Compassion Fatique Study Should Open Eyes on Combat PTSD

I cut out the part I really want you to read. It backs up what I've been saying about the type of person PTSD usually sets in on. Compassionate, sensitive people. While this article is discussing caregivers of terminal patients, think about the death that surrounds the men and women in the military and then you will have a better idea of why I keep saying the military and the VA are going at PTSD in the wrong direction. Between my two blogs, there are over 15,000 posts and most of them deal with PTSD. What you don't know is that with all of these posts sharing information I think is important, there are thousands more I've read over the years that are not posted. There is only so much room in this brain of mine, so it's impossible to even come close to remembering how many books and magazine articles I've read since 1982. What I believe has come from many years of taking all of this very personally because I've also been with my husband for as long as I've been doing this. I not only study it, I live it. Please do not dismiss what needs to be heard and taken seriously if we are ever going to get this right on PTSD.

'Compassion Fatigue' Drains Some Caregivers
By Todd Neale, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Published: April 03, 2009
Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Study of the causes of and signs of compassion fatigue, as well as techniques for managing the condition, has been hampered by the ambiguous definition of it, they said.


It is difficult to differentiate compassion fatigue from similar conditions, such as burnout, secondary traumatic stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, and vicarious traumatization, they said.


Empathy is central to all of these processes, yet compassion fatigue is a unique kind of burnout that occurs in caregiving professions, they said.


Although some tools have been developed to assess compassion fatigue -- the Compassion Satisfaction Fatigue test and the newer-generation Professional Quality of Life Scale -- there have been few validation studies, according to the researchers.



Workers who are most vulnerable are "overly conscientious, perfectionistic, and self-giving," Dr. Doebbeling and colleagues said.


Sufferers "may feel chronically tired and irritable, dread going to work or walking into a patient's room, lack joy in life, feel trapped, drink more alcohol or overeat, or experience an aggravation of existing physical ailments, such as headache or body aches," they said.


Affected workers may also become more cynical and bored.


Taken together these factors may result in decreased productivity, more sick days, and higher turnover at the workplace, they said.
'Compassion Fatigue' Drains Some Caregivers