Compassion Fatigue: The Cost of Caring

As audiologists and speech-language pathologists, we truly care about our students, clients and patients. Helping change people’s lives is a primary reason why many pursue a career in communication sciences and disorders. But at what cost? Is there such a thing as caring too much? Yes, it’s possible, and it’s known as compassion fatigue. A consequence of possessing a strong sense of empathy, combined with repeated or prolonged interaction with people who have experienced trauma, compassion fatigue can have negative physical, emotional and cognitive effects. Those of us in helping professions are at risk for developing compassion fatigue. If we notice the signs early, however, we can take steps to ensure our ability to maintain a healthy amount of compassion throughout our careers. Look for one or all of the following warning signs of compassion fatigue: Physical: loss of endurance, strength or energy, as well as an increase in accident-proneness and/or physical complaints. Emotional: reduced enthusiasm, increased irritability, and emotionally overwhelmed, possibly leading to shutting down or the desire to quit.Social: inability to share in suffering, indifference, inability to be supportive to family and friends.Spiritual: poor judgment and/or disinterest in examining one’s own thoughts or feelings. Intellectual: boredom or impaired ability to concentrate. Noticing and acting on multiple, prolonged signs of compassion fatigue in yourself or your colleag...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Audiology Health Care Private Practice Schools Slider Speech-Language Pathology audiologist compassion fatigue mindfulness Source Type: blogs