The Encouragers Life

 Compassion Fatigue Part 2 of a 2 Part Series on Compassion Fatigue Part 2- The 3 Things I Did To Survive.   This article is the second part on Compassion Fatigue.   Last week I talked on what compassion fatigue is and about how I found myself affected by it.   You can read it here . In this part I want to concentrate on the 3 things that I did to to cope with compassion fatigue and come out the other side.   Did you get any help? Short answer is…. No. The long answer is that I don’t think they knew how to help, but I was very fortunate to find a way to help myself. On the surface fostering services have the boxes ticked for opportunities to connect with other carers but usually they are just venting sessions.   When in conversations with other carers it was like watching tennis.   One person shares their story and then another shares theirs and it goes back and forth and usually turns in to a battle of whose life is worse.   You don’t often hear the words, ‘try this.’

 Compassion Fatigue  Part 1 of a 2 Part Series on Compassion Fatigue. Part 1- The Signs Compassion fatigue, which is often referred to as ‘secondary traumatic stress,’ is something that not only affects foster carers but parents and those within the care community.   It is defined by professionals as emotional and physical exhaustion leading to a diminished ability to empathise or feel compassion for others.   At the heart of compassion fatigue is empathy.   It’s a strong word that conveys relatability to others but used in a negative way and it can devastate others.   Using terms like, ‘lacking empathy,’ can leave you thinking that you are emotionless but I believe that it is down to personal and professional interruption.   Empathy is about being able to sense other people’s emotions but that isn’t a one size fits all term.   In fostering and parenthood empathy is about; taking account of the other persons concerns, listening intently, helping the person make decisions