Those of us who are involved in animal/planet care have likely experienced “Compassion Fatigue”. You know, the inevitable emotional ups and downs. Being compassionate is a job. You show up every day, rarely miss a day, weekends and holidays included, you think about and rethink these questions: could I have done this better, how did this happen, should I just go ahead and take in one more animal, am I the only one that sees this situation, how can I finance this, how long can I keep going, and many others.
Compounded with being compassionate, if you have been in animal rescue, veterinary care, nonprofit work or shelter work, the chances are you will experience burnout and or compassion fatigue.
What is Compassion Fatigue?
The emotional, psychological and physical impact of helping others can manifest into compassion fatigue. Stress and or trauma often factor into the experiences. If the work is day-in and day-out, you could have a sense of extreme exhaustion, headaches, digestive issues and/or a feeling of desperation. Your experiences in animal/planet care can affect your well-being outside of the time you spend “officially” on your work. Feeling overwhelmed, having mood swings, being negative, irritable, having insomnia and becoming detached from personal or social connections can be signs of compassion fatigue.
How is Compassion Fatigue different from Burnout?
Burn-out does not happen immediately. When you are overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to keep up with life’s endless demands, burn-out can happen. Factors that can contribute to burn-out are unmanageable work-loads, not enough down time, taking on too much without asking for help, lack of sleep, feeling out of control with little or no help, difficulty maintaining work-life balance, exhaustion, having personality traits such as perfectionism, being hyper-focused, and a need for control or any prolonged, stressful situation.
Psychologists, Gail North and Herbert Freudenberger, list 12 stages of burnout:
- An urgent need to prove yourself.
- Working harder.
- Neglecting your needs.
- More interpersonal conflicts
- Revision of values.
- Denial.
- Withdrawal.
- Behavioral changes.
- Depersonalization.
- Feeling empty.
- Despair.
- Total burnout.
Tips for Self Care:
What can one do to help ease the symptoms of Compassion Fatigue and Burnout? (And not feel guilty in the process!)
- Sufficient rest
- Eating properly and staying hydrated
- Take a class/workshop
- Meditation/yoga
- Journaling
- Massage therapy
- Doing something you like to do (that you may have neglected)
- Exercise
- Be mindful
- Engage socially
- Change your attitude about the work
- Set new priorities
- Take control by making changes
- Take a Break!
- Seek help in managing your stress, professionally if need be
Most of us know when we are in over our heads, exhausted or need a break. A close friend told me once, you can’t save the world if you don’t stay healthy. The key to being healthy and staying in the game (if you choose), is to put positive options into action! Stay healthy to be able to save the world!