the.com/empathy fatigue
the emotional bank account hits overdraft and the heart starts bouncing checks.
means the numbing exhaustion that comes from caring too hard for too long without recovery time.
from first named in nursing literature in the 1990s to describe caregivers who felt drained by constant exposure to others suffering, later called compassion fatigue by trauma researcher charles figley.
not lazinessit is a nervous system protecting itself
news cyclesconstant tragedy exposure speeds the crash
caregiver risknurses and therapists report it most often
reversiblerest and boundaries restore capacity, unlike burnout
for instance
nurses covid wards — 2020-21 surveys found over half reporting emotional numbness
social workers — high caseloads linked to compassion fatigue in decades of research
doomscrolling public — 2023 studies tied constant crisis news to donation and volunteering drop-offs