compassion fatigue

noun

1

medical : the physical and mental exhaustion and emotional withdrawal experienced by those who care for sick or traumatized people over an extended period of time

Unlike burnout, which is caused by everyday work stresses (dealing with insurance companies, making treatment choices), compassion fatigue results from taking on the emotional burden of a patient's agony.

—Tim Jarvis

2

: apathy or indifference toward the suffering of others as the result of overexposure to tragic news stories and images and the subsequent appeals for assistance

Several fundraising experts said the Las Vegas collection may trail other donation efforts for several reasons, including "compassion fatigue" … . "Compassion fatigue is a real thing. There have been so many things that happened this year," [Sandy] Rees said. "But it does get overwhelming, and I think people start to tune out."

—David Montero

Examples of compassion fatigue in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Western publics by and large have managed to stave off compassion fatigue and remain committed to helping Ukraine repulse the Russian invasion. —Nina Jankowicz, Foreign Affairs, 4 May 2023

Psychotherapist Stephanie Sarkis says the mental health consequences of compassion fatigue can be severe, including anxiety, depression as well as thoughts of suicide. —Charles Trepany, USA TODAY, 11 Aug. 2024

Yet compassion fatigue hasn’t stopped the international community from providing more than $17 billion in assistance for Syrian refugees in less than a decade, approximately $3,000 per person. —Cynthia J. Arnson, Foreign Affairs, 26 July 2019

Clinicians can develop compassion fatigue or a sense of purposelessness and withdrawal when chronically caring for victims of trauma. —Jennifer Adaeze Okwerekwu Reprints, STAT, 18 Mar. 2024

This program launched at the Mount Sinai Health System (where one of us, Toby, works) in New York City in 2022, where problems including burnout, compassion fatigue, and a lack of work-life balance were prompting many nurse managers to resign. —Toby Bressler and Lauren Ghazal, STAT, 12 Jan. 2024

Researchers typically consider compassion fatigue as distinct from burnout. —Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 3 Oct. 2023

Each person can have a different experience with compassion fatigue or display different symptoms. —Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 3 Oct. 2023

Employees often have to weather abuse from clients, leading to compassion fatigue and high turnover. —Paige McGlauflin, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1961, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

compassion fatigue

noun

: the physical and mental exhaustion and emotional withdrawal experienced by those that care for sick or traumatized people over an extended period of time

Some researchers consider compassion fatigue to be similar to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), except that it applies to those emotionally affected by the trauma of another (eg, client or family member) rather than by one's own trauma.

—Michael K. Kearney et al., The Journal of the American Medical Association

Clinicians should be aware of how their emotional withdrawal or lability and "compassion fatigue" can jeopardize the care of dying patients and their families.

—Deborah Cook and Graeme Rocker, The New England Journal of Medicine