Vicarious Traumatisation and Critical Incident Stress - Essay Example

? Combating Compassion Fatigue Care giving services and professions are considered as noble in nature and rewarding in experience. The service demands compassionate, sensitive and dedicated people who will be able to empathize with the patients and understand their needs. Ironically, the more an individual is vulnerable to the pains of others, the more he/she is exposed to getting affected by the same. Down the ages, care givers in different care facilitating environments, whether it is looking after a patient or a loved one, have been affected by the trauma faced by care recipients. Prolonged exposure to care giving services, especially to critical patients, has seemed to put equal stress on the individual providing the care. The mental, emotional and physical stress that results in providing care with compassion is termed as compassion fatigue. Unless the individual, who becomes a victim of compassion fatigue, takes measures at the onset of the illness, it could take severe turn in perpetually damaging the nervous system and mental health. The five major concepts associated with compassion fatigue are burnout, vicarious traumatization, critical incident stress, occupational stress and stress continuum (Sabo, 2011). The sooner the symptoms are detected, the greater is the chance of complete cure. The Warning Signs, the Nature of the Problem and the Causes of Compassion Fatigue Burnout This syndrome occurs when there is constant failure in achieving the expectation of one-self and of others in spite of hard work due to reasons related to client problems and occupational limitations (Ontario, 2011). It occurs gradually and causes Emotional exhaustion Depersonalization or the inability to connect to others Un-enthusiasm in professional and personal life Lack of a sense of personal accomplishments Irritability, sudden burst of anger without cause Frustration Lack of interest, disengagement Lack of enjoyment Depression, withdrawal Taking frequent sick leaves Addiction to alcohol, drugs (Sabo, 2011; Lombardo & Eyre, 2011; Mathieu, 2007) Vicarious Traumatisation and Critical Incident Stress A care giver experiences vicarious traumatization when he/she feels the pain and trauma the care recipient is experiencing. It is a result of complete empathising with another person. Usually it occurs when a care giving individual attends a critical patient or is an active witness of any specific emotionally disturbing and difficult situation. The resulting stress is termed as critical incident stress and it is one of the factors causing vicarious traumatization. The symptoms of critical incident stress and vicarious traumatization are: Remains pre-occupied with the client’s trauma Re-experiences the traumatic events Avoidance or remembering of the events Can develop post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Disruptive world view Heightening of anxiety and irrational fears Being hypersensitive or insensitive to emotions (Mathieu, 2007; Ontario, 2011) Occupational Stress When a care giver experiences compassion fatigue, it directly affects the person’s occupational status. The person can not cope up with the work load or any kind of care-giving job related responsibility. He/she tends to find ways of escaping the stressful atmosphere that the particular occupation pushes him/her into. The symptoms of occupational stress are: Fears certain clients or patients, avoids working with them Does not find enjoyment in work, lacks focus in careers Finds it hard to keep personal and professional life apart Takes frequent sick leaves from work Incapability to work independently, fails to take decision for patients Turns workaholic, performs without perceiving, becomes mechanical (Mathieu, 2007; Varner, 2004) Stress Continuum When the stress persists and becomes chronic, then the state is described as stress continuum. In most compassion fatigue cases, stress continuum becomes a common condition with the victims of this illness. Warning signs of stress continuum could be Problems with intimacy and forming personal relationships Chronic illness like headache, gastrointestinal problems Low self-esteem Inability to balance empathy and objectivity Hypertension Overly high expectation of self and others (Mathieu, 2007; Varner 2004). It is a cumulating of the symptoms over a period of time that has not been addressed on time. The various symptoms or the warning signs of the different versions of compassion fatigue are similar. However, they are also broadly categorized under emotional, physical and work related zones (Douglas, 2010) The Need of the Hour to Prevent and Cure Compassion Fatigue Care givers are directly dealing with patients who are going through traumatic phases, so it is natural that at some point, early or later, they too are afflicted with the pain their patients or clients are suffering. But having chosen care giving as a profession, they cannot be bogged down and turn themselves into patients or turn insensitive to stay detached from the care giving process (Douglas, 2010). They should learn to monitor their vulnerability and control being negatively affected by adopting a healthy and active lifestyle. A balanced life with proper self care, replenishment of emotional, spiritual and physical needs are essential to keep oneself steady in warding off the blues of compassion fatigue and at the same time extending help without losing one’s compassionate side. Self Care Before providing care for another, one should take a look at one’s emotional and psychological condition. A care giver needs to resolve his/her personal issues, if any, before delivering help to the patient. Staying fit can be considered as an essential criterion of the care giving profession. It is up to the individual care giver to take the responsibility of his/her physical, mental and emotional well-being (Douglas, 2010). Staying Healthy: Mind and Body Experts advise care givers to seek out time for themselves to relax and de-stress through rejuvenating activities like regular exercising, pursuing hobbies and interests, reading, music, socializing, charity work or even having a massage (Varner, 2004), that is, anything to keep the person from ruminating about work related problems. Self care is the primary requirement to survive well in this profession because a professional care giver has many roles to play from scientist, educator, and transferor of knowledge to a compassionate care provider (Douglas, 2010). Spiritual Need The ability to rise above mortal thoughts and materialistic outlook even for a few minutes recharges the soul with positive energy. Regular meditation is a great help to one who is into stressful profession that drains one emotionally, mentally and physically. Any form of spiritual activity, be it meditation or yoga, soothes and revitalizes the nerves thereby increasing one’s resilience. Emotional Need In most cases of compassion fatigue, the victim has not been able to find any outlet of the mounting stress. A person who is into such a critical and hectic profession like care giving needs frequent emotional outlets. An outlet could be through laughter, crying or any kind of cathartic activity like watching a movie or hearing a song. An individual who is emotionally balanced can handle critical situations better than someone who is not. Coping Strategies Various strategies have been put forward to help those in the risk zone of compassion fatigue to cope with its impact. Care giving organizations are conducting training sessions and workshops to equip the participants with compassion fatigue coping skills (Varner, 2004). It is part of the self care program by which an individual would learn to identify his/her problem at its onset and undertake measures to ward it off. The coping skills are divided into two categories, social/emotional support and task-focused behaviour (Varner, 2004). Social/Emotional Support Providing emotional support to each other Sharing tips and techniques of handling stress with peers Spending quality time bonding with peers Resorting to humour Smiling and making eye contact with peers (Varner, 2004). Task-focused Behaviour Apply problem-solving tools like thinking, planning and prioritizing Create solutions to problems Seek help Focus (Varner, 2004). Organizations should develop strategies to provide various intervention services to victims of compassion fatigue. The focus should be on creating and maintaining healthy and supportive work environment with regular breaks, proper debriefing, peer support, change of work load/shift, counselling sessions where staffs can share their problems, helpful mentor and opportunities to do something creative (Mathieu, 2007; Lombardo & Eyre, 2011). If a care giver takes proper self care and gets encouragement and support from peers and the organization, he/she would be able to effectively avert compassion fatigue. References Douglas, K. (2010). When caring stops, staffing doesn’t really matter. Nursing Economics, 28(6), 415-419. Retrieved from http://www.nursingeconomics.net/necfiles/staffingUnleashed/su_ND10.pdf Lombardo, B., & Eyre, C. (2011). Compassion fatigue: A nurse’s primer. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 16(1). Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-16-2011/No1-Jan-2011/Compassion-Fatigue-A-Nurses-Primer.html Mathieu, F. (2007). Running on empty: Compassion fatigue in health professionals. Rehab & Community Care Medicine, Spring Issue. Retrieved from http://www.compassionfatigue.org/pages/RunningOnEmpty.pdf Ontario, O. (2011). Compassion fatigue therapist (PDF document). Retrieved from http://www.fortlog.org/PDFs/Compassion%20Fatigue/CF%20%20Therapist%20September%202011.pdf Sabo, B. (2011). Reflecting on the concept of compassion fatigue. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 16(1). Retrieved fromhttp://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-16-2011/No1-Jan-2011/Concept-of-Compassion-Fatigue.html Varner, J. (2004). Compassion fatigue. The Alabama Nurse, 31(1), 30-31. Retrieved from http://www.nursingald.com/Uploaded%5CNewsletterFiles%5CAL052004.pdf Read More