What Is Compassion Fatigue?
Emotional labour is one of the most challenging jobs that we do as humans. Not because of the physical toll it can take, which can also be the case, but because it can be never-ending. And when you are a giver, you'll drain yourself completely and then some until you are completely burned out and start to lose your spark.
That's compassion fatigue.
A state that's become much more common in the last several years, so it's important to know what can cause compassion fatigue and how to prevent it so that you can continue to be your best self and not reach that point of burnout.
Compassion fatigue is a form of burnout that comes to caregivers. While we often assume that it’s a result of giving too much, it’s not that we’ve selflessly given too much of ourselves so much as it’s from feeling the ongoing suffering of others and assuming that our efforts are not enough.
The other big factor with compassion fatigue and burnout from being a giver is the style in which you give. Seeing the results of your efforts is one way to combat burnout, which is why certain fields like teaching and medicine lead to higher rates of burnout.
When the turnaround of the humans you’re giving care to is very rapid in which case you don’t get feedback or see the results of whether the support you’ve given helped or not, compassion fatigue can start to kick in.
Give More, But Respect Your Boundaries
Counterintuitively you can give more of yourself without burning out, but you must respect your boundaries. When it comes to giving of yourself, it’s important to respect your boundaries and know your limits.
Selflessly giving all of yourself is not the answer.
You will burn out from following this style of giving.
Even people who give a lot of their extra time to volunteering or other giving work can find that they can manage if they chunk it all together instead of scattering it through the week. By dedicating a large block of time to giving work, you again see the returns from your efforts in the others that you’ve helped and this makes a big difference in your motivation to keep giving and not develop compassion fatigue.
By having some set blocks of time for giving outside of work, or even sticking to the confines of your work hours in your job that requires a lot of emotional labour, you’ll be better able to find time to recover and recharge which is the next point.
Have weekly recovery time
You have to create balance and let yourself recharge and recover too. In performing caregiving, your body is in need of recovery time. Even if you aren't burning out because you've been able to give selflessly, to perform your very best, you need rest and recovery.
If you can't afford the cost or time of doing anything else, sleep is and always will be the recovery superstar, so even making changes to improve sleep by just a little bit can make a difference. And if you are able to make time to get outside for a walk in nature or go to your favourite spa for a float or massage, you'll be positively contributing to the rest and recovery that'll keep you strong for the others you care for.
Know your limits
And also in terms of respecting boundaries and making time for recovery, you have to know your limits.
At the end of the day, Emotional labour is highly rewarding but also very draining. It involves a lot of social connections that you might feel the need to detach from if you're naturally more introverted or you've just been giving all of yourself for a long time.
Think about your personality type, as well as what type of giver you are and what you're doing for recovery time, as we talked about, and see what opportunities you can find for making changes.
By becoming more self-aware of how we are doing and the types of patterns we tend to fall into that lead to burnout, we can start to shift towards being more resilient and avoiding any crashes in the first place.
If you found this info helpful, share is with another selfless caregiver you know that could use this reminder.
Are You an Entrepreneur? Here Are Five Reasons You Need to Prioritize Self-Care
Guest post by Brad Krause of selfcaring.info
(Cover Photo via Pexels)
Ignoring self-care habits is easy to do. With the busy pace of life, pencilling in some extra “me time” isn’t always possible. This is especially true for entrepreneurs — both new and experienced. When you are your own boss, as well as the boss of others, your days can quickly get hectic. However, always having a mentality of needing to “push through” can rapidly escalate to burnout.
If you are a business owner or entrepreneur, explore the top five reasons you need to prioritize self-care.
You are human
Although it sounds almost silly to acknowledge, you are human. You are not a robot. Being human means that you need to take care of your needs daily, and that those needs ebb and flow. One day you might be feeling ready to run a marathon, while the next you may not want to get out of bed.
At all times, treat yourself as the beautifully flawed human being that you are. You cannot be expected to perform well without taking quality time for yourself. Having a self-care routine isn’t being indulgent. Instead, it is a repertoire of actions that refresh and invigorate you, and can help you be your best self.
Let go of the idea that you can get by without any form of self-care.
You are ultra busy
Often used as an argument against taking time for self-care, being ultra busy means that you need even more “me time” than most. When life is constantly full of to-dos, big decisions, and tense moments, taking time to replenish is paramount.
Although you can’t add more hours to your day, you can use strategies to practice self-care while maintaining a super-busy schedule. If you’re looking to improve your work-life balance, take small moments for yourself during the day. Pause your work and reduce stress by setting boundaries with employees and vendors, meditating, going for a short walk to regroup, and working remotely as needed. Stepping outside of the chaos for as little as 5-10 minutes can do wonders for your overall health.
Your mental health needs ongoing care and maintenance
It has been estimated that one in five Canadians experience mental health conditions. With such a high prevalence of mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD, caring for your mental health is critical. Whether you currently face one of these conditions, or suspect that you may be struggling with your mental health, this is one area of your life you need to take seriously. Not seeking treatment in a timely manner can have perilous consequences.
As part of your self-care plan, prioritize time off, visits to your therapist, and stress-relieving techniques. Make it a daily goal to do at least one thing that will improve your overall mental health. There is zero shame in seeking help for emotions that you don’t know how to work through, or for a condition you’ve battled for years.
...And so does your physical health
Your physical health is equally as important as your mental health. It isn’t uncommon for entrepreneurs to live off of a steady diet of convenient (yet unhealthy) foods, get too little sleep, and practice other damaging habits (such as smoking). Each day, aim to nourish your body with pre-made meals, supplements, and positive habits.
Self-care helps you be the best version of yourself
Ultimately, taking a neglectful approach to your mind and body will lead to burnout. When you are burnt out, doing easy tasks can feel like an overwhelming challenge. Being proactive about your well-being can prevent burnout, and help you be the best entrepreneur possible.
Additionally, making the most of your time off is ideal when looking to feel your best. Numerous entrepreneurs have found float therapy to be a highly valuable part of their self-care routine. Learn more about this therapy by contacting our team at Flow Spa today.
Flow Spa offers relaxing and rejuvenating float therapy in Peterborough, Ontario. We also provide massage therapy, Infrared sauna, and sports recovery treatments. Learn more about us and the benefits of float therapy.
Self-Care for the Selfless Supporter: 4 Tips for Preventing Burnout
The overwhelming sense of indulgence in doing things for your own sake may feel like a waste of time but it makes you so much better in the other areas of your life that you owe it to everyone you perform your best for to do it.
We have been witnessing an extreme amount of caring for others and self-less ness over the last half of the year that could warm any heart. It's wonderful to know our loved ones have our back and are doing everything possible to stay positive and support us during the odd and difficult times.
But something that is for certain is that the selfless supporters can't go on indefinitely without checking in to how they are also doing. While some may have a good routine for this, more often than not, it is the most selfless of us that need the practices of self-care the most.
We have been seeing incidences of burn out increase over the last several years and the burden of COVID-19 is only like to exacerbate that problem.
When our bodies are in sympathetic overdrive for too long without giving the proper chances to rest, we start to shut down and crash. This can lead to compromised immune systems and illness or even the need for hospitalization when things get too far out of hand.
So let's talk about some of the ways that you or your selfless loved ones can practice self-care and give some of that love back into the system to keep on going much longer term.
Take Regular Pauses Throughout the Day
Most of us just jump from one task to the next without giving ourselves the chance to pause and re-engage.
There’s a big difference in how you will feel when you allow yourself even a minute or two to close your eyes or even just let your gaze soften between tasks or at the top of every hour.
We get stressed when we keep pushing hard without resetting and often it is eye fatigue from constantly staring at our work that drives this limiting factor in our bodies. Allowing the eyes the chance to rest can dramatically change how you feel throughout the whole day and into the evening as you transition from work to home life.
Fuel Good. Don't Just Feel Good.
We often reach for the most tantalizing of foods when we are feeling stressed or worn out because we get a lovely hit of dopamine in anticipation of and from the act of eating these foods. But think about how you feel after the fact. Probably not very good, and often you feel even worse because these junk foods are not refuelling your body the right way.
It’s undoubtedly a challenge to change our eating habits but knowing that it can make a huge difference for how good we feel and how well we can care for our loved ones when we are caring for ourselves first.
Move Your Body
Our bodies are meant to move. And often a lot more than we allow ourselves to. It’s important when caring for yourself and for others to stay physically active and healthy.
This doesn’t look like hard work, it looks like consistent work. A 30-minute walk each day or two fifteen-minute walks is enough to make a difference.
Give Yourself More Time To Fully Escape
As selfless caregivers, we have others on our minds at all times. It’s what we do but to continue going on in that way long-term requires that we keep our selves in mind as well.
The way that we best take care of ourselves will vary from one person to the next but it’s important that in addition to the micro-breaks that you take throughout the day you give yourself a deeper chance to reset on whatever frequency you feel you need.
For some individuals, this may mean an hour alone twice a week to do something you love like read a book quietly or go for a treatment at the spa.
It doesn’t really matter what activities you take part in as long as it resonates with you like something you get a lot of joy from.
Do what you need to if it requires you to plan in advance because it’s crucial to your long-term well-being and ability to care for others.
Once you start to implement this time into your schedule regularly, it will become a natural part of how you approach things and you will see the dramatic differences in how much more of yourself you have to give to those who need you most.