Prevention of Compassion Fatigue Louise Beck, MSW, LICSW Beck Cognitive Therapy Associates YAR 2016

Empathic Resonance Key feature in caregiving relationships Self compassion is essential in helping care givers thrive in their roles

What is Self-Compassion? Mindfulness Common humanity Self kindness

LK Meditation Training the mind to be more loving and compassionate Dose dependent Language, concentration and connection Power of words Page 80

Signs of fatigue Disturbed sleep Avoiding thoughts and feelings associated with the situation Distress, intrusive thoughts Our attention wanders away from the person we’re suppose to care for We become irritated or angry, sometimes even hateful, toward those we are caring for

Not a weakness, a sign of being human! We all have our limits to how much vicarious suffering we can bear When it’s too much we start resisting and we get fatigued

Typical advice we get to alleviate fatigue Exercise Attend workshops Work less Get supervision Delegate responsibility Spend time with friends Draw boundaries

What is the limitation of these strategies? They are important self care strategies Often motivated by self kindness But take place off the job So in the midst of suffering these strategies don’t help

Too much compassion? Actually need more, but different, to alleviate caregiver fatigue

Letting go of Resistance Mindfulness opposite of resistance The wish that our moment to moment experience be other than it is How do we know we are resisting? What we resist, persists Suffering = Pain x Resistance What we can feel, we can heal Page 52

Compassion and Empathy What is the difference? Empathy involves emotional resonance, feeling the feelings of the other person If just feeling the suffering of others without having the emotional resources to hold it We will fight against it, and burn out Compassion is empathy plus love This is a positive emotion, an energizing emotion

Giving ourselves compassion When we are experiencing empathic pain As well as giving compassion to those we care about

Threat Defense System We are both the attacker and the attacked Cortisol released…emotionally painful and related to conditions like anxiety and depression Reptiles and mammals Mammalian care-giving system evolved System triggered by 3 main factors Warmth, soothing touch, gentle vocalizations Page 30, 27

Jama, 2009 article “Physicians with burnout who use self-care without self awareness may feel as though they are drowning and barely able to come up for air, whereas self-care with self-awareness is like learning to breath underwater.”

Matthieu Ricard Empathy without compassion Empathy with compassion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khjPsVG-6QA

Buddha: “You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”

Video Empathy

When we are experiencing empathic pain We give ourselves compassion As well as compassion to those we care for Otherwise become depleted and less able to give

Dali lama said (2000) For someone to develop genuine compassion towards others, first he or she must have a basis upon which to cultivate compassion, and that basis is the ability to connect to one’s own feelings and to care for one’s own wellness…. Caring for others requires caring for oneself

Practice: Self-compassion for caregivers

Poem Awakening Rights by Mark Nepo

Resource Guide www.CenterforMSC.org Center for Mindful Self-Compassion www.MindfulSelfCompassion.org Chris Germer www.Self-Compassion.org Kristen Neff www.MatthieuRicard.org Matthieu Ricard www.BeckCTA.com Louise Beck, Amesbury, MA