On Compassion Fatigue

If you’re anything like me, you had never heard this phrase until very recently, but as soon as those words graced your ears, you knew exactly what they meant. Perhaps, for you, it’s happening right now.

I was having a conversation with my roommate that made its way to the topic of current events, as many conversations tend to do these days. He and I see eye to eye on most things, so these chats are typically a more of a chance for us to mutually air our grievances and offer each other a chance to cope with the grief of the day. In this particular case, I was offering my clear and concise thoughts (okay, fine, I was ranting) about how there was just too much bad news out there and that nobody really knows what to do with all of it. My roommate heard me out and responded with something to the effect of “Yeah man, everyone out there is just dealing with compassion fatigue.”

Compassion fatigue… At that moment, so many ideas that had been swirling around in my head suddenly had two concise words to latch on to. I finally understood why I had been seeing my social media feeds shift from genuine, calculated activism to empty complaints and half-assed political memes. I found an eloquent and well-meaning way to say “everyone needs to chill the fuck out for a second.” My own view of things seemed to shift from a place of bitterness to a place of understanding. It all made sense.

We’re all just experiencing compassion fatigue.

These days, our social media and news feeds are dominated by stories that are designed to make us scared, sad, angry, or some combination thereof. With the advent of social media and its capacity for widespread, long-distance communication, we are now able to experience the pain and suffering of places in every corner of the world. Thanks to the current state of news coverage, we are involuntarily being shown the most traumatic snippets of stories of civil unrest, climate crises, political corruption, social division, and so much more. The Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma asserts that mainstream media is causing widespread compassion fatigue by showing tragic, sometimes even graphic images paired with affectively-manipulative headlines before offering any context [1]. Anyone who is bothering to pay any attention is being exposed to more grief and tragedy than any one human being is designed to handle. Simply put, it’s all too much to bear.

Many researchers identify compassion fatigue as a legitimate psychological condition. The American Institute of Stress describes it as the result of a “cumulative level of trauma” and asserts that it is symptomatically similar to physical burnout. These common symptoms can include physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion, isolation, and depersonalization. In extreme cases, it can even potentiate cases of depression and PTSD [2].

I’ve found among my friends who are the most active in advocating for justice, many are starting to exhibit certain similar behaviors. From my observation, it seems like they all have the idea that if they stop making their voices heard for even one second, the issues they’re fighting will spiral out of control, as though the ship is sinking, and they’re the ones bailing out water. I see this mentality as both a symptom and a cause of compassion fatigue.

Does this mean we should stop caring about current issues? Absolutely not. Being able to identify and understand compassion fatigue in yourself and others actually gives you the ability to care more and, more importantly, to do more. There’s just one very important part of the process that may strike many as counterintuitive: taking time to not focus on the issues. Many of my friends in the state of mind that I described above will probably think I’m crazy for even suggesting this, but if you aren’t taking the time to rest, how can you expect to be of any use? If you’re physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted, then you need to rest in all of those senses.

Rest physically. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep. Be good to your body. Cook yourself a healthy meal. Take a long bath.

Rest mentally. Turn off your phone. Go for a stroll through the woods. Listen to a song from your childhood. Get lost in a good book.

Rest emotionally. Remind yourself of what makes you happy. Find the beauty in every day. Connect with a friend. Have a good laugh.

If we take the time to care for ourselves, we better equip ourselves to take care of others. If you feel like you may be experiencing compassion fatigue, my hope is that you heed my advice. If you know someone who you think may be experiencing it, reach out to them.

Remember that you can make the world a better place one person at a time. Sometimes, it’s as easy as remembering that you can also be that one person.

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[1] Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma: https://web.archive.org/web/20080715015000/http://www.dartcenter.org/training/selfstudy/3_photojournalism/04.php

[2] American Institute of Stress: https://www.stress.org/military/for-practitionersleaders/compassion-fatigue