Expert Tips to Combat Compassion Fatigue

Nurses are called upon to care for and show compassion to patients day after day. All of this giving and all these emotional ups and downs can be draining. As nurses care for others without taking time to care for themselves they often will experience compassion fatigue.

Compassion fatigue can be an insidious thing. You might feel lethargic and like you’ve got nothing left to give. There is no joy in your work anymore.

The main remedy for compassion fatigue is self-care.

“The place to start is to get some rest—just spending some time alone,” says Kim Richards, RN, founder, The Self-Care Academy. “Of course exercise is great because it releases endorphins and will increase your energy level. But everybody needs to know what brings them joy. What is it that they love to do, but have put on the back burner in order to meet everyone else’s needs? They need to figure out what reignites their spirit and reconnects them with why they got into nursing in the first place.”

For more on this article and tips on how to combat compassion fatigue, click here.