Compassion Fatigue: Identifying the Emotional Toll in Caregivers

A quality that stands out in all of us is the ability to care, protect, and love others. However, there is a flip side to this—compassion fatigue is real. We all love to pour from our emotional cups, but we forget that this cup has a limited capacity. When we start pouring excessively from our compassion cups, we end up exhausted and tired as a consequence.

Compassion fatigue impacts our mind, emotions, and even our physical health. It arises from providing care for others. While this is particularly noticed in demanding professions, it can affect anyone. It can affect a mental health professional, a family member, a doctor, or any caregiver.

Fatigue arises when you do more than what is required of you. (Image via Unsplash/ Dogukan Sahin)

Causes of Compassion Fatigue

Compassion fatigue can result from various variables. Think about your experience as a caregiver. Are you someone who is constantly exposed to traumatic experiences and narratives? For instance, if you are a mental health professional, you are at the risk of developing fatigue especially if you are working with clients with trauma concerns. The same goes for medical doctors who are exposed to emergency situations and a high rate of fatality.

What can additionally be harmful is an unsupportive environment. Are you someone who receives insufficient support? Social isolation can impact your wellness and contribute to burnout.

Are you someone who takes up extra work, even when it can be distributed? If you are taking much more workload than required, you become vulnerable to developing burnout syndrome. Remember, that the number of hours don't contribute to your sense of self and worth.

Symptoms of Compassion Fatigue: Be Aware of Moving Towards Burnout

You do so much for others, that you forget about yourself. (Image via Unsplash/ Stacey Koenitz)

Compassion fatigue is a very essential phenomenon that recognizes the effects of excessive caregiving. It acknowledges that burnout does not only happen at the workplace and can occur in other settings as well.

Whether it's caring for an aging parent, patients, clients, children or co-workers, compassion fatigue is real. Caring too much is equally harmful as caring too little. Here are the signs of compassion burnout:

1) Emotional exhaustion

As a result of compassion fatigue, it becomes difficult for you to engage with the emotions of self and others. (Image via Unsplash/ Brooke Cagle)

You feel emotionally drained and overwhelmed by the experiences shared by others. You have difficulty empathizing for others, or even yourself. Self-compassion leaves the room.

It makes it difficult to connect to others' experiences. You go to work or meet that particular client, but with a sense of exhaustion and lethargy. Perhaps you also think about not meeting them as a result of caregiver burnout.

2) Depersonalization

Disconnection is also a common feature. When was the last time you felt connected to yourself? (Image via Unsplash/ Shane)

Depersonalisation disorder occurs when you develop a sense of detachment towards people you are providing care for. This is one of the most common indicators. Yes, you go to work everyday, but you can feel the same emotions as they do. You look at their experiences mechanically, which is why you may also end up developing a negative attitude towards them.

3) Personal neglect

Personal neglect is perhaps the saddest after-effect of compassion fatigue. (Image via Unsplash/ Toa Heftiba)

The emotional weight is so high that it separates you from everyone else around you. You begin neglecting others, slowly and steadily. This may start from not going to social activities. You may start skipping contact as much as possible.

Furthermore, compassion fatigue affects your own self-care routines and well-being. The other person becomes the focus, while you become blurred. This becomes particularly challenging since you are not able to establish healthy boundaries for yourself.

As much as honorable trait compassion is, it is important to be aware of the draining effects it can have. Empathy fatigue can have lasting effects on your well-being, whether it is emotional, physical or social.

It is essential to recognize that it is okay to not be able to fight other people's fights constantly. You can step up if you see someone harming another person verbally or physically for who they are, but you don't have the mental capacity to be doing it all the time.

Janvi Kapur is a counselor with a master's degree in applied psychology with a specialization in clinical psychology.

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