Compassion Fatigue is Not Just Impacting First Responders and Caregivers
Photo by Anthony Tran via Unsplash
As a therapist, many of my clients are dealing with tough situations in their own lives while also facing a constant stream of upsetting news and stories on social media. More and more, I’ve been hearing:
Every time I look at my phone, I see another news notification about something awful happening. I just want to tune it out, but then I feel guilty.”
I’m exhausted but then can’t sleep because I’m thinking about how much the world is suffering.
I find myself snapping at people more often partially because I’m overwhelmed and feel hopeless about how to help or what to do.
This dual strain can be overwhelming, but also deeply personal, touching on their individual struggles and the collective turmoil they’re witnessing around the globe. It’s this mix of personal adversity and weight of world events that’s leading them to experience compassion fatigue.
Compassion fatigue is often thought of as the “cost of caring.” Up until a few decades ago, it mostly affected people in helping professions — healthcare workers and caregivers, for example. Today, everyone is at risk.
We can feel distraught by events we are not directly experiencing but are hearing and seeing through the 24-hour news cycle and the endless scroll on social media. It can feel like there is endless human suffering — war, mass shootings, climate change, violence, a world-destabilizing pandemic — and the line between what is urgent and what is not is blurred.
Am I suffering from compassion fatigue?
Understanding the gradual onset of compassion fatigue is key. By identifying it early, you can implement healthy coping strategies. Watch for these warning signs:
Emotional, psychological, and physical exhaustion
Feeling helpless, hopeless, or powerless
Feeling irritable, angry, or sad
A sense of being detached
Decrease in pleasure
Rumination about the suffering of others
A decreased sense of personal and/or professional achievement
A change in worldview
Physical symptoms such as a loss of appetite or changes in sleep patterns
If left unchecked, compassion fatigue can have long-lasting consequences. In an effort to quiet your mind or “numb out”, you might find yourself developing depression, anxiety, sleep issues, or other mental health conditions.
Learning from Frontline Caregivers
Compassion fatigue is a common issue for those who frequently work with other people’s trauma or distress — such as nurses, first responders, public school teachers, and therapists — and there are common strategies that professionals use to manage the emotional toll of their work.
Some of the self-care strategies I encourage when treating these professionals – and even use myself – center on awareness and acceptance, setting boundaries, and deliberately engaging in activities that make you feel more neutral or positive.
Accept your limits and feelings.
Acceptance refers to recognizing and acknowledging your own limitations. It’s normal to want to turn away from suffering at a certain point, as we are not well-equipped to stay focused on crises and traumatic events for long periods of time.
This includes choosing when to engage in conversation with others. You don’t have to be available to others to discuss what’s happening in the world. Communicate gently to your loved ones or colleagues if you wish to not talk about charged topics.
Guilt is also a normal response, but work toward accepting that you don’t always have to take action in response to that feeling. Reminding yourself of your humanity can allow you to let go of any feelings of guilt and powerlessness.
Develop healthy coping strategies.
Researchers have been studying the effects of compassion fatigue on frontline workers for years and have found that healthy stress management skills help them build resilience and avoid burnout.
Need a break? It’s okay to disengage. Setting limits and boundaries can actually help you become more attentive and helpful over time. Healthy stress management can include practical strategies like:
Limiting your daily news and screen time. For example, look at the news for 10 minutes each morning and 10 minutes at night and turn off phone notifications for news updates. You might also follow news sources that publish positive or solutions-based stories. Choose “pro-social media” that encourages the expression of positive emotions about fellow citizens, such as Humans of New York.
Prioritizing your wellbeing. Use the time you may have previously spent doom scrolling to recharge by eating healthfully, building a better sleep routine (for example, cut down on evening screen time), and moving your body in a way that feels good (be that yoga or walking around the block). Reduce work-related stress by taking short breaks, using paid time off, and focusing on life outside of work.
Practicing mindfulness. Studies have shown that mindfulness training and practice, such as meditation and journaling, significantly reduces compassion fatigue, anxiety, and depression among healthcare professionals.
Channeling your emotions into measured action. You may find that volunteering or donating to causes you support makes you feel more connected to others and that you are contributing to the greater good.
Find meaning in other parts of your life.
Connect with your needs and prioritize activities that make you feel good, including hobbies that help you build a sense of connection with others. Doing so regularly can improve your mood and decrease the sense of helplessness that often accompanies compassion fatigue.
In addition to the strategies mentioned above, having a place to talk openly about your struggles and experiences can be helpful. Therapy can provide a safe space for emotional expression and exploration, and your therapist can work with you on finding practical action steps to take tailored to your unique needs.
Ready to start therapy to address your compassion fatigue? Octave has over 1,000 therapists who have been carefully selected to meet your mental health needs.