[THREAD] I want to talk about compassion fatigue in more detail. It is something that happens more often than we think and can add a lot of guilt because we feel we no longer care for other people, even when it is not accurate. So what is it? And can we get out of it?
Compassion fatigue is simply the inability to help or feel empathy for certain periods of time. It was first identified in healthcare providers such as doctors, nurses and therapists who work long hours with patients and who need to constantly show empathy.
It is a symptom of burnout and exhaustion when it seems like they no longer care. This is because they have been compassionate over and over again without a break and their minds is simply tired from it. However, we started to notice this effect also happening outside healthcare.
There are so many people who have to take care of their parents, partners, children or any loved one constantly and they also start to suffer from compassion fatigue. It is important to remember that it doesn’t mean we suddenly don’t care or are bad people.
It is also not going to be permanent. Compassion fatigue is like an alarm system where our mind simply shuts down out of sheer exhaustion. It is a sign that we have been giving too much energy taking care of others but none for ourselves.
Our minds don’t have an infinite amount of energy and need to be recharged and taken care of in order to be able to recover. Compassion fatigue is our chance to take it easy for a while and integrate into our routines more self-care and breaks.
The more our situations demand that we give empathy, the more self-care we are going need to drain all that stress. We also need to externalize all those emotions and pain that come with having empathy and listening to other people’s pains and traumas.
Compassion fatigue happens simply because we have given way too much to others and there was nothing to give to ourselves. We need to take that step back and put some of that empathy towards ourselves first in order to be able to continue helping others.
It is important to remember that sometimes compassion fatigue can also be a symptom of depression and it becomes important to get treatment for ourselves in order to get better. However, overall, it is something that goes away after rest and self-care.
Please don’t let anyone guilt you or make you feel bad about being tired and not having empathy to give from time to time. It is a normal phenomenon and it shows that you gave too much and now it is your turn to take it easy. We are all allowed down time to recollect ourselves!
It is important to be strict about our boundaries as well because the more empathy we have, the more likely we are to help people at all times of day and night at the expense of our self-care to the point that we are driven to a burnout. It is important to keep boundaries!
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