Empathy Fatigue
Similar to EMPATHIC DISTRESS
Once source of the Empathy Fatigue concept seems to come from the compassion community that wants to transfer the notion of compassion fatigue to empathy fatigue. They say that there is no compassion fatigue but it is really caused by empathy.
One response is that there is not Empathy Fatigue. Someone who is distressed or feels burnout or fatigued by empathizing is seeing empathy from an individualist mindset. It says I empathize with people and feel too much pain or I don't get anything back and therefore become overwhelmed. From a relational view I would actually call this an empathy deficit in the relationship. The person who is getting overwhelm may not be empathizing with themselves and their needs and may not getting the empathic support from others that they need.
A main source for the rational for this is a very flawed Tania Singer study on empathy and compassion. This was discussed with a co researcher on the study Olga Klimecki.
Jon Kabat-Zinn Q & A: Why Does Empathy Sometimes Lead to Feeling Fatigued?
How to deal with empathy burnout?
If you have high empathy for others, know that it is a real gift. But it can also be emotionally exhausting if the boundaries are not well set. See a few easy tips to keep balanced.
By Giang Cao Ho My, M.A.,
So what is empathy burnout?
Empathy burnout happens when a person regularly spends much of their energy caring for others to the point of exhausting themselves.
Amy Alkon, in her article related to this topic, explained that with empathic distress, “we just keep “feeling with” a person (feeling and feeling and feeling). In time, we get overwhelmed by the distress we’re experiencing at their distress”. Too much of these might lead to the tendency to withdraw ourselves at certain moments from our uncomfortable emotions and let another person alone in their sufferings.
What you need to know about empathy and compassion fatigue—and its remedies.
Aug 22, 2018
Leon F. Seltzer, Ph.D
"Introduction: How Empathy and Compassion Are Related
Although most of us employ the terms empathy and compassion interchangeably, professional writers generally distinguish between these closely linked behavioral ideals. Specifically, they regard empathy as the capacity to put oneself in another’s shoes, which involves not only vicariously experiencing their perspective but also its corresponding emotions. Compassion, however, is viewed as including all the components of empathy but as taking this imagined identification one crucial step further."
Forget Customer Empathy — Do This Instead
February 07, 2017
Pascal
Customer service reps are often taught to be empathic, to put themselves in the customer's shoes. But research suggests empathy isn't the skill you're looking for.
Empathy Fatigue
"One bug is empathy's exhaustive nature. When empathic, you put yourself in the other person's shoes. You actually feel the pain. That's doable when limited to a close circle of friends and family, but not if you're helping dozens of angry or frustrated customers every day.
Bloom shared a relevant story during an appearance on Sam Harris' podcast. He received a letter from a lady who worked as a first responder after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. She shared that after one week she had become too overwhelmed to function.
But her husband, also a first responder, was able to keep doing his work cheerfully. It seems their benevolent actions were driven by different fuels: one by empathy, the other by compassion."
How to Care Deeply Without Burning Out
Sharon Salzberg and Dan Harris explore how to recognize the signs of empathy fatigue and maintain a balanced, mindful, compassionate response (Video).
By Susa Talan
June 9, 2017
"When we sense the suffering of others, that’s empathy. But our response might be to forget about it, or feel like we can’t bear it, or we might start blaming. Having compassion is a choice we make consciously and it can only happen with the balance of equanimity. In this conversation between Sharon and Dan Harris, of 10% Happier, they talk about the difference between empathy and compassion, and explore a few ways to avoid burning out."