How are you doing managing the stresses in your life and with maintaining compassion? There are 3 key indicators for you to do a self-assessment to see where you reside on your empathy health, also called the 3 A’s of Compassion Fatigue. The ABCs of Compassion Fatigue are Awareness, Balance, and Connection.
Non-profit and service-industry work is exhilarating when you feel like you are making a tangible difference in your community. Compassion fatigue results when there is a loss in your ability to nurture effectively when catering to others’ physical and emotional pain. Often, the demands of service-oriented industries can take a hit on our energy levels and the risk of burnout is real. Executive Directors and limited staff members have to wear the hat of many different roles in an organization and run on limited funds and time to make critical services available. The work is meaningful but the pressure can be intense if not effectively managed. If the distinction between another person and yourself becomes blurred and the emotional pain of the other is taken on as one’s own, you could be at risk for fatigue. If not effectively managed, compassion fatigue can have negative physical, mental, and emotional repercussions.
Many service providers and caretakers don’t realize when they are facing compassion fatigue. The condition can be surrounded by feelings of helplessness and powerlessness with patients or family, reduced feelings of empathy and sensitivity, feeling overwhelmed and exhausted by work demands, feeling detached or numb, and loss of interest in activities you used to enjoy.
Do You Know How to Manage Compassion Fatigue?
Compassion fatigue affects everyone. The trick is finding a meaningful way to anticipate and work with the fatigue that will enhance your ability to combat it. We’re here to bring awareness to the most important step in any position is to take care of yourself. To heal the healer reinforces the fortitude needed to get back to the demands of work by incorporating the ABC’s of compassion fatigue: Awareness, Balance, and Connection into our regular routines.
Awareness
Building awareness of and taking action is the first step needed when recentering yourself in responsibilities. Your ability to attune to when you are out of sync is key to knowing when to take action and make a needed change. Your awareness skills will grow the more you recognize when your compassion is waning thin. ****Take a moment to step back and breathe. In. Out. In. Out. Is there any tension in your body? Taking intentional moments throughout your work day, on days off, or when with others – take your minds off of the demands and find where sources of stress may lie; whether they be physically with tension throughout your body or mentally with distractions and disruptive thoughts and get curious with the sources of stress.
Balance
Is your day a never-ending list of demands? Effective planning can help you find a balance between what can stay and what needs to go from your priorities in a day. Write out a list of everything that requires your presence in a day and write a secondary list alongside this to how you will ‘balance’ out the responsibilities on your plate to stay grounded through your every day. Finding balance can be as simple as stepping outside in the middle of your work day and taking a moment to be present with beautiful surroundings.
Connection
Isolation has started to dominate our existence in the past few years. From the pandemic to streaming subscriptions, it has become more convenient to enjoy the comforts of home. Rather than venturing out and forging meaningful connections with people in your community, people often opt out. The discomfort it takes to find a routine outside of your home is well worth the relationships you gain. There are so many people to meet with different backgrounds and views on the world. Even from the comforts of home, we often remain disconnected and distracted. Spending meaningful time with the ones we love is where we can find the most empowering healing.
Live Empowered in Your Compassionate Roles
Keep the 3 ABC’s of Compassion Fatigue front of mind as we roll into the busy summer months. Remember to foster awareness, find balance, and build connections in your life to stay above overwhelm. Your ability to find a manageable pace of working with stressors will impact how you show up in your community. Sharing the tools to combat compassion fatigue will help us build more resilient communities and empower our non-profits to thrive!
Need an effective management plan for your non-profit marketing? Transcend Ideas would love to support your organization. Let’s get coffee and discuss the compassionate messaging goals for your organization.
