Physical Wellness

Take time from your hectic schedule to nurture your physical wellness! A recent study at The Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois found that:

• An active lifestyle has been shown to improve cognitive and brain function
• Age-related mental decline can be reversed with regular exercise

Research studies have also shown that regular exercise can help improve your mood.

• First, exercise burns cortisol in the body which is a by-product of stress and can be damaging to organs.
• Secondly, exercise stimulates the release of endorphins which are the feel-good hormones in the pituitary gland.

Steps to improving your physical well-being may include:

• Regular check-ups with your doctor and dentist
• Routine sleep patterns (8 or 9 hours a night!)
• Eating well-balanced meals throughout the day
• Drinking water
• Minimizing caffeine, alcohol and sugar
• Practicing meditation or yoga
• Regular Exercise - walking, swimming, weight-lifting, etc...

Choose Wellness!

Recovery Process for Empathy Fatigue

Empathy Fatigue is a result of the cumulative effects of multiple client sessions where a counselor primarily uses empathy-focused interactions which can lead to a decrease in a counselor's ability to effectively cope with stress.

As the counselor becomes overwhelmed by continued stories of grief, loss or trauma, his ability to empathize with his clients decreases. The issues discussed in sessions do not have to be extremely stressful or traumatic and can range from minor to traumatic issues.

The recovery process for empathy fatigue begins with the awareness of acute or cumulative symptoms that lead to emotional, mental, physical, spiritual or occupational exhaustion. Supervision in either an individual, peer or group structure, along with self-care practices can be very beneficial in improving a counselor's physical, mental and spiritual well-being.

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Empathy Fatigue

Empathy Fatigue (EF) is "...a state of psychological, emotional, mental, physical, spiritual, and occupational exhaustion…experienced by the counselor after listening to the stressful events and problems experienced by clients on an on-going, continual basis while providing consistent empathy and sensitivity.” (Empathy Fatigue, Dr. Mark Stebnicki, 2008)

Empathy Fatigue is a fatigue reaction experienced by mental health professionals who utilize empathy-focused interactions and person-centered theory and techniques as their primary means to build and establish therapeutic rapport with their clients.

Symptoms:

• A decreased ability to listen and respond empathically to clients.

• Counselors may be overwhelmed by emotions that parallel those of their clients and experience feelings of anxiety, depression, grief, loss or detachment.

• Symptoms can move along a continuum from low to moderate to high levels of fatigue, and have acute, cumulative or delayed onset reactions.

• Burnout Syndrome can result when a counselor reaches the significantly impaired phase of Empathy Fatigue. Significantly impaired phase can last weeks, months or even years.

Choose Wellness!