What is Compassion Fatigue and Who Does it Affect?

Some jobs and careers mostly revolve around the pursuit of income. Running parallel to this trend are the professions designed to offer care, protection, safety, and healing. This category covers a lot of ground, but typically the motivation is similar; a desire to spend your days displaying compassion for others. But is compassion something you can run out of?

If you’re constantly exposed to the suffering and possible trauma of others, you can reach a point of diminishing returns. This is more than burnout — which you can experience in any field.  A more accurate term is comparison fatigue and this concept warrants our full attention.

What Fields Are at High Risk of Compassion Fatigue?

This can be a case-by-case situation but, generally speaking, this trend is most common in workers like:

• Teachers
• Healthcare professionals of any kind — from nurses to therapists to home health aides and beyond
• First responders
• Clergy members
• Journalists and photojournalists who cover wars, disasters, etc.
• Lawyers who represent the most vulnerable of clients
• Social workers

Again, since many people are engaged in supporting others, this is an incomplete list. They dedicate exorbitant amounts of compassion and empathy to others and, as a consequence, neglect their own mental and physical needs. In some cases, workers like this can suffer from vicarious or secondhand trauma.

What Does Compassion Fatigue Look and Feel Like?

A wide swath of individuals struggle with compassion fatigue. Hence, symptoms can vary. In a more general sense, here are some red flags to watch for:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Hyper-vigilance
• Flashbacks, nightmares, and other intrusive thoughts
• Sleep disturbances
• Angry outbursts
• Mental and/or physical exhaustion
• Self-medication, including substance abuse
• Missing days at work
• Reduced productivity

In addition, someone coping with compassion fatigue may display some very specific job-related problems, e.g. fixating on the people you help, guilt that you’re not doing enough, and feeling hopeless from thinking you can’t make a real difference. All of the above can provoke a mindset sometimes referred to as “psychic numbing.” That causes you to separate yourself from the intense work you do and, in the process, perform your duties in a state of dissociation. On the surface, it may feel logical. Unfortunately, it can lead to work dissatisfaction and the emotional numbness can carry over to other parts of your life.

Addressing Compassion Fatigue

There’s a good chance you’ll need some outside input when tackling compassionate fatigue. But this most definitely does not mean there aren’t valuable steps you can take on your own. For example:

Daily Self-Care

Recalibrate some of your empathetic instincts toward yourself. This may involve:

• Maintaining regular, adequate sleep patterns
• Some form of exercise and physical activity every day
• Making wise, healthy choices when it comes to eating and drinking
• Saying in contact with friends and family members — especially those outside your chosen field

Soothe Your Soul and Spirit

Everyone needs relaxation techniques. If your daily life has you giving all the time, this step is non-negotiable. Look into stress management ideas like:

• Mellow music
• Aromatherapy
• Meditation
• Yoga
• Breathing exercises
• Journaling
• Spending time in nature

Also, lean into your spiritual practice — whatever that means to you. It can be the ideal way to make sense of the distress you’re experiencing.

Create Workplace Changes

Talk with co-workers and management to aid anyone dealing with compassion fatigue — along with any other kind of burnout. Shatter the stigma by talking about what you feel and encouraging others to do the same.

Talk With Someone Who Gets It

The patterns that lay the groundwork for compassion fatigue can often be invisible. Connecting with an experienced depression therapist can help you identify underlying causes as you also discover new approaches to your work and everyday life. Reach out to schedule a consultation with us and we can work together to manage compassion fatigue.