Have you been feeling emotionally drained lately? Well it’s more common than you think. It’s called “compassion fatigue”. Compassion defined is the sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it. Compassion fatigue is extreme tension and preoccupation of suffering from helping people in distress. The “helper” absorbs the emotional pain from another and suffers from it as well.
Those who are typically in a “helping” profession are the most vulnerable to compassion fatigue, but anyone can have it if they are exposed to enough traumas. This includes nurses, doctors, counselors, social workers, emergency response workers, and caregivers. These workers struggle to function in care giving environments that face emotional challenges and trauma on a daily basis. The emotional impact of hearing stories involving abuse and other traumas can be transmitted through deep psychological processes with empathy.
Compassion can be confused with attachment, our own personal investment in the outcome of the situation. It’s important to distinguish if compassionate to the needs of another person or personal emotional needs that might be affecting you.
Unlike burnout, caused from everyday work stress and dissatisfaction with our employment situation, compassion fatigue results from taking on the emotional burden of a patient in agony. It has commonly been compared to a post-traumatic stress disorder, except the stress is a reaction to the trauma of another person. continue reading
When working with any pediatric client, massage therapy not only address their physical ailments, but their emotional care as well. Even if your child doesn’t have any health conditions, they are still experiencing pressure academically and socially more than ever before. Even as an infant, massage therapy is a way of communicating with baby, while building trust and understanding.
July 14-20, 2013 is EveryBody Deserves a Massage Week, sponsored by the Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP). During this annual event, ABMP members nationwide offer their time, money, and effort to help their communities, as well as promoting the benefits of massage.
