Self Care
Self-care particularly in the wake of trauma is extremely important. Individuals working in the criminal justice field can experience stress, burnout, and fatigue. Compassion fatigue, which is also referred to as secondary traumatic stress or vicarious traumatization, is common among this group as well. Compassion fatigue is the traumatization that results from individuals who work closely with traumatized individuals on a regular basis. The effects of compassion fatigue can be detrimental to an individual on many levels. According to the International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience, “CF can lead to burn out, which is associated with serious mental health conditions such as PTSD and depression as well as failure to perform as expected on the job.”
Due to the fact that the nature of jobs in this field result in stress, trauma, and fatigue, it is important to focus on taking care of one’s self on a regular basis. There are many different approaches to self-care, and different individuals may respond better to different types of approaches. These can include physical activity, yoga, cooking, eating healthy, going to church, playing with a puppy, etc.
One approach that I touched briefly on in my personalized approaches to self-care discussion post is laughter. While this may seem miniscule, the effects of laughter are great. Laughter can decrease stress hormones such as cortisol and increase the production of dopamine. There are many ways to experience laughter, such as going to a comedy show, reading a funny book, or engaging with friends who induce laughter. As I discussed in reference to my own approach, I like to read books written by comedians. While they may be somewhat “trashy” and definitely not the most intellectually challenging, they are great for provoking laughter and reducing stress.
References:
Andersen, J. P., & Papazoglou, K. (n.d.). Compassion Fatigue and Compassion Satisfaction among Police Officers: An Understudied Topic. Retrieved from https://www.omicsonline.com/open-access/compassion-fatigue-and-compassion-satisfaction-among-police-officers-an-understudied-topic-1522-4821-1000259.php?aid=61170
Babbel, S. (2012, July 04). Compassion Fatigue. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/somatic-psychology/201207/compassion-fatigue
Heid, M. (2014, November 19). Laughing: You Asked Does Laughter Have Real Health Benefits? Retrieved from http://time.com/3592134/laughing-health-benefits/
Stress Management. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-management.htm