Empathy wear syndrome How to take care of yourself?

Those who take care of other people could be affected by Empathy wear syndrome. If this is your case, learn to take care of yourself.

Empathy is a desirable quality in all people, especially in psychologists, doctors and caregivers, however, it can become dangerous if we do not know how to handle certain situations.

Through empathy, as we know, We can place ourselves in the place of the other person to better understand their feelings and problems.

However, like all things, we must learn to manage our emotions and feelings in order not to endanger our physical or mental health.

In many professions there are already times when stress can be present and become a harmful element, as indicated by research.

In fact, stress can be accentuated in such a way that it can even compromise good performance and everyday life.

This is why the World Health Organization (WHO) has valued work as positive, and favoring health, but at the same time, If there are unfavorable conditions you continue then the mental resources are exhausted.

This is more common in those professions in which a followed and direct contact with those who suffer must be maintained, getting to suffer from mental and emotional wear.

Content

• What is wear syndrome due to empathy?
  • How to know if this syndrome is suffering?
• How to take care of you
  • • Bibliography

What is wear syndrome due to empathy?

The signs of this picture can begin to develop when a person has had news or has witnessed traumatic facts.

To be cataloged as such, it must be added The feeling of empathy by the professional and the great desire to relieve pain to the people involved.

Some authors define this syndrome such as:

“Stress to help or want to help a traumatized or suffering person."

Who proposed this term in the first instance was the Psychologist Charles Figley, warning about the importance of knowing about it so that professionals were not affected.

Other terms with which this syndrome is known are that of They would traumatize vicaria, wear due to empathy or secondary traumatic stress.  

How to know if this syndrome is suffering?

Some of the symptoms that could experience professionals or caregivers who are in constant interaction with people who have lived traumatic facts are the following:

1. Reexperimentation: Appearance of traumatic experiences related to the patient, rumination and Flashbacks of the event.
2. Avoidance: irritability, frustration, saturation, carelessness of interpersonal relationships, avoid visiting sites linked to the traumatic fact.
3. Hyperactivation (or hyperarousal): guilt, shame, anxiety or fatigue, difficulty concentrating or sleeping, panic.

Symptoms occur because Emotions can be "infected" and therapists, being part of the family system, they also run the risk of being traumatized, as Figley said.

The good news is that, despite having a difficult start, if it is possible to identify, this syndrome can improve, even faster than the Burnout, As the studies indicate.

How to take care of you

Although this syndrome can occur suddenly, it can also be done progressively.

Thus, Self -care guidelines are always recommended of the intervening, psychologists, caregivers, doctors and other people who suffer from it.

Some suggestions are the following:

• Know what are the situations that trigger stress, in order to detect and face them correctly.
• Apply techniques of the mindfulness or others, such as yoga or meditation.
• Ded time for leisure activities, since they allow them to be completely disconnected from work.
• Ask for support if the symptoms are observed.
• Avoid overload in the work environment.
• Accept the limitations and avoid wanting to become "El Salvador" of someone else.
• Once he has left the scene with the affected person, resume everyday activities at home and understand that the therapist's life remains the same.
• Have contact with nature.

A fundamental aspect It is recognizing that those who provide support also need to rest from work and seek professional help if required.

It is necessary to recognize that This picture can affect any health area professional, Due to high exposure with traumatized patients.

Likewise, taking care, assisting or attending to people who suffer requires greater demand and This places professional vulnerability.

The training on this syndrome is relevant, since, it can be triggered, in some cases, in depression, confusion and difficulty in making decisions, which would negatively affect those who suffer from it.

Finally, it must be accepted that, In life, no person can become the "salvadora" of another, at the cost of risking your own well -being.

Bibliography

• Campos, j., Cardona, J., Bolaños, i., & Cuartero, M. (2015). Compassion fatigue in the practice of family mediation: hypothesis for investigation. Researchgate. https: // doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.4118.1282
• Campos-Vidal, j. F., Cardona-Cardona, J., & Fourth-hasty, m. AND. (2017). Face wear: care and palliative mechanisms of compassion fatigue. Social Work Notebooks. https: // doi.org/10.14198/altern2017.24.07
• Conrad, d., & Kellar-Guenther, and. (2006). Compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction Among Colorado Child Protection Workers. Child Abuse and Neglect. https: // doi.org/10.1016/J.Chiabu.2006.03.009
• Figley, c. R. (2002). Compassion fatigue: psychotherapists. Journal of Clinical Psychology. https: // doi.org/10.1002/JClp.10090
• Figley, c. R. (nineteen ninety five). Compassion Fatigue as Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder: An Overview. In Compassion Fatigue: Coping With Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder In Those Who Treat The Traumaled.
• Kovács, m. J. (2010). Sofrimo gives Equipe de Saúde no hospitable context: taking care of a profissional caregiver. O Mundo da Saúde. https: // doi.org/10.15343/0104-7809.2010420429
• Martínez, J. P., Méndez, i., & Garcia-Sevilla, J. (2015). Burnout and empathy in professional caregivers of the elderly. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education. https: // doi.org/10.30552/EJIHPE.V5i3.135
• Empathy management in interconsultation. (2015). Perspectives in Psychology: Journal of Psychology and Related Sciences.
• Navarro, and., López, m. J., Climent, j. TO., & Gómez, J. (2019). Overload, empathy and resilience in caregivers of dependent people. Sanitary Gazette. https: // doi.org/https: // doi.org/10.1016/J.gazette.2017.eleven.009