Talking About Compassion Fatigue
by Dr. Gretchen Clark Hammond
A couple of years ago, when the pandemic was beginning to ease and we started meeting in person again, I was asked to speak at a conference. The planners wanted me to come and talk about ways to reduce stigma around persons with substance use disorders and mental health disorders. I am always ready, willing, and able to talk about this topic and to focus on early, middle, and long-term recovery. However, I asked them a question before agreeing. It went something like this: “I can do that, but who is talking to everyone about how they’ve been traumatized by the pandemic?”
They responded, “Um…no one.” So ,my offer was to do two sessions – their original request of a talk on reducing stigma, along with another session focused on the trauma of being a helping professional. They accepted and I began planning for the conference.
On the day of the conference, I arrived early and got set up in my assigned room for my first talk, “The Trauma of Being a Helping Professional” where I focused on understanding what I believe is a real threat to our workforce – COMPASSION FATIGUE. I had no idea how many people would choose to attend my session – it’s not a “cheerful” topic, after all. Much to my surprise, every seat was full, and people were standing around the room. I would guess there were 150 people crammed into the space. I thought:
“Maybe I’m not the only one who knows we have all been traumatized…”
Discussing “emotional baggage”
Ten minutes into the presentation, people were wiping away tears, nodding their heads and paying ATTENTION (which is not easy anymore when you’re a presenter – the phones are a real competitor). By the time I was done, I had a receiving line of people waiting to talk to me. The most common request was:
“Can you come give this talk where I work? We NEED this information.”
When I was in college, I joined an organization that is technically designated as a “service fraternity.” This meant it was founded with three Greek letters and that dues were paid. But we didn’t live in a house together and did not emulate “Animal House,” so don’t think of raging parties when you think of this club. Rather, we met every week and planned service projects. Yep, you read that right -service projects where we volunteered in the community. Our motto was, “Be a Leader. Be a Friend. Be of Service.” I’ve never walked away from my commitment, and I often say this motto to myself because it serves as my personal North Star. So…when multiple people asked me to come and deliver this talk to their office/organization, I immediately thought:
“Be of Service.”
Since that time, I’ve been on a tour of sorts. I’ve travelled all over Ohio and neighboring states to talk about the reality of our work. How those of us who decided to be in the service of others can experience something that is hard to notice at first – Compassion Fatigue - and how that fatigue can take us out of our field entirely when it goes unchecked and unhealed. I have now delivered this talk nearly 20 times, and have additional sessions scheduled for later this month.
Most of my talk is focused on sharing information to help educate, but some of it is my lived experience as someone who has experienced severe compassion fatigue. It’s not easy to give this talk – it takes a lot out of me. However, this talk is needed. And, I am of service.
Our workforce crisis will not get better until we start talking about what compassion fatigue is, how it can be prevented, and how you can heal from it. I gave this talk to a room of 75 people last week and one participant said, “We need this talk in every academic institution so that students know what they are signing up for.” I’m ready for that moment – for the future of our workforce and in the spirit of being a leader, being a friend, and being of service.
If you think I could be of service to your organization, please reach out. I’d love to talk to you about it!
