Compassion Fatigue

We may be constantly facing traumatic and complex situations in  the work environment, and even more so over the past few years with COVID-19. In these stressful situations, we may develop compassion fatigue or burnout by repeated exposure to the suffering of others, high stress environments and the continuous giving of self. This can put us at risk of poor mental health. This may negatively impact our own health and wellbeing, then affecting those we love the most. This can also impact co-workers, patients and the organisations we work for. 

It is critical to firstly identify the signs, symptoms and behaviours in ourselves. Are you  noticing changes to body or mind? Be self-aware and pay attention to these. Then introduce interventions to improve compassion satisfaction, therefore preventing burnout out and compassion fatigue in the longer term. Some interventions used in studies and in the workplace setting include gratitude, journalling, time outdoors and meditation. 

Here’s a few tips to get you started. 

At the end of your shift, use a small notebook or journal to write down your worries. Identify your biggest concern and how it is making you feel. Then write down three things you are grateful for that day. This will help to dampen our negative bias and strengthen the positive neural pathways in the brain. 

When a patient or family member of a patient, thanks you for your care, pause and let it  soak in. Take in the good. This may help to increase your positive emotions in that  moment, feel grateful for the opportunity and satisfied in the work you do to help  others. 

Would you like to learn more about how to navigate and prevent compassion fatigue? Watch our free recorded webinar Combating Compassion Fatigue

- Carli Phillips & Rosie Dunstan.

This webinar is brought to you by Corporate Wellbeing Hub (CWH). CWH are wellbeing experts including experienced facilitators, psychologists, resilience coaches, mindfulness leaders, mental health first aid instructors and nutritionists.