“Compassion fatigue is the cost of caring for others or for their emotional pain, resulting from the desire to help relieve the suffering of others. It is also known as vicarious or secondary trauma, referencing the way that other people’s trauma can become their own.” – CMA. 2020
The term compassion fatigue was popularised during the Covid-19 pandemic when it became clear it was affecting healthcare staff around the world at a level that had never previously been seen. The term is used to refer to feelings of exhaustion, burnout and even apathy that can come from repeated exposure to the trauma of others.
Previously thought of as a psychological issue solely affecting front line health professionals, the term “compassion fatigue” is now increasingly applied to the wider public’s experience of life in the 24/7 digital news cycle – with studies showing a range of physiological responses. If you’ve found yourself scrolling past news stories about violent crime, war and even genocide without feeling much in the way of an emotional response, it may be because your ability to feel empathy is being worn away by the perpetual onslaught of troubling news we all now find ourselves exposed to.
Dr Jacqueline Williams, Course Leader for the Doctor of Professional Practice (Dprof) Community at the University of Central Lancashire, says that compassion fatigue “is a gradual erosion of all the things that keep us connected to others in our caregiving role: our empathy, our hope , and of course our compassion- not only for others but for ourselves too.
“(this type of trauma) is a cumulative process: we are not referring to the the most difficult story you have ever heard; we are talking of the thousands of stories you don’t even remember hearing.”
Why we develop compassion fatigue
Functional MRI studies show that repeated exposure to hate speech or violence actually decreases activity in the regions of the brain that are responsible for empathy and understanding others’ mental states. This numbing effect is thought to be a protective mechanism to avoid cognitive overload. Rather than continue devoting the same amount of energy to processing repeated traumatic information, your body winds down its response.
Studies of exposure to violence in movie and video game form have also shown that the greater someone’s exposure to staged violence is, the slower they are to react to violence happening in real life. This desensitisation is physiological, as well as psychological – with other studies also showing that people’s heartrate and other vital signs are less likely to rise when exposed to real violence, if they have recently been exposed to virtual violence.
When you first see images and videos of war zones, crime scenes and other traumatic events on in your mobile newsfeed or on your TV, most people have very strong emotional responses. You are upset, you are horrified, you are angry, you are shocked. But when you have seen these kinds of traumatic events on your screen multiple times a day, every day, for years on end, your body adapts to try to reduce the impact of the external stressors. Because to process this much trauma on a daily basis is utterly exhausting.
The outcome? Your capacity for empathy is depleted, and you start to feel like the energy available to power those big emotions starts never quite gets back to full charge.
Signs that you may be experiencing compassion fatigue
Common warning signs of compassion fatigue, according to WebMD, include:
- Anxiety and depression
- Difficulty concentrating
- Memory issues
- Insomnia
- Fatigue
- Digestive issues
- Mood swings, and increased pessimistic or cynical thinking
- Detachment from friendships and relationships
- Headaches
- Changes in appetite
- Addiction as a form of self-medication (whether behavioural or substance)
Feelings of hopelessness, overwhelm and physical discomfort are all repeatedly cited in scientific papers and online reports as part and parcel of compassion fatigue.
“A secondary definition of compassion fatigue refers to the experience of any empathetic individual who is acutely conscious of societal needs but feels helpless to solve them. People who actively engage in charity, or volunteering, may come to feel that they cannot commit any more energy, time, or money to the plight of others because they feel overwhelmed or paralyzed by pleas for support and that the world’s challenges are never-ending.” – Psychology Today, 2024
“Compassion fatigue can leave you feeling anxious about the world around you — either viewing the world as dangerous or being extra cautious about personal and family safety.” – Smitha Bhandari, MD
So what can we do about it?
How to undo compassion erosion and get your energy back
“Compassion is an unstable emotion. It needs to be translated into action, or it withers.” – Susan Sonntag, ‘Regarding the pain of others’. 2003
The good news is, compassion fatigue is not a permanent change. You can undo it, and while typical full recovery times are estimated at around 6+ months, studies of healthcare workers found that some people experienced positive change as quickly as three weeks after adjusting their habits.
Your options for fending off compassion fatigue range from scheduling rest, hobbies and social interaction through to CBT, resilience training and talking therapies. At their core, all recommendations I can find online from psychiatrists, psychologists, neurologists and other professionals centre on setting boundaries to reduce the frequency with which you take on the trauma of others, and trauma that you are unable to do anything about. Recommendations found in a range of medical journals and online articles include:
- Turn off breaking news alerts
- Take a break from trauma-heavy films, TV shows and games at least until you’re feeling better
- Make time for hobbies that give you something positive to focus on
- Make time to see friends, even when you don’t think you’re up to it
- Spend time in nature
- Seek counselling and/or CBT
- Prioritise good sleep hygiene
- Limit the amount of time you spend online
The first and last ones in that list are ones I think are particularly important. In addition to news sites and apps, sites like Instagram and TikTok have become central to news-sharing – and I don’t know many people who haven’t been inadvertently exposed to images of war zones while scrolling to look at pictures of cute pets and comfort food. While there are benefits to real-time information sharing around the world, seeing videos of genocide without warning in the middle of your morning routine is not a net positive.
In 2024, estimates suggested that the average person worldwide spent 6 hours and 40 minutes of each day looking at screens, with around half of that being mobile phone usage – and most of us checking our phones at least 58 times a day. At the time of writing, it’s around 2pm on a Saturday and my phone tells me I have received over 220 notifications since midnight. So it’s not a huge surprise to me that interest in “digital detox” has been growing in recent years, with more of us recognising that the more time we spend looking at screens – whether it’s to read news or not – the worse we feel. Research from Swansea University even shows that reducing social media use by just 15 minutes a day can significantly improve general health and immune function and reduce levels of loneliness and depression.
With the consequences of a loss of empathy being truly profound at both an individual and a societal level, perhaps the simple act of reducing our time online is the easiest place to start. Whether it takes weeks or months, there is surely no downside to rebuilding our capacity to care about others while still taking care of ourselves.