One of A Kind Education

Have you heard of compassion fatigue? Most of those outside of the healthcare and rescue environment have not heard or experienced this term. Consider yourself fortunate if you are in this group. Those who are nurturing individuals experience compassion satisfaction by caring for others. It feeds the soul. However, it can sometimes become too much, and before you know it, compassion fatigue is setting in. Since we are in the height of kitten and puppy season, we felt it was a good time to address this growing concern in the rescue and veterinary communities.

Compassion fatigue is described as a condition causing emotional and physical exhaustion, or secondary trauma, stemming from caring for others. Caring for those in fragile conditions resulting from trauma is especially demanding. As you can imagine, compassion fatigue is a common condition among animal welfare employees. The emotional trauma experienced from witnessing animal abuse and neglect on a regular basis for an extended period of time can be overwhelming and heartbreaking. Imagine arriving to work, knowing you will be caring for sick and injured animals, only to find a box full of sick kittens on the doorstep. The box of kittens may or may not survive their abandonment depending on the weather, their age, health status, and amount of time left alone. The additional heartbreak on top of the “normal” difficult days can become unbearable for the staff. Rescue is extremely difficult every single day and it takes a toll on those devoting their lives to it. Individuals who are extremely empathetic will often become so engrossed in caring for others that they neglect the self-care they so deserve and need.

What can be done to prevent compassion fatigue? The most important thing is to recognize when it is occurring. Even when an individual may not be recognizing it within themselves, others may notice. Some symptoms include, but are not limited to, feelings of frustration and helplessness, irritability, guilt, sadness, anxiety, substance abuse, withdrawing, and exhaustion. Employers and managers need to provide professional resources for those in the field and recognize when morale may be struggling. Promote self-care and proper nutrition for staff, along with manageable schedules. In many cases, an employee will not address the issue head on, but will request time off, a change of duties or responsibilities. These requests should be seriously considered and discussed.

The staff at One of A Kind Pet Rescue and Spay & Neuter Clinic experience compassion fatigue periodically. It is not something that happens to everyone all the time, and it is not something that never happens. It hits differently for each individual and we do our best to recognize what may be best for the individual as well as the rescue. If you would like to contribute to the care of the staff at One of A Kind who work tirelessly to care for the abused and neglected, please use this link to donate towards our company picnic that will include a session on compassion fatigue presented by a local medical professional.