For the Caregiver: Researchers Present Guide To Compassion Fatigue Fighting Through Self Care At MS Conference

The first step to effective caregiving for those with Multiple Sclerosis is caring for oneself, according to researchers Marie Namey, a clinical nurse specialist in Multiple Sclerosis at the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus, and Ellen Reardon, a dietitian at Walden Behavioral Care. The presentation “Compassion Fatigue: Caring for the Caregiver,” presented at this year’s 2014 CMSC ACTRIMS Annual Meeting in Dallas, demonstrates how to fight the condition known as “compassion fatigue,” which gradually decreases the feeling of compassion within people who work directly with those suffering from chronic or progressive diseases such as MS, and often found in nurses, psychologists and first responders.

“If you don’t care for yourself physically, emotionally, and spiritually then eventually there will not be enough of you left to care for anyone else,” the researchers noted during the presentation. The condition was first identified in nurses in the 1950s, which presented with feelings of hopelessness, incompetency and self-doubt; decrease in feeling pleasure; constant stress; anxiety; and decrease in productivity.

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