How to cope with compassion fatigue

The demands placed on a carer can often lead to what experts call “compassion fatigue”. Here’s everything you need to know.

Being a carer is an allconsuming responsibility, whether you’re doing hands-on personal care or managing care from a distance. That can put you at risk for compassion fatigue.

Compassion fatigue can be a side-effect of caring for someone in need. It causes physical and emotional exhaustion and reduces your ability to empathise.

fatigue significantly impacts your health and wellbeing. It also reduces your ability to care for your older adult. You can’t be engaged, warm and caring because you just don’t have it in you anymore.

To protect yourself, it’s essential to learn good self-care strategies and coping techniques. Here, we explain how it’s different from caregiver burnout, share the symptoms to watch for, and give eight tips for how to deal with what you’re experiencing.

Compassion fatigue is basically a chronic, low-level cloud over the care and concern you have for your older adult

It’s common in doctors, nurses and other health professionals, and is also called secondary traumatic stress. You basically get stressed from continually helping or wanting to help others who are suffering.

If it’s not managed properly, compassion

Compassion fatigue vs burnout

Compassion fatigue and burnout have similar symptoms, but there are some key differences. Burnout usually develops over time. The major signs of burnout include emotional and physical exhaustion, feelings of negativity and indifference, and feeling like you’re not getting the job done.

Compassion fatigue, on the other hand, happens when you become traumatised by your older adult’s suffering.

Common symptoms of compassion fatigue include:

Physical or emotional exhaustion (or both)

Reduced feelings of sympathy or empathy

Dreading taking care of someone and feeling guilty about it

A reduced sense of accomplishment or meaning in caring

Feeling irritable, angry or anxious

Headaches

It can come on more quickly than burnout. You may still feel empathy and the desire to help, but you might feel overwhelmed by the symptoms. It can also lead to burnout.

The common signs

Compassion fatigue is basically a chronic, low-level cloud over the care and concern you have for your older adult. When you overuse your compassion without taking time to regularly recharge, the ability to feel and care for others becomes worn down.

Trouble sleeping

Isolating yourself

Feeling disconnected

Trouble making decisions

Problems in personal relationships