You Can’t Pour from an Empty Cup

Compassion Fatigue

Photo by Rauf Alvi on Unsplash

I have always been a sensitive, empathetic person. Even as a child, I was acutely attuned to the emotions of the people around me. I am also an introvert; I need a lot of quiet, alone time.

I care about people, and I have spent my adult life pushing myself out of my comfort zone to speak out when I see injustice and to take action. I don’t feel as though I could look in the mirror if I stayed silent and complicit to injustice.

While it is my choice to speak up and act, I am often exhausted, both mentally and physically.

Compassion fatigue. This is a term used most often to describe a condition affecting healthcare workers or anyone who works directly with trauma cases. But, there is also a definition for the general public:

“ 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…