What do you think when you hear the word "syndrome"?
My first reaction when I hear that word is to think disease or disorder, that something really wrong and it is systemic within a person. Many genetic or chromosomal disorders are referred to as syndromes, often named after the scientist who first discovered the root cause of the anomaly (think of Down Syndrome, for example).
I am noticing that it is being used more and more in the websphere in conjunction with compassion fatigue (as in Compassion Fatigue Syndrome) and for some reason this really goes up my nose.
Compassion Fatigue (CF) is an occupational hazard -it is a normal consequence of doing our work well, it is not a disease or a disorder.
I feel that we helping professionals and caregivers already experience too much guilt and shame around CF without further pathologising it. Words are important, they have an impact on how we perceive ourselves. So can we stop using syndrome in association with compassion fatigue, please?
Your thoughts?
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2 comments:
As someone who suffers from a couple of medical "syndromes", I too take offence to adding the word to CF. I agree wholeheartedly that there is far too much guilt placed on the worker suffering from CF - let's not add to it!
Hi Francoise,
I've been noticing the use of the word, "syndrome", as well and agree that it's not helpful. I wonder, though, if those who are using it aren't actually trying to prevent the pathologizing of CF? In medical terminology, the word "syndrome" can refer to a collection or recognizable pattern of signs and symptoms. With this definition, I can understand someone in health care choosing "syndrome" over "disease"...
I also wondered if we could be seeing a similar phenomenon to that which occurred years ago when American practitioners had to pathologize PTS in order to obtain treatment funding from their insurance companies. Perhaps this is happening with CF in the States ...?
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