“We have not been directly exposed to the trauma scene, but we hear the story told with such intensity, or we hear similar stories so often, or we have the gift and curse of extreme empathy and we suffer. We feel the feelings of our clients. We experience their fears. We dream their dreams. Eventually, we lose a certain spark of optimism, humor and hope. We tire. We aren’t sick, but we aren’t ourselves.”
– C. Figley, 1995
For me, ever since COVID-19, the stores I have seldom visited have been lacking, in terms of energy from how I perceived it. People I have seen around seem to have gotten numb or look exhausted, in a way that people seem more reluctant to assist others as if they are pretending they are too busy or seem to prefer to mind their own business. Granted, it is a small range given that I seldom go out, especially out of fear of the pandemic still lingering. To me, it feels like compassion fatigue and burnout lingers in the air. This is one social issue I feel more deeply about, it was something I wasn’t sure how to say until recently. It’s hard to describe, but when people don’t seem to need help that you try to offer dispirits bit by bit, which can exhaust my motivation and energy to try and assist others, especially when people really dislike me wanting to help, which only furthers this compassion fatigue and overall low energy I have. Currently, the compassion fatigue I’ve noticed isn’t quite as thick in Alhambra as opposed to other far areas where there are more bustling people. Still, there have been a few people I have met that talk about how numerous times of assisting people has worn them out, something different, but similar to exhaustion or burnout. While it can extend to burnout due to overlapping facts, I believe that there has been a lingering air with compassion fatigue and possibly burnout too.
Findings:
To start, there are some facts on compassion fatigue and why and how it occurs. According to Stress.org or otherwise known as The American Institute of Stress (AIS), it is the “emotional residue or strain of exposure to working with those suffering from the consequences of traumatic events” [AIS, 2017]. It is quite similar to burnout, which is strain by workload and dissatisfaction. AIS displays some of the symptoms that may occur when suffering from compassion fatigue, which are not limited to: Isolation and loss of morale and self-worth, anger to causes or perpetrators, mental and emotional exhaustion, etc [2017]. The AIS article goes on to how compassion fatigue has similar underlying symptoms with burnout such as exhaustion, struggling sense of self-accomplishments, etc [2017]. In an article from the National Library of Medicine about COVID-19’s impact on professionals, “The average level of burnout among healthcare professionals was high, especially on the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization subscales” [Lluch et al., 2022]. To elaborate more on COVID-19 causing healthcare professions to suffer burnout, Lluch et al.’s article further explains that compassion fatigue has a positive correlation with burnout, retaining its very high prevalence within healthcare professionals [2022]. The United Way of the National Capital Area (UWNCA) discusses empathy burnout, which is similar to burnout and compassion fatigue, displaying statistics such as how 37% of Americans suffer empathy burnout from negative news and events, and astoundingly, 57% of women feel empathy burnout to the same negative news events [2022]. UWNCA also has statistics that shows that from 1000 Americans interviewed about what contributed to their empathy burnout, the top 3 events that contributed were the Russian Invasion of Ukraine (60%), police brutality (48%), and COVID-19’s toll on mental health (48%) [2022].
Originally, it was meant to be simply compassion fatigue, but then I have come to realize that compassion fatigue is more to it, how it can often be tied with burnout. I have been feeling burnt out for a long time, people often say I have become a bit more snappy towards people, how I do not seem to lend a hand as much as often. And well, along with what I said about why I feel like burnout and compassion fatigue lingers in the air, I have come to this feeling of futility. I was not that when two of my grandfathers passed away, which I have come to realize the sadness to them. I try to lend a hand to others when I think I could help, but I have for most of the time declined, it also extends to when I wanted help when people weren’t there to aid me sometimes. I think worst of all… I think I felt completely drained when my dog passed away from liver failure in front of me. I don’t remember much of it, but I felt myself cracking when the next day, my dad acted like nothing happened… And made me do chores when I was still in the slums, especially right after I took a long bath. It was an accumulative feeling of not being helpful or being made to do things at the worst timings that I have begun to feel burned out, feeling like I am exhausted no matter how much I sleep or relax. It is why I often have a pitying face whenever I see someone say or seem like they are burnt out or unwilling to spare their few slivers of compassion, because they didn’t get the satisfying results to make it all worth it. And that is why I must ask as someone who is still unable to shake off this feeling of futility and exhaustion, pace yourself, do things you love and learn to give yourself free time unfettered by the demands of others so you will not feel burnout.
The interviewed:
Although most choose to remain anonymous, they have given their thoughts about the topic.
"As a nurse, it's tough. Sometimes there are things that are unavoidable, people who refuse treatment or unable to afford treatment."
-Adriana
Adriana is a nurse of a undisclosed hospital, having about a daughter to raise. She describes her life as a nurse, having to deal with situation that breaks her heart often due to the healthcare system, especially because some are unable to afford the care they need. It is a daunting job, but despite the feeling of compassion fatigue and potential burnout, she's still marching through of it all!
"I have a mom who was very sick. She's not with me physically. She's being taken care of by other relatives. It sucks, I wish I could've done more, but that's why I have to do y best and do what I can do."
- Albert
Albert is another person who chose to be anonymous for the most part, being a clergyman who wishes to give spiritual guidance. I had a more personal discussion with him, how I often feel the same about being burnt out by dissatisfaction of not being helpful or not being able to do anything to make things better. I may not follow their religion, but it was heart warming nevertheless.
"For me specifically, I work in pediatric mental help so I help family manage hard situations and at the end of the day we have to learn to separate ourselves from that and not take it home with us."
-Nikki
Nikki, as she said, is a healthcare professional who works as a occupational therapist. She describes how her job is very emotionally and mentally taxing, even when she has to make a line in professional and empathy. When I asked her about what happens in the low moments, she admits that each therapy session is unpredictable, how in some of these sessions, it makes her question her own competency, but she always bounces back.
Citations:
Compassion fatigue. The American Institute of Stress. (2017, January 4). Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://www.stress.org/military/for-practitionersleaders/compassion-fatigue
Lluch, C., Galiana, L., Doménech, P., & Sansó, N. (2022, February 13). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Burnout, compassion fatigue, and compassion satisfaction in Healthcare Personnel: A systematic review of the literature published during the first year of the pandemic. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland). Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8872521/#:~:text=Women%20presented%20higher%20compassion%20fatigue,professionals%20(p%20%3D%200.038).
Surveying Americans on empathy burnout. United Way NCA. (2022, April 7). Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://unitedwaynca.org/blog/empathy-burnout-survey/
For me, ever since COVID-19, the stores I have seldom visited have been lacking, in terms of energy from how I perceived it. People I have seen around seem to have gotten numb or look exhausted, in a way that people seem more reluctant to assist others as if they are pretending they are too busy or seem to prefer to mind their own business. Granted, it is a small range given that I seldom go out, especially out of fear of the pandemic still lingering. To me, it feels like compassion fatigue and burnout lingers in the air. This is one social issue I feel more deeply about, it was something I wasn’t sure how to say until recently. It’s hard to describe, but when people don’t seem to need help that you try to offer dispirits bit by bit, which can exhaust my motivation and energy to try and assist others, especially when people really dislike me wanting to help, which only furthers this compassion fatigue and overall low energy I have. Currently, the compassion fatigue I’ve noticed isn’t quite as thick in Alhambra as opposed to other far areas where there are more bustling people. Still, there have been a few people I have met that talk about how numerous times of assisting people has worn them out, something different, but similar to exhaustion or burnout. While it can extend to burnout due to overlapping facts, I believe that there has been a lingering air with compassion fatigue and possibly burnout too.
Findings:
To start, there are some facts on compassion fatigue and why and how it occurs. According to Stress.org or otherwise known as The American Institute of Stress (AIS), it is the “emotional residue or strain of exposure to working with those suffering from the consequences of traumatic events” [AIS, 2017]. It is quite similar to burnout, which is strain by workload and dissatisfaction. AIS displays some of the symptoms that may occur when suffering from compassion fatigue, which are not limited to: Isolation and loss of morale and self-worth, anger to causes or perpetrators, mental and emotional exhaustion, etc [2017]. The AIS article goes on to how compassion fatigue has similar underlying symptoms with burnout such as exhaustion, struggling sense of self-accomplishments, etc [2017]. In an article from the National Library of Medicine about COVID-19’s impact on professionals, “The average level of burnout among healthcare professionals was high, especially on the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization subscales” [Lluch et al., 2022]. To elaborate more on COVID-19 causing healthcare professions to suffer burnout, Lluch et al.’s article further explains that compassion fatigue has a positive correlation with burnout, retaining its very high prevalence within healthcare professionals [2022]. The United Way of the National Capital Area (UWNCA) discusses empathy burnout, which is similar to burnout and compassion fatigue, displaying statistics such as how 37% of Americans suffer empathy burnout from negative news and events, and astoundingly, 57% of women feel empathy burnout to the same negative news events [2022]. UWNCA also has statistics that shows that from 1000 Americans interviewed about what contributed to their empathy burnout, the top 3 events that contributed were the Russian Invasion of Ukraine (60%), police brutality (48%), and COVID-19’s toll on mental health (48%) [2022].
Originally, it was meant to be simply compassion fatigue, but then I have come to realize that compassion fatigue is more to it, how it can often be tied with burnout. I have been feeling burnt out for a long time, people often say I have become a bit more snappy towards people, how I do not seem to lend a hand as much as often. And well, along with what I said about why I feel like burnout and compassion fatigue lingers in the air, I have come to this feeling of futility. I was not that when two of my grandfathers passed away, which I have come to realize the sadness to them. I try to lend a hand to others when I think I could help, but I have for most of the time declined, it also extends to when I wanted help when people weren’t there to aid me sometimes. I think worst of all… I think I felt completely drained when my dog passed away from liver failure in front of me. I don’t remember much of it, but I felt myself cracking when the next day, my dad acted like nothing happened… And made me do chores when I was still in the slums, especially right after I took a long bath. It was an accumulative feeling of not being helpful or being made to do things at the worst timings that I have begun to feel burned out, feeling like I am exhausted no matter how much I sleep or relax. It is why I often have a pitying face whenever I see someone say or seem like they are burnt out or unwilling to spare their few slivers of compassion, because they didn’t get the satisfying results to make it all worth it. And that is why I must ask as someone who is still unable to shake off this feeling of futility and exhaustion, pace yourself, do things you love and learn to give yourself free time unfettered by the demands of others so you will not feel burnout.
The interviewed:
Although most choose to remain anonymous, they have given their thoughts about the topic.
"As a nurse, it's tough. Sometimes there are things that are unavoidable, people who refuse treatment or unable to afford treatment."
-Adriana
Adriana is a nurse of a undisclosed hospital, having about a daughter to raise. She describes her life as a nurse, having to deal with situation that breaks her heart often due to the healthcare system, especially because some are unable to afford the care they need. It is a daunting job, but despite the feeling of compassion fatigue and potential burnout, she's still marching through of it all!
"I have a mom who was very sick. She's not with me physically. She's being taken care of by other relatives. It sucks, I wish I could've done more, but that's why I have to do y best and do what I can do."
- Albert
Albert is another person who chose to be anonymous for the most part, being a clergyman who wishes to give spiritual guidance. I had a more personal discussion with him, how I often feel the same about being burnt out by dissatisfaction of not being helpful or not being able to do anything to make things better. I may not follow their religion, but it was heart warming nevertheless.
"For me specifically, I work in pediatric mental help so I help family manage hard situations and at the end of the day we have to learn to separate ourselves from that and not take it home with us."
-Nikki
Nikki, as she said, is a healthcare professional who works as a occupational therapist. She describes how her job is very emotionally and mentally taxing, even when she has to make a line in professional and empathy. When I asked her about what happens in the low moments, she admits that each therapy session is unpredictable, how in some of these sessions, it makes her question her own competency, but she always bounces back.
Citations:
Compassion fatigue. The American Institute of Stress. (2017, January 4). Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://www.stress.org/military/for-practitionersleaders/compassion-fatigue
Lluch, C., Galiana, L., Doménech, P., & Sansó, N. (2022, February 13). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Burnout, compassion fatigue, and compassion satisfaction in Healthcare Personnel: A systematic review of the literature published during the first year of the pandemic. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland). Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8872521/#:~:text=Women%20presented%20higher%20compassion%20fatigue,professionals%20(p%20%3D%200.038).
Surveying Americans on empathy burnout. United Way NCA. (2022, April 7). Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://unitedwaynca.org/blog/empathy-burnout-survey/
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