Compassion fatigue emerges without warning—when you hear a news story, or talk with a friend, or see an elderly woman who reminds you of your mother struggling, pushing her walker down a busy street. You want to help. You don’t know how. You do nothing.

These are the images that woke me at four a.m. regularly during the pandemic. With them came self-loathing—for driving on, turning off the news, not calling the friend more often. But as this monster visited me more frequently, I learned to name it for what it was—compassion fatigue—and, if not tame it, at least manage it. 

What is Compassion Fatigue?

“Compassion fatigue” is a state of exhaustion and dysfunction—biological, psychological and social—from prolonged exposure to the suffering of others, note psychologists. 

First identified in the 1950s in nurses, and later explored as the fall out of being in a “first responder” job, compassion fatigue was studied in-depth by psychologist and family therapist Charles R. Figley, PhD. It is the shadow side of compassion, the Achilles’ heel of all those who work in caregiving professions, be they nurses, therapists, firefighters and more.

Since the coronavirus, however, compassion fatigue, like the virus itself, has spread into the entire population. Those who are most susceptible are also, often, the most compassionate and because of that, feel the sting of compassion fatigue most acutely.

How to Reduce the Sting of Compassion Fatigue

For those of us who are more prone to feeling the pain of others, there are several ways to deal with compassion fatigue: 

• You can keep busy so that you don’t feel the suffering of others, but the result is a life—and world—without compassion. 

• You can allow the suffering of others to break you down emotionally, but this is personally debilitating and does little to enable the loving work of compassion. 

• You can identify what counters compassion fatigue—compassion satisfaction—and implement acts of self-care to bring light into the darkness. 

This pocket card by compassion fatigue expert Beth Hudnall Stamm, Ph.D. (retired) offers ways to alleviate compassion fatigue especially during Covid. 

M. Carolyn Miller, MA, designs narrative- and game-based learning. She also writes and speaks about the power of story in our lives and world. www.cultureshape.com