Compassion fatigue

[Amy SF]

Has anyone here ever experienced compassion fatigue? I mean, not necessarily to the point where you stop giving a damn about your diet and stop eating a healthy, veg*an, ethical diet, but to a point where you get so tired of expending emotional energy caring about something that you finally have to stop and say, "I'm sorry, but I just don't care anymore."

I go through periods like this, where I just get tired of caring about the homeless, or hungry kids, or some similar concern. I just feel like there is so much to worry about in this world and I can't help everyone and everything, so I have to step back and just pick one or two things to care about and to hell with everything else. I was raised to have the weight of the world on my shoulders, but that much weight can be exhausting.

 

[Second Summer]

Oh yes, I mostly stopped worrying about stuff outside of my personal sphere more than a decade ago. It was a huge relief, like a weight lifted off my shoulders. One morning I was sitting on the subway on my way to uni, and I was thinking about all the things that were horrible in the world, and I thought to myself "hey look, I'm just some guy, I'm not Superman! All that stuff on the news about the wars, the refugees, Africa & starving children, I can't do anything about that anyway."

Of course, a compassionate lifestyle etc. is still important to me, but I'm extremely wary of spending emotional energy thinking about horrible stuff I can't fix anyway. Which is why I don't tend to watch any of those factory farming videos, for example.

 

[Freesia]

I find that I try and focus on my own stuff but keep signed up to some things like petition websites and campaigns so I can sign a few petitions a day and spend my time doing other things I hope help others. I think that at the moment it is all I can do. I like to do a little awareness raising through Tumblr, such as reblogging vegan recipes so that omni followers can see how yummy the food looks, and also reblog animal and nature pictures.

 

[KLS52]

I don't think I ever get to the point of not caring, but I definitely feel the fatigue of caring too much at times. When that happens, I try and pull back a bit on an emotional level. It can be very draining and depressing otherwise. I feel like the older I get and the longer I am (almost) vegan, the more sensitive I am becoming.

 

[thefadedone]

I don't think I ever get to the point of not caring, but I definitely feel the fatigue of caring too much at times. When that happens, I try and pull back a bit on an emotional level. It can be very draining and depressing otherwise. I feel like the older I get and the longer I am (almost) vegan, the more sensitive I am becoming.[/quote]

I often wonder if that's the case for me also. I've become extremely sensitive these past few years. I'm not sure if it's age related, experience related, or a combination of reasons, but I just can't deal with a lot of things the same way I did in the past.

 

[yakherder]

I try to take my actions based off preconceived compassionate goals even when I really don't feel like it, but I definitely go into my own dark world from time to time. Usually when something triggers a nasty memory. I'll typically just exercise it out of me. It's amazing how much better you feel when you're too exhausted or sore to think about anything else

I don't know if compassion fatigue is the right word, but it's something along those lines.

 

[Moll Flanders]

I think it is a natural reaction to feel demoralised by the sheer amount of awful things that happen in the world. I get sent a lot of emails and letters with petitions or asking me to write letters about animal rights and other issues and sometimes I just get rid of them.

I have noticed that a lot of people have said that they have had very negative experiences of animal rescue centre staff and I imagine this is because it must be tiring to have a non-stop flow of abused/neglected animals sent to you.

 

[SummerRain]

I think it's a natural, sensible, survival strategy to be able to put aside the massive suffering, injustice and horrors across the world and get on with your own little bubble of life. It's often portrayed as a selfish, unintelligent, fickle thing to do - but if people were genuinely different, I just don't think they'd cope, let alone function as a society.

I think it's important to still be aware, to try to help where and as much you can, and to strive to increase the amount of good you do in the world. I think on the whole, most people don't do the last bit enough. I think you can do those things, without being so emotionally involved it affects your life.

I think as I've got older (that makes me sound much older than I am), I've distanced myself emotionally from the issues that mean a lot to me - particularly animal suffering few people agree with me, and it's all around me, so it's a really draining thing to emotionally invest in - but also other issues generally involving people, other countries, human rights, poverty, homelessness, etc. I guess that's kind of compassion fatigue. But I haven't let that stop me doing the practical things I've always done to try to help, or to stop me from striving to do more to help, but I don't dwell on the suffering anymore because it wasn't helping anybody, I just get on with the practical stuff and forget about it.

 

[Clueless Git]

Has anyone here ever experienced compassion fatigue?

'True' compassion, like 'True' love, never tires Amy.

Sympathy (one of the 'close enemies' of compassion), impotent anger, despair, and the like, will knacker us out in no time at all though.

 

[KLS52]

I think the Internet, like FB, is part of the problem. Makes the suffering all the more in your face. Sometimes I feel guilty for not sharing stuff more. And selfish, because its not what I want my FB to be about. I pick and choose to share when something touches me particularly. But I don't have a problem at all with friends and family who use FB as a platform to get the word out, so to speak. I've seen comments from people complaining about mutual friends who always post about animal abuse, that they get tired of it. Maybe it's that they are suffering from compassion fatigue.

I do like a certain page that posts about lost and found pets. It's so rewarding when the lucky ones get reunited with their families.

 

[shyvas]

I don't think I ever get to the point of not caring, but I definitely feel the fatigue of caring too much at times. When that happens, I try and pull back a bit on an emotional level. It can be very draining and depressing otherwise. I feel like the older I get and the longer I am (almost) vegan, the more sensitive I am becoming.

I agree with most of the replies however to put it into a nutshell, I am also getting to a point where I am drained by all the misery. I sometimes have to change chanels on the TV when they show those ad for donkeys that are abused as I start to cry. I don't want my dog to be upset by my sadness.

I try to do my best and make others be aware of animal cruelty and always try and step in and help friends or collegues that are abused verbally.
During these last 2 years I have virtually been eating a vegan diet with a few exceptions.

If I compare the people on this board I must say that they are 300 % more concerned by animal welfaire and human rights opposed to the average person.

 

[Amy SF]

I agree with most of the replies however to put it into a nutshell, I am also getting to a point where I am drained by all the misery. I sometimes have to change chanels on the TV when they show those ad for donkeys that are abused as I start to cry. I don't want my dog to be upset by my sadness.

I try to do my best and make others be aware of animal cruelty and always try and step in and help friends or collegues that are abused verbally.
During these last 2 years I have virtually been eating a vegan diet with a few exceptions.

If I compare the people on this board I must say that they are 300 % more concerned by animal welfaire and human rights opposed to the average person.

Yes, those of us who are hyperaware of suffering around us, especially when it relates to animals, I think are more prone to compassion fatigue because we think about it more often. Whenever we choose to avoid meat or dairy or eggs we do so because we don't want to contribute to the suffering of animals, as opposed to an omni who eats everything without a single pang of regret, and then sees that abused donkey ad and might be moved to do something. Or not.

I feel a tremendous amount of guilt whenever I get compassion fatigue because I was raised in a home where "apathy" was a dirty word. We were not allowed to not care about things.

 

[shyvas]

Yes, those of us who are hyperaware of suffering around us, especially when it relates to animals, I think are more prone to compassion fatigue because we think about it more often. Whenever we choose to avoid meat or dairy or eggs we do so because we don't want to contribute to the suffering of animals, as opposed to an omni who eats everything without a single pang of regret, and then sees that abused donkey ad and might be moved to do something. Or not.

I feel a tremendous amount of guilt whenever I get compassion fatigue because I was raised in a home where "apathy" was a dirty word. We were not allowed to not care about things.

This reminds me of something that someone told me the other day.

Her little son who is 5 yrs old was shown a dead wee rabbit (covered in blood) and bird by his Grandad who had just bought the creatures back from a bloody hunt ! He didn't even ask the mum whether she was OK that the little boy had permission to see the dead animals. I was gobsmacked by how little tact and compassion people have.

 

[ledboots]

As a nurse, a mom, a wife, and a vegan, sometimes I just want to punch something. Compassion burn out.

 

[Kitties]

It's overwhelming yes. I think about the world in general and sometime want to scream.

I think sometimes all I can do is my own very little part as well as I can and that's it.

My fatigue with being vegan is usually my feeling of isolation regarding veganism.

 

[Katrina]

Yep. I once had a roomie who complained about her problems to me day in and day out without returning the favour. By the time I moved out, I did not want to listen to anyone's personal problems anymore. I just could not do it. It took me about a year to recover.

 

[MrsSchu2u]

Yes. I've been a social worker for close to 20 years. I took a two year break after the birth of my youngest and then another 2 year hiatus in another field when I realized that I was not being the best resource that I could be for my own clients due to my own fatigue.

 

[Everleigh]

It's overwhelming yes. I think about the world in general and sometime want to scream.

I think sometimes all I can do is my own very little part as well as I can and that's it.
.

I agree on both.I take care of animals at a sanctuary but there are some jobs there that feel overwhelming when you do it almost on a daily basis but I try to do my best.

 

[shyvas]

I agree on both.I take care of animals at a sanctuary but there are some jobs there that feel overwhelming when you do it almost on a daily basis but I try to do my best.

I really admire you for helping these poor mites. I know that I couldn't do it because I would feel upset all the time. Happily there are wonderful people like your-self that help all animals in need.

 

[Kittendumpling]

I have recently had to withdraw from some compassionate undertakings because they were burning me out. I'm having a tough time right now, recovering from a breakup, but so is my uncle, who calls me up drunk in the middle of the night because I'm the only one in the family who treats him with compassion and doesn't judge him. But lately, I've had to decline some of his calls because I just can't cope with his problems as well as mine. Thankfully, he's getting some outside help, but it's very difficult, as a person dedicated to compassion, to say "no, I can't do this right now."