Research
Terminology to help you understand caregiver stresses
Compassion Fatigue (CF)
The 'challenging stressor'. It's not a character flaw! Compassion Fatigue is always a possibility for those who care for others. It is the natural consequence of stress resulting from caring for and helping traumatized or suffering people or animals. Without sufficient self management of the stressors experienced. Symptoms are normal displays of chronic stress resulting from caregiving work. Caregivers struggle, at times, to function in care giving environments that constantly present heart wrenching, emotional challenges and responsibility. Eventually, challenging circumstances will prevail.
Compassion Satisfaction (CS)
The 'good stressor' and is about the pleasure you derive from being able to do your work well. For example, you may feel like it is a pleasure to help others. You may feel positively about your colleagues or your ability to contribute to the work setting or even the greater good of society.
CF and CS are frequently experienced at the same time. This can provide an emotional roller coaster of highs and lows. Imagine a number of caregivers in the same shelter all experiencing compassion, the good stressors and/or the challenging stressors, in different degrees and at different times! If not managed properly, over time, it will become the not so merry go round of emotional highs and lows. Say the shelter experiences three crisis and a great adoption in one day. Secondary Trauma and Joy is involved too! There is never a dull moment.
Empathy (the bedrock skill) is the capacity to share and understand another's emotion and feelings. It works with the skill of compassion (caring or caring for).
Generally speaking, it is often characterized as the ability to "put oneself into another's shoes", or in some way experience what the other person is feeling. Empathy does not necessarily imply compassion or sympathy because this capacity can be present in context of compassionate or cruel behavior.
To empathize is to respond to another's perceived emotional state by experiencing feelings of a similar sort. Sympathy not only includes empathizing (but not always), but also entails having a positive regard or a non- fleeting concern for the other person. Positive regard is not always there for the person you are empathizing with (i.e. someone who has been cruel to an animal).
The nature of empathy and its role in a helping relationship is multidimensional. It has emotional, moral, cognitive and behavioural components. Definitions of empathy vary.
Empathy in the animal care community could also be:
- 'A way of being', where the caregiver, without judgement, enters the private world of the people (and their animals) they are working with
- A deeper level of empathy where the caregiver gains an insight in the situation, beyond that of the person's (or animal's) awareness. Examples: Understanding and walking into a person's own story when he/she is surrendering an animal, validating that person's world in their conversation, even if you abhor what he/she has done. This is indeed a difficult task to do, over and over, for a long period of time.
- Compassion and empathy are cornerstones for effective communication with animal owners as well as the animals.
The skill to empathize and apply empathy in animal care is attributes to why caregivers, also experiencing first hand or secondary trauma, are especially vulnerable to compassion fatigue (caring too much, too long).
Burnout (BO)
Burnout occurs when you have more energy going out than you have coming in. Burnout does not occur overnight… It is a cumulative process of gradual wearing down of your reserves, with little recharging of your energies. You work harder and harder to catch up but your reserves become depleted. A total collapse is the ultimate result. It takes a very long time to recover from a full blown Burnout.
Trauma:
Trauma means wounding. "Just as the body can be traumatized, so can the psyche. On the psychological and mental levels, trauma may refer to the wounding of your emotions, your spirit, your will to live, your beliefs about yourself and the world, your dignity, and your sense of security. The assault on your psyche can be so great that your normal ways of thinking and feeling and the usual ways you have handled stress in the past are now inadequate." (Aphrodite Matsakis, 1992)
Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) or Vicarious Traumatic Stress
Trauma also affects those who experience it indirectly. Secondary, or vicarious trauma, refers to those people who care for (or are involved with), those who have been directly traumatized (animals, customers or colleagues).
Trauma is absorbed from what comes from the individual/animal and what comes from the situation. It has the capacity to be a result of traumatic experiences happening in your workplace.
Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) is believed to impair the ability of caregivers to effectively help those seeking their services (Figley, 1999)
With STS, we have learned that:
- A Person is at higher risk to make poor professional judgments
- It is one reason why so many caregivers leave the field (Figley, 1999)
Proactive Strategies include:
- Inventories can MONITOR the levels of secondary traumatic stress symptoms for a start both individually or organizationally. Once the caregiver is aware, he or she can make better choices to heal.
- Increased supervision by experienced trauma specialists
- More support for trauma workers
- Increase use of self-care strategies
Trigger or 'Counter-Transference Phenomenon':
A unexpected reaction triggered by a with a specific person, animal(s) or a situation which triggers a specific area of the caregiver's personality and character or conflicts.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
For more details go to: http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/symptoms-and-diagnosis-of-ptsd/
Explanations of PTSD focus primarily on the way that the mind is affected by traumatic experiences. Theorists speculate upon facing overwhelming trauma, the mind is unable to process information and feelings in a normal way. It is as if the thoughts and feelings at the time of the traumatic event take on a life of their own, later intruding into consciousness and causing distress.
What is needed for healing TRAUMA experiences?
To re-integrate a self-understanding that allows caregivers to effectively cope and eventually grow and thrive in the world, healing from trauma must occur. In order to heal, the caregiver must re-establish the trust relationship with themselves and the world in a meaningful way and most importantly seek professional help.
Common Behaviors in Trauma & Compassion Fatigue & Burnout
Hyperarousal is when the traumatized person's physiology is in high gear, having been assaulted by the psychological impact of what happened and not able to reset. The symptoms of hyperarousal include: difficulty sleeping and concentrating, being easily startled, irritability, anger, agitation, panic and hypervigilance (being hyper-alert to danger).
Numbing includes feeling robotic or on "automatic pilot"—disconnected from feelings and from vitality, which is replaced by a sense of deadness. Symptoms of numbing/avoidance include: loss of interest in life and other people, hopelessness, isolation, avoidance of thoughts and feelings associated with the traumatic event, feeling detached and estranged from others, withdrawal, depression, and emotional anesthesia. Preoccupation with avoiding trauma or feelings and thoughts related to trauma can become a central focus of the survivor's life.
Self Compassion: Self Compassion is extending compassion to the self for one's failings, inadequacies, and experiences of suffering.
- It is a skill that can be taught and is always available and in your control.
- It fosters connectedness rather than separation or self-centeredness.
- This skill involves relating to yourself and your life with an open mind and open heart.
- It has the capacity to transform suffering into an opportunity for kindness and connectedness.
What counts as suffering?
- Any experience in which we experience emotional pain
- Being stuck in unpleasant emotions, whether the cause is big or small
- Includes self-criticism, feelings of unworthiness, annoyance, frustration, stress, sadness, and "unjustified" negative reactions
Mindfulness
- Present-moment awareness, not lost in thought
- Acceptance and non-judgment of one's experience
- Mindfulness allows us to experience life as it is right now, not just how we think about how it "should" be
The Silencing Response—A Symptom of Compassion Fatigue
When working in a highly charged environment that where the animal caregiver might deal with animals seriously injured, ill or traumatized or euthanized, it can be overwhelming. Sometimes this situation compromises our ability to remain present and focused. We redirect, shut down, minimize or neglect the disturbing information. In other words, when we are already emotionally overwhelmed, we find ways to silence our thoughts, feelings, and the people around us.