Defining Compassion Fatigue
Compassion fatigue is a psychological disorder manifested through deterioration of one's mental and physical well-being due to taking care of other peoples' troubles selflessly. Sometimes, due to many different situations and conditions, people become too determined to solve other people's problems and help them, neglecting their own selves completely. In time this can lead to the development of compassion fatigue which can have catastrophic influence on a person's life. This condition was initially noticed in some nurses working in a hospital, since their health was jeopardized by their desire to help other people selflessly. Also, women and men in marriage, mothers and fathers and people in many other situations can experience compassion fatigue since they devote themselves completely to someone else, like a spouse or a child, neglecting their health and well-being in theprocess.
Signs of Compassion Fatigue
There are many symptoms of this behavioral issue and most of these manifest through lack of care for oneself, feeling strange hopelessness and dejection. Also, people who suffer from compassion fatigue feel like they can no longer enjoy things which made them happy in the past. The person they live for is the main object of their concerns and they think about this individual all the time. Additionally, these people seem to be emotionally numb and withdrawn from friends and family members. However, their problems are with them all the time and they commonly experience nightmares, sleeping depravity and other problems related to sleep. Moreover, they are easily irritated during the day since they are always tense, being burdened by their ever-present problems. These people have a negative attitude towards their work and life, feeling worthless and hopeless most of the time, lacking optimism and confidence. Naturally, they feel burdened by the fatigue and exhaustion, having no energy necessary for dealing with any of their daily difficulties.
Possible Treatment for CompassionFatigue
The first thing that needs to be done is for the person suffering from compassion fatigue to become aware of his/her problem and be willing to change his/her life completely in order to get out of this negative state of mind. Also, these people should not keep their emotions hidden. Rather, they should express themselves and the talk about everything troubling them, seeking help from others. They need to fight the negativity and pessimism in their attitude towards life becoming more positive and capable of smiling each day, cherishing all the beautiful things in life. Finally, people prone to compassion fatigue need to stay away from depressing and sad situations, spending time with cheerful people in positive situations.
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