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Health care workers, especially those who work in the front-line, are often exposed to traumatic situations. Workers exposed to these conditions for long hours may suffer from the experience of compassion fatigue. Working for long hours in stressful conditions can also result in the feeling of burn-out which may impact how they feel about their work, but also compromise their efficiency and communicated compassion.
What are the Commons Symptoms of a Burnout for Health Care Workers?
Compassion Fatigue Symptoms for Health Care Workers
- Feelings of irritability or anger;
- Anxiety or excessive worry;
- Chronic exhaustion;
- Reduced feelings of empathy;
- Complete insensitivity to emotionally charged events;
- Hypersensitivity or hyper-vigilance;
- Over-active startle response;
- Disordered sleep (in excess of what is normal with shift-work);
- Decreased desire to engage in self-care activities;
- Resorting to easily accessible relaxation strategies that result in more harm than help;
- Changes in appetite;
- Not feeling or flat affect;
- Not caring (maybe hiding the fact that you can’t get in touch with your caring nature);
- Pessimism (expecting the worst outcome);
- Assuming the worst in people (bad intentions, etc.);
Tips to Prevent Burnout
- As much as possible always allow time for other activities such as hobbies and time with family members allowing the opportunity to rejuvenate;
- Create a healthy sleep routine practising healthy sleep hygiene;
- During work, seek training opportunities that may boost your confidence and make you happy in your career;
- Seek workplace training about compassion fatigue;
- If possible: reduce work hours and perhaps seek a rotation of duties to avoid subjected to the same conditions for long can be an option;
- Whenever possible allow some time to debrief and talk about the stressful situation with someone you trust;
- Seek the assistance of a professional counsellor, creating a trusting relationship that can not only assist you in treating your fatigue, but also assist in the prevention of future experiences of the same nature;
Counselling for Burnout & Compassion Fatigue Concerns
