COMPASSION FATIGUE

THE ISSUE

If you are a caregiver, formal or informal, or if you are in a profession that requires you to care for or to support others -- either people, animals, or the environment, you may at some time experience compassion fatigue.

Simply put, compassion fatigue means that your ability to feel compassion is compromised due to chronic stress. Hans Sely, a medical pioneer in the field, defined stress as the 'nonspecific response to any demand, including the efforts to cope with the wear and tear in the body caused by life at any one time". (The Stress of Life, Hans Sely, M.D, 1956). Stress is the failure of the body to adapt to these demands.

Complete the short ProQOL checklist below to see if you may suffer from compassion fatigue.

The good news is this condition is being studied and considered by increasing numbers of professionals in diverse fields -- psychology and neuroscience are examples. Compassion fatigue now has a working vocabulary, and it has many informed, creative people contributing ideas on ways to help you deal with or minimize your compassion fatigue.

Photo by Sam Tresco: Idaho Sunset 2010

Please visit our Professional Development page for information on our Compassion Fatigue workshops.

HELP FOR YOU

ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH

:hover and click

This cutting edge E-course has been made possible by recent innovations in E-learning technology, combined with the remarkable advances in new research along with our rich experience with program participants over the past decade. We know so much more now about the mechanisms of stress and trauma, and the wide-ranging physical, psychological and interpersonal impacts. We also know much more about how to effectively manage these specialized stresses and how to recover from their harmful effects.

YOGA RESOURCES

WHY YOGA?

Again, simply put, yoga exercises and breathing techniques can offer:

1. an accessible and simple way to immediately lower your blood pressure, heart rate, and stress hormone levels (and of your clients)

2. another facet to your self-care plan that includes physical and emotional ways to strengthen the mind and body

3. a way to retrain the brain to help the mind work in a more positive, healthier way

4. a way to address both anxiety and depression -- perk up or calm down, yoga can do both.

And that's just the short list.

For those with an established yoga practice, please visit our FREE page for some ideas on

things to do in the office setting or at home.

For those looking to begin using yoga as a self-help tool:

SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS.

Here are some easy steps to help you incorporate this simple tool into your personal self-care stress management box of tools.

1. Set yourself up for success from the start. If you have 5 minutes, start with 5 minutes. Learn some easy stretching and breathing techniques -- go to our FREE page and enjoy the breaks, both mp3s and some written ideas. All under 5 minutes. It will grow naturally from there as you meet with success and like how it feels.

2. Share the 5 minute breaks with others -- either family, clients, coworkers, or friends. Post one of the stress breaks from the FREE page in the break room at work -- spread some seeds of stress management.

3. If you are new to yoga, try 20-30 minutes of a yoga dvd at home to become familar with it. There are so many kinds of yoga, and styles of teaching, find one that resonates with you. Look until you have found one that meets your needs now.

4. Find a yoga class, but make sure it meets your physical needs. Read the class description before you go -- some are for beginners and some geared for more advanced students. Go to class a few minutes early and chat with the teacher about the class and any concerns or questions you may have. Always remember, a teacher should make you feel safe. If that is not happening for you, please leave the class.

OTHER RESOURCES

Use this simple check list for yourself to assess your degree of risk or buffering to compassion fatigue. The first step to solving problem is to identify it. Professional Qualify of Life Scale: Compassion Satisfaction and Fatigue Subscales-Revision IV (ProQOL) http://www.proqol.org/ProQol_Test.html.

Books:

Help for the Helper by Babette Rothschild. Give special attention to Chapter 3 for insights as to why yoga can be an extremely helpful tool in overcoming compassion fatigue.

"Again, common sense. The more adept you become at recognizing, tracking an evaluating the level of arousal in your own body, the better you will be able to regulate your arousal and mediate your own risks for compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and burnout." (p. 104) This awareness of both physical and mental conditions is a key in any yoga practice.

Trauma Stewardship by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky.

"Remembering that we have the freedom to choose our path is a central tenet to this book." Indeed, it is, and the book speaks to people who work in a variety of fields, including those who work with animals and the environment. The practice of yoga can be a tool in rewiring the brain, in helping one to embrace the conscious choices of change.

Train the Mind Change the Brain by Sharon Begley.

The Dalai Lama posed the question to western neuroscientists: Can thought change the way the brain functions? The answer is filled with hope for all ages: yes.

Mindfulness and yoga, both the physical and intellectual components, can help rewire the brain - yoga is a tool for neuroplasticity, or the abiltiy of the brain to change. As it turns out, science has shown us that "attention is indespensible for neuroplasticity". (p. 158) A fundamental benefit of yoga is the fostering of the ability to be aware, to pay attention to the present.

Websites:

Françoise Mathieu, M.Ed., CCC. Compassion Fatigue Solutions:http://www.compassionfatigue.ca/ http://compassionfatiguesolutions.blogspot.com/

Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project http://www.compassionfatigue.org/pages/compassionfatigue.html

Compassion Fatigue: An Introduction by Charles Figley, Ph.D. http://www.giftfromwithin.org/html/cmpfatig.html

Some Useful Articles:

Transforming Compassion Fatigue Into Compassion Satisfaction: Top 12 Self-Care Tips for Helpers, by Françoise Mathieu, M.Ed., CCC., Compassion Fatigue Specialist. Rehab and Community Care Medicine, Spring 2007.

Running On Empty: Compassion Fatigue in Health Professionals, by Françoise Mathieu, M.Ed., CCC., Compassion Fatigue Specialist. 2007

Low Impact Disclosure: How to Stop Sliming Each Other, by Françoise Mathieu, M.Ed., CCC., Compassion Fatigue Specialist. 2008..

The Art and Science of Caring for Others without Forgetting Self-Care, by Charles R. Figley, 2007.