Compassion Fatigue
People whose professions lead to prolonged exposure to other people's trauma can be vulnerable to what's known as compassion fatigue, a state of intense emotional disconnection, exhaustion, and distress that's also known as secondary or vicarious trauma. People experiencing compassion fatigue can struggle with acute symptoms that put their physical and mental health at risk, making them wary of giving and caring.
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The Challenges of Feeling Another’s Pain
Empathy is a valuable trait for just about anyone, and especially so for first responders, humanitarian aid workers, health care professionals, therapists, advocates for victims of domestic abuse, moderators of offensive online content, journalists on the front lines of war and disaster, and others who are tasked with helping others navigate trauma, abuse, or disaster. But the more such individuals open themselves to others' pain, the more likely they are to take on the emotional weight of others' heartbreak and devastation. Over time and without adequate support, this weight can grow into a serious burden, and helpers' sapped ability to cope with secondary trauma can lead to total exhaustion of one’s mental and physical state.
Those who regularly experience vicarious trauma often neglect their own self-care and inner life as they struggle with images and stories that can’t be forgotten. Symptoms of compassion fatigue can include exhaustion, disrupted sleep, anxiety, headaches, stomach upset, irritability, numbness, a decreased sense of purpose, emotional disconnection, self-contempt, and difficulties with personal relationships.
Compassion fatigue can result from exposure to a single case of serious trauma or from years of accumulated “emotional residue." Often, it affects the most dedicated workers—people who continue to help by working extra shifts or foregoing days off, neglecting their own self-care.
Burnout is not the same as compassion fatigue. Feeling depleted from everyday stressors like work and childrearing can result in burnout, while compassion fatigue is the strain of feeling for another’s pain. However, the symptoms of burnout and compassion fatigue can look similar.
To be more effective, studies have shown that some workers in helping professions may benefit from what’s known as “psychic numbing”—the ability to dial down one’s empathetic instincts while on the job, freeing up cognitive resources to find solutions to the problems in front of them rather than becoming paralyzed by the scope of need they see.
The understanding that exposure to the trauma of others could put people at risk has long been understood—historian Samuel Moyn has said, “Compassion fatigue is as old as compassion,” but the term was coined by historian Carla Joinson in 1992, and further defined and researched by psychologist Charles Figley, who describes it as “a state of exhaustion and dysfunction, biologically, physiologically and emotionally, as a result of prolonged exposure to compassion stress.”
Compassion Fatigue in the General Public
A secondary definition of compassion fatigue refers to the experience of any empathetic individual who is acutely conscious of societal needs but feels helpless to solve them. People who actively engage in charity or volunteering may come to feel that they cannot commit any more energy, time, or money to the plight of others because they feel overwhelmed or paralyzed by pleas for support and that the world’s challenges are never-ending.
Evolutionary psychologists studying the development of human empathy suggest that we evolved to put our clan or family first and may struggle to extend our empathy to other groups. Some researchers even argue that empathy can fuel antisocial behavior such as aggression.
Research findings show that people tend to be more responsive to the needs of individuals rather than those of groups or the world as a whole. For this reason, many charitable organizations have learned to focus their campaigns on how donors can help individual victims, rather than groups in distress.
Viewing violent news events on television or doomscrolling on social media can also cause some people with high levels of empathy to experience symptoms similar to those of secondary trauma.
Soon after a catastrophe, outpourings of donations and support are likely to be extended to people affected by disaster; indeed, people high in certain personality traits, such as honesty-humility, are especially likely to donate after a tragedy, research suggests. However, that empathy may start to wear off quickly, typically because we become fatigued when exposed continually to the suffering of others.
How to Treat Compassion Fatigue
Hospitals, nursing and police unions, medical associations, correctional facilities, and other professional groups have become more aware of the effects of secondary trauma and now urge those in the helping professions to offset such fatigue.
We think someone else's problem is theirs, not ours. Yet we are all linked more than we realize. The more we bother to be a good influence in the world, the better the world will be—not just for others, but for us.
We may counteract compassion fatigue through a commitment to adequate rest, regular time off, time in therapy, and consistent self-care, such as regular exercise and a healthy diet. It can also help to set emotional boundaries and practice gratitude so that you can stay kind even when you're starting to feel fed up.
People experiencing compassion fatigue may secretly self-medicate with alcohol, drugs, gambling, or food. Left unaddressed, compassion fatigue can develop into clinical depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.
Other techniques like mindfulness, meditation, or yoga, and time with loved ones or in nature, or devoted to interests or hobbies outside of work have also been found to lessen the symptoms of compassion fatigue, as well as related conditions like burnout.
Some research argues for resilience training programs, designed to educate care workers about this type of fatigue and its risk factors. Such training typically teaches those at risk of compassion fatigue how to employ relaxation techniques and build social support networks to cope with symptoms that arise.
