. This not only affects the healthcare provider, but also their co-workers and patients.The physical effects of compassion fatigue can include, but are not limited to headaches, chronic pain, sleep disturbances, fatigue, and self neglect (poor diet, lack of exercise, poor hygiene). (Eagan, T. 2012) Other physical effects can include gastrointestinal complaints, hypertension, (Pfifferling, J., Gilley, K. 2000) muscle tension and cardiac symptoms (chest pain, tachycardia, and palpitations. (Lombardo, B., Eyre, C., 2011) Behavioral changes can include isolating, withdrawing, extreme hyper-vigilance, (Portnoy, D. 2011) apathy or extreme anxiety to work, avoiding, faking interest, blaming, restlessness, and even inappropriate humor (Ginter, C. 2010).I would rather make mis films in kindness and compassion than work miracles in unkindness and hardness. Mother Teresa, A Gift for God Prayers and MeditationsAlthough compassion fatigue can be an easy difficulty to identify, the specific causes of this condition are often varied and harder to pinpoint. The stressful nature of a healthcare career can certainly do the perfect storm. Overall, health care professionals can feel worried about things like control over workload, lack of acknowledgment or appreciation of doing a good job. Li festyle changes can also cause compassion fatigue. If the person is working too much without taking period off to relax, taking on too much responsibility with no help from others, not getting enough sleep, or not having a declareive relationship in their personal life, it becomes easier for compassion fatigue to develop. state with certain personality traits (pessimistic, perfectionist, those who do not delegate, and type A, and overachievers) are particularly predisposed to experiencing compassion fatigue or burnout. The constant exposure to negative situations, stress, loss, and bounteous more than receiving, in addition to having a more extreme personality, can increase the risk of ontogeny compassion fatigue. (Frandsen, B. 2010) Compassion fatigue is caused by empathy. It is the natural consequence of stress resulting from caring for and helping traumatized or suffering people (Portnoy, D. 2011). In the medical field, nurses, doctors, and other health care providers often witness pain, suffering and death first-hand. They play numerous roles with less time, resources and support. The increased demands and stress along with the constant exposure to negative and traumatic events can build up over time and put anyone at risk for compassion fatigue.Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, beneficence cannot survive. Dalai Lama XIV, The Art of HappinessA caregiver is not so different from a patient. Both caregiver and patient have physical, spiritual, and emotional needs that must be met. When their own needs are neglected, caregivers are unable to properly care for their patients. In short, theyre hurting themselves as well as the patients. Maintaining regular exercise, staying hydrated, staying productive, eating healthy and taking time to rest and relax are critical ways to reduce the chances of developing compassion fatigue.Although spiritual beliefs may be different from person to person, it is life-sustaining to nourish an d grow in ones faith. Those needs may be different depending on beliefs and may include going to perform on a regular basis, taking the time to pray or meditate, speaking with a church leader, reading scriptures, or having time exclusively to reflect and think. There are many different ways a caregiver can begin to focus on their spiritual health. (StopPain.org 2013) mad needs are another important area that should be nurtured. wound up needs are just as important as physical and spiritual needs. A caregiver may need time to mentally unwind, have peace and quiet, laugh and cry, and tune in to their personal experiences and emotions. victorious short breaks to renew emotional energy and doing things that bring you joy and merriment are ways to increase and improve emotional health. (StopPain.org 2013) By make sure the needs of the caregiver are met, the caregiver, patients, and even the company allow for benefit from it.There are many ways to cope with compassion fatigue. Perh aps the most important way of addressing the needs of the caregiver is to accommodate compassion fatigue when necessary and take aggressive steps to give ear caregivers in take a chanceing supportive coping strategies. Some coping strategies concord to Varner, J. (2004) include asking for assistance and support from peers or other support groups, staying positive, smiling and talking to peers, using humor to decrease anxiety and tension, giving comfort through physical contact, taking breaks with peers and not alone, using problem solving tools, generating solutions, and focusing specifically on tasks at hand.Learning how to poise work and life essentially means learning how to invest the time and energy into taking care of oneself in outrank to effectively take care of others. Putting together a plan of self-care (journaling, yoga, meditation, exercise, proper diet, doing things that you find pleasure in, and doing non work related activities) as well as educating yourself an d others on communication skills is vital in preventing compassion fatigue. Employers can aid in combating compassion fatigue by offering on-site counseling, support groups, de-briefing sessions, and trial interventions (Boyle, D., 2011) that all work together to give employees the tools and skills needed for prevention.Early recognition of compassion fatigue is vital to anyone in a caring profession. Maintaining and constantly improving self-care and creating optimal wellness are crucial in order to properly care for others. .Caregivers need to be able to deliver rectitude without compromising their well-being(Portnoy, D. 2011). Caregivers often neglect their own personal needs for the sake of others and need to realize the importance of focusing on their own needs first. By taking care of their own needs and ensuring they have a life that entails supportive relationships, health care providers will be able to successfully care for their patients long-term.