COMBATING COMPASSION FATIGUE

[Name] [Course] [Institution] [Professor] [Date] Concepts of compassion fatigue Many workers in the helping and caring professions are witnesses to their clients or patient`s trauma and troubles. Their work entails caring for other people, and many find themselves taking on the pain of those they care for. With the images of the patient`s trauma and pain, continual feelings of care and empathy with disregard to personal emotional and physical needs can be detrimental. Caring for and helping out suffering and / or traumatized people may result in compassion fatigue. Witnessing life threatening illnesses, bereavement, impending death or sudden traumatic death are part of the experiences of workers in the health / caring industry. The pain patients go through is witnessed firsthand and this is always not good for workers psychology. (Showalter, 2010 pp. 239). Health workers are extremely vulnerable to emotional and physical fatigue. This paper explores the nature and causes this phenomenon. Examples of coping strategies to be used by the caregiver will be addressed. Cathy Gilmore defines compassion fatigue as "Emotional, physical, social and spiritual exhaustion that overtakes a person and causes a pervasive decline in his or her desire to, ability and energy to feel and care for others" (Gilmore, 2012). Apathy is lack of concern, feeling, interest or emotions. When the caregiver has given so much care and attention to the patient and all emotional reserves get used up, the caregiver may turn uncaring since the emotional resource has not been replenished. The psychological part of the caregiver becomes emotionless. He or she no longer finds pleasure in work and sees the work as a burden. Feelings of inadequacy, internal turmoil and lack of accomplishment take over. Concentration with work often decreases and productivity plummets. This trends usually leads to absenteeism, tardiness and may culminate in job termination due to complains f...