compassion fatigue
Caring wears out
Compassion fatigue is the emotional exhaustion that comes from sustained exposure to others' suffering—common among nurses, social workers, therapists, and caregivers.
It manifests as diminished empathy, emotional numbness, or cynicism toward those you're meant to help: After years in the ER, she recognized the signs of compassion fatigue.
The term also applies more broadly to public indifference toward ongoing crises: Donor compassion fatigue set in after months of disaster coverage.
Loss of sensation
- apathyAbsence of feeling
- detachmentSeparation or emotional uninvolvement
- cynicismDistrust of human sincerity
- indifferenceLack of interest
hopelessness · helplessness · depersonalization · irritability · avoidance · hypervigilance · intrusive thoughts · sleep disturbance
Maintaining personal wellbeing
- boundariesLines marking separation
- respiteShort pause from hardship
- supervisionOverseeing people or processes
- peer supportAid from similar others
debriefing · mindfulness · resilience · renewal · restoration · work-life balance · wellness · recharge
Distress from exposure to others' suffering
- caregiver burnoutHelper's emotional depletion
- emotional exhaustionDepleted capacity for feeling
- occupational hazardDanger specific to one's profession
- emotional laborManaging feelings for job demands
Sustained experience of distress
- crisisDecisive dangerous moment
- caregivingAttending to dependents
- humanitarian workEfforts aiding those in crisis
- healthcareOrganized provision of treatment
hospice · emergency services · disaster response · refugee aid · child welfare · animal rescue · oncology · palliative care
numbness
Loss of sensation
- apathyAbsence of feeling
- detachmentSeparation or emotional uninvolvement
- cynicismDistrust of human sincerity
indifference · hopelessness · helplessness · depersonalization · irritability · avoidance · hypervigilance · intrusive thoughts · sleep disturbance · isolation
self-care
Maintaining personal wellbeing
- boundariesLines marking separation
- respiteShort pause from hardship
- supervisionOverseeing people or processes
peer support · debriefing · mindfulness · resilience · renewal · restoration · work-life balance · wellness · recharge · support groups
vicarious trauma
Distress from exposure to others' suffering
- caregiver burnoutHelper's emotional depletion
- emotional exhaustionDepleted capacity for feeling
- occupational hazardDanger specific to one's profession
suffering
Sustained experience of distress
- crisisDecisive dangerous moment
- caregivingAttending to dependents
- humanitarian workEfforts aiding those in crisis
healthcare · hospice · emergency services · disaster response · refugee aid · child welfare · animal rescue · oncology · palliative care · victim advocacy
- burnoutburned out, burnt out, burn out, burning out, burnout
- empathyempathy, sympathy, kindness, understanding, caring
- fatigueexhaustion, tiredness, weariness, lethargy, exhausted
- health studiesmedical ethics, bioethics, health policy, health equity, medical history
- teacher burnoutteacher burnout, emotional exhaustion, exhaustion, overwhelm, overwork
- workplace stressjob stress, work stress, occupational stress, job burnout, job anxiety
compassion fatigueemotional resilience
Capacity to recover from distress
tender-heartedness · open-heartedness · emotional availability · heartfulness
compassion, fatigue, compass, compassionate, compassionately, passion, passionate, passionately, dispassionate