Warning Signs for Concepts of Compassion Fatigue - Assignment Example

Combating compassion fatigue Introduction Compassion fatigue entails the physical and emotional exhaustion that a person experiences causing them to have a decline in the ability to feel compassion for those under their care. Compassion fatigue occurs because of the cumulative internalization of the emotions of the patients, co-workers, friends, and family issues. The resultant effect of compassion fatigue as witnessed today within the healthcare industry is that it costs the industry millions of dollars every year from the resulting effects of stress, burnout and employee turnover (Ochberg & Gift from Within (Organization), 2012). In its entirety, compassion fatigue occurs when the caregiver remains focused on processes of giving care to others that they fail to realize and provide care for themselves. Nature of the problems and their causes Notably, most of the caregivers went into the practice with the hope of facilitating assistance to those in need. Additionally, the caregivers rely extensively on their compassionate capacity to manage the intensity of the work that comes with the profession. However, at times, the intensity of the various situations and life experiences that the caregivers encounter causes them vulnerable to the possibilities of suffering compassion fatigue. In its nature, compassion fatigue entails all the symptoms that the caregiver experience causing them to suffer from overwhelming exposure to physical and emotional stressors that leave them feeling traumatized as helpers (Ochberg & Gift from Within (Organization), 2012). The core causes of the cases of compassion fatigue; thus, entail the exposure to the stressors that cause their feelings and experiences face challenges in managing their actions. Notably, the encounter with the clients exposes the caregivers to various elements, which can significantly affect the cause of personal development of the caregiver. For instance, in a case where the caregiver is engaging with clients who suffer fears, pain, extreme suffering, intrusive thoughts, nightmares and hyper-vigilance; they face aspects of cumulative stresses. The caregiver bares the suffering of such people, in addition, to that of their personal lives such as family and friend issues can result to significant buildup of extreme states of anxiety and preoccupation of such sufferings (Ochberg & Gift from Within (Organization), 2012). These developments constitute the causative agents of the situations where the caregivers suffer compassion fatigue. The caregivers suffer vicarious traumatization, which results in various aspects of emotional, physical and spiritual symptoms (Branch, 2013). Moreover, the nature of the cases of compassion fatigue is such that the persons suffering the same may find it hard to identify that they have the condition. The element of denial can remarkably impair the identification of occurrences of compassion fatigue, which may lead to the rising issues of employee turnover, burnout and stress. The training of the caregivers develops their capacity to depict compassion, empathy and concern. However, the collective exposure to the agents and situations leading to strenuous aspects is the leading causative agent of compassion fatigue (Ochberg & Gift from Within (Organization), 2012). Prolonged exposure to the events that are traumatic during work, increased personal life demands and isolation from the social life all lead in increasing vulnerability for compassion fatigue. Therefore, understanding this nature of the condition and its causative agents is key to further identifying the signs and symptoms of the condition and further establishing the core strategies to manage the condition. Warning signs for concepts of compassion fatigue There are several signs that indicate aspects of incoming concepts of compassion fatigue. Notably, some include feelings or experiencing tiredness before even starting that workday. The caregiver lacks the energy to start work, feeling tired when they get to the workstation yet they are just reporting to work (Ochberg & Gift from Within (Organization), 2012). Secondly, the person experiencing symptoms of declining enjoyment in the leisure activities organized while at work. Additionally, lacking interest in leisure activity due to factors that result from work is another symptom witnessed. Another sign that depicts these rising issues of compassion fatigue in the caregiver is sudden change in the compulsive behaviors of the person (Ochberg & Gift from Within (Organization), 2012). For instance, the caregiver that usually does not take alcohol excessively suddenly starts overdrinking. Other compulsive acts that depict compassion fatigue include overeating and overspending, which affect the capacity of the caregiver to deliver service while at work. Such developments depict compassion fatigue occurring in the person. Moreover, the caregiver also develops certain behaviors such as regular and increased complaining and blaming while at the working place or in their personal lives. The person suffers from irritation resulting from minimal aggravating elements (Ochberg & Gift from Within (Organization), 2012). Moreover, the irritation also leads to aspects of retaliatory behavior, for instance, where the caregiver is attending to patient who suffered violence, and then the caregiver becomes emotional and starts behaving in irritated manner. These signs indicate the caregiver is facing symptoms of compassion fatigue. Moreover, the person suffering the developments of compassion fatigue also depicts signs of feeling estranged from the society, specifically those with close relations with the person (Ochberg & Gift from Within (Organization), 2012). The person has trouble in sharing or describing his feelings with the people around him. Another symptom that the person exhibits is the aspect of having trouble in falling asleep. The person finds it hard to get sleep and stay in sleep, suffering short spasms of disturbed sleep. Additionally, the person suffers aspects of startling easily and from minor happenings. The person finds it uneasy to stay calm, and minor happenings in their lives startle them remarkably. Another symptom that the persons experience is that they encounter flashbacks connected to the clients and the families of those they give care. These flashbacks may develop to include aspects of hallucinations, which depict themselves in the caregiver experiencing compassion fatigue (Branch, 2013). The person also suffers from feeling that they need close friend and family to engage; however, these people are not available leading to increasing stress from loneliness and solitude. These feelings cause the person to feel that the people around them do not care over their experiences. The caregiver also experiences feelings of hopelessness associated with the work activities and family. Depression sets in the life of the person at higher levels of engagement and causes the person face difficulties in separating their personal life from the working life (Ochberg & Gift from Within (Organization), 2012). These developments also impair the thoughts of the person regarding their co-workers and challenges in fulfilling their personal goals. Worthlessness, disillusionment, and resentment associated with work also occur as feelings in the life of the person. These signs are key in identifying the corresponding developments that depict the person suffering from compassion fatigue. The physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the caregiver The caregiver needs to have an entirely balanced life to ensure they maintain healthy lives. The caregiver has emotional, physical and spiritual needs to maintain a balanced working, as well as, family life. The physical needs of the caregiver entails exercise (Branch, 2013). Notably, most caregivers facilitate care to their clients at confines of the offices. Thus, they lack the physical exercise needed to maintain a balanced body activity. Therefore, the caregiver needs to have physical exercise to stay fit. The emotional needs of the caregiver entail a balanced emotional strength. The caregiver needs to live a life free from stressing factors and experiences that impair their mental orientation (Ochberg & Gift from Within (Organization), 2012). Thus, the strategic management needs to incorporate emotional development for the caregivers. The spiritual aspect involves the relational development of the caregiver (Branch, 2013). Caregivers who practice religious beliefs have better chances of managing their stressors. Therefore, the caregivers need to engage and initiate their spiritual affiliations to ensure they get the spiritual nourishment to keep them rejuvenated. These elements are key in developing the caregiver accordingly. Coping strategies and resources In combating the strenuous issue of compassion fatigue, it is essential to establish an all inclusive management strategy. The core strategies also need associated resources to support their action plan. The measures to engage include firstly, exercise. Physical exercise is among the pillars of personal development. Therefore, the benefits of both physical and mental exercise facilitate in producing a productive person, fully active during the working time (Ochberg & Gift from Within (Organization), 2012). Therefore, the institutions where the caregiver works need to facilitate resources where the caregivers exercise, such as gym and workshops for mental exercise. Second strategy for coping with compassion fatigue is to establish and maintain personal life. The person suffering compassion fatigue depicts signs of withdrawal from those they need. However, maintaining personal relationships eliminates the aspects of isolation and allows the caregiver access to supportive people (Ochberg & Gift from Within (Organization), 2012). The resources needed entail having personal gatherings such as having dinner, prayer meditation and time with friends. These develop the personal life of the caregiver eliminating emotional and mental stressors. The third strategy is to establish boundaries for the various lives of the caregiver. Notably, the caregiver needs to separate their personal and work life. It is essential for the caregiver to note that they cannot solve all problems. Therefore, setting limitations gives the caregiver the position to separate themselves from situations and cases those are potential stressors to their lives (Ochberg & Gift from Within (Organization), 2012). Moreover, it also allows the person realize the various aspects that constitute the work environment; hence, managing the cases that may result in compassion fatigue. Further, the strategies also can institute self-recharging mechanisms, which re-energize the person to allow hem live healthy lives. The caregiver, in this strategy, develops their life in areas where they gain enjoyment such as meeting with friends, prayer meditation, sleeping and eating well, as well as, developing a sense of humor. These factors facilitate the emotional and spiritual development of the caregiver. The last strategy to manage compassion fatigue is to establish means of assisting the caregivers recognize the signs of compassion fatigue and initiate measures to take action (Ochberg & Gift from Within (Organization), 2012). Most caregivers experience denial, which aggravates the condition. Therefore, facilitating the resources for the caregiver to recognize the signs of compassion fatigue will facilitate the successful recovery for the patient. Therefore, these strategies are essential to care of the caregiver in developing wholly while delivering quality care. References Branch, C. (2013). Compassion fatigue: Prevalence among nurses at a midwest pediatric hospital. St. Louis, Mo : University of Missouri Ochberg, F., & Gift from Within (Organization). (2012). When helping hurts: Preventing and treating compassion fatigue. Gift from Within. Read More