Compassion Fatigue - Do you have it?

My Personal Reflections:

Feeling "numb"?

Feeling "sick of working"?

I read this interesting article from ScienceDaily and I would like to share with the rest of you.

Compassion fatigue is a syndrome that all of us health practitioners must watch out for. We could be rushing through our routines and feeling somewhat "numb" or "burnt-out". These senses of "I am tired of everything" or "my patients are dying anyway" are warning signs that we should watch out for!

I strongly believe that stress management is not just for cancer patients, but also for the professionals who are caring for them. We need to take care of ourselves before we can take care of others well.

Talk to your supervisor especially when there are major events which happened e.g. death of a patient whom you have taken care of, sudden death, anger flare-ups from caregivers/patients. It is helpful to share your feelings and express how you feel.

Having been through this personally, I realised the importance of self-reflection. This allows me to identify my own emotions and to have insight about how i feel especially when I am heavily involved in a niche area of cancer counselling. Talking to someone senior and one whom I trust helps! It's extremely vital to de-stress and spend time to myself. Putting my feet up for a session of relaxing spa or massage deserves a 5 stars rating for its healing efficiency.

To me, the trick is to find joy, no matter how small or simple, amidst the challenges we face!

If you would like to share your feelings, do leave a comment too :)







Ong Shu Xin
Senior Counsellor, Registered Nurse
Certified Quit Smoking Consultant
Suicide, Grief and Bereavement Work
Oncology Nurses Chapter
Singapore Nurses Association