What are the symptoms of compassion fatigue?

The symptoms of compassion fatigue include feeling powerless, helpless, irritable, angry, depressed, and/or numb. It is also common to feel disconnected. Those experiencing compassion fatigue tend to ruminate about other people’s pain and feel irritated at the circumstances or individuals that caused it.

If your productivity plummets or your work/life boundaries begin to fade, you could be experiencing compassion fatigue. Other signs include depression, jumpiness, and feeling like you're on edge or boxed in. If you start having intrusive thoughts, experience a major shift in your life outlook, or become inexplicably and regularly exhausted, you may want to double down on your self-care routine and consider seeing a therapist.

Since compassion fatigue develops over time, it's easy to miss the signs or confuse them with similar issues like burnout or depression. 


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