Are you a family caregiver? You might be suffering from compassion fatigue. What is compassion fatigue? It’s a state of emotional exhaustion experienced by individuals due to prolonged exposure to trauma and suffering of others, characterized by feelings of exhaustion, frustration, anger, and depression, and can negatively impact your quality of life and the care you provide for others.
Some people maintain that you can’t be a family caregiver for a long time without suffering the consequences of compassion fatigue. Part of being a family caregiver is being compassionate and experiencing the strain that comes with compassion. The word compassion actually means to “suffer with” someone. Bearing the suffering can be exhausting, but there are things you can do to prevent compassion fatigue. The answer isn’t less compassion, but enhanced resilience.
Below are some activities demonstrated to be effective in building resilience. Remember the essential nature of compassion fatigue is fatigue. Activities that reduce or prevent fatigue of all types will be effective in preventing compassion fatigue.
Find out what's happening in New Havenfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Activities proven to reduce compassion fatigue.
Relaxation/mindfulness exercises: Try the Apps Headspace or CALM for easy, guided relaxation exercises.
Sleep: Create a consistent schedule (Don’t vary more than an hour on non-work days. The body craves regularity even on weekends.)
Don’t watch nightly news before bedtime. The brain carries the stress of the world into your unconscious sleep time.
Develop a personal sleep ritual to cue your body that the day has ended and sleep is next. Things like a bath and PJs are cues to your body. Other things that work are sleepy tea, reading a few pages of a book, saying a few prayers. Just find something you can consistently do at bedtime. Some people take this time to cream their skin. Application of the lotion and gently massaging an area reminds the brain it’s time to shut down.
Regular Exercise. Exercise releases endorphins which automatically relaxes the body, Small amounts done daily help ensure peaceful sleep. This isn’t a strenuous, body building program, just gentle, regular exercise for 15-20 minutes. Don’t save it up and do 60 minutes at once. The goal is to relax the muscles, not build up fatigue in the muscles.
Learn to say “Not now,” There are so many things that need our attention when we’re caregivers and it’s not only the needs of the person for whom we provide care. Most of them are worthy of our attention, but our attention is a limited commodity. We don’t want to say “no” when asked for help. Learn instead to say, “I can’t do that right now, but I would like to help. Is there another time I could help you?” This enables you to be planful with the allocation of your time and even look forward to the activity instead of feeling overwhelmed because you really don’t have any free time.
Seek Support. Research shows that even virtual support is helpful in reducing stress. Email and texting with someone you feel a connection to can, make you laugh, relax, and feel supported. These are important factors in avoiding compassion fatigue. If you feel supported instead of isolated, your attitude will be positive and the care you provide will be less stressful for you.
Practice gratitude. Each day when you’re brushing your teeth, think of something you’re grateful for. Sometimes, it isn’t the things we have but rather the things we don’t have: like cancer, or dementia or homelessness or a child with substance abuse issues. Remember that all around us, people are dealing with multiple problems and are looking to us to help them. We can’t help anyone if we are running on fumes and don’t regularly refill our gas tank.
Caring for a family member is a hard job but it can also be a blessing if we take steps to combat fatigue in our life and avoid compassion fatigue.
