Compassion fatigue is the physical, emotional, and psychological result of constantly helping others.
Are you one of the following?
- Mental health professional
- Medical healthcare professional
- First responder (police officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, paramedic)
- Teacher
- Lawyer
- Church Leadership
- Other helping professional
Have you noticed when you first started your profession that passion fueled you but that’s started to dwindle? Maybe you’re questioning your career choice and saying, “I love what I do, but it’s too much!” Or even, “I don’t care anymore about other people.”
Maybe you’re feeling emotionally drained and physically exhausted. Perhaps your empathy meter is at an all-time low and it feels difficult to not only do your job but take care of yourself.
If any of this sounds familiar, you may have compassion fatigue or burnout.
Compassion fatigue comes from regularly being exposed to stress and trauma, either your own or someone else’s.
When those stressful and traumatic experiences start to affect your thoughts, moods, and well-being outside of work, that spells compassion fatigue. Not only does compassion fatigue affect how you feel, but it also affects how you act: A common sign of compassion fatigue is withdrawing from social connections. If you’re not withdrawing physically, you may do so emotionally by disconnecting from those closest to you. Or maybe you feel numb.
Because of your constant exposure to trauma, you could start feeling more anxious and think the world is a dangerous place or that there’s no hope for humanity. You may feel demoralized and question how effective you are in your profession.
If the above doesn’t sound like you, instead you may be experiencing burnout, which is a form of exhaustion caused by the constant feeling of overwhelm. It’s excessive and prolonged emotional, physical, and mental stress. Burnout reduces your energy and contributes to feeling hopeless, cynical, and resentful. If left unchecked, burnout can turn into depression.
As someone who is in a helping profession, I understand both compassion fatigue and burnout. I’ve developed strategies to prevent them and worked with others to manage the conditions when they arise.
Let me help you so you can continue helping others.
I want you to rediscover a new way of dealing with your problems and find a Sense of Peace in your situation. This type of peace allows you to experience harmony with your mind, body, and spirit.