The Practice Gap
The Practice Gap
#46: Compassion Fatigue: When Caring Hurts-With Alicia Lukachko DrPH
Compassion fatigue represents an often-misunderstood occupational hazard affecting healthcare providers, therapists, and caregivers who regularly witness suffering. More than simple burnout, it's a specific type of exhaustion stemming from prolonged empathetic engagement with those experiencing trauma or distress.
Licensed clinical social worker Alicia unpacks this complex phenomenon, describing how sustained exposure to others' pain creates a constellation of symptoms including emotional numbness, detachment, irritability, sleep disturbances, and decreased empathy. These manifestations don't indicate personal failure or heartlessness but rather signal a natural response to emotional overload. The condition particularly impacts professionals in helping fields who often neglect their own wellbeing while caring for others.
For manual therapists like chiropractors, physiotherapists, and osteopaths, unique challenges emerge from the physically demanding, hands-on nature of their work combined with deep therapeutic relationships with patients experiencing chronic pain or trauma. The podcast explores practical strategies for prevention and recovery, emphasizing professional boundaries, work-life balance, mindfulness practices, and the crucial role of peer support. Most importantly, it highlights how healthcare providers must practice the same self-care they recommend to patients - not just as professional maintenance but as essential self-preservation. Whether you're experiencing symptoms yourself or supporting colleagues through their struggles, this episode provides vital insights into protecting the wellbeing of those who heal others.
Have you noticed signs of compassion fatigue in yourself or your colleagues? Share your experiences and strategies for maintaining empathetic resilience while protecting your own wellbeing.
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Kind regards,
Elisabeth Aas-Jakobsen, DC, MSc
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