The Numbing Pain of Compassion Fatigue - Vvidhi Agrawwal

The advances in social media platforms enable widespread sharing of information from a variety of streams, to educate and persuade its audience regarding current events. Official news outlets such as those operating on newspapers and TV channels are susceptible to biases (1), which results in the spread of inaccurate information. On the other hand, digital activists on social media are fueled by their own desire to inflict change and are not limited by their working hours or workplace hierarchies. These platforms empower smaller communities of users to share resources, fundraise (2) and take a step forward in making the world a better place. Through this, most users are acutely aware and actively involved in not only local calls for help but also international ones. This interconnectedness allows them to advocate for their own selves and everything that they believe in, together.

Often times, along with being regularly involved in keeping up with a current matter of discussion whether that may be in the form of spreading awareness, distributing resources or even simply educating oneself regarding the issue at hand, users are exposed to the sufferings of other individuals across the world. Due to this, they may experience what is known as compassion fatigue. It is the experience of a cluster of symptoms which result in the feeling of tension due to prolonged, secondary exposure to traumatic events(3). The symptoms include, but are not limited to: sleep disturbance, increase in emotional intensity, impaired cognitive and behavioural judgements, loss of self-worth and morale, existential despair and anger towards causal events(4). It used to be commonly found in health care professionals since their work requires them to routinely interact with individuals who have faced serious trauma. But, is now being delivered to the doorstep of millions of individuals across different professions, ages and locations.

An individual who is invested in a cause may forget that they are only facilitators to a larger cause. The harsh truth is that these problems are bigger than the efforts of one person. Their solutions are often slow to appear and require a consistent effort from larger groups of individuals to see through. The realization that global issues are out of anyone’s personal control may deepen the fatigue. Due to this, many individuals may feel a loss of meaning in their efforts and actions. Ultimately, when the drive to create change is most crucial, it is lost.

The idea of immense strain and tension on one’s being is intimidating enough to discourage many individuals from participating in digital advocacy. However, acknowledging the effects of compassion fatigue is not a reason for individuals to shy away from participation but rather, as a starting point to learn more about it and take the necessary steps to recover from it.

Since compassion fatigue is not regarded as a disease, there is not one big cure for it but rather, multiple, sustained self-care techniques are encouraged to overcome the symptoms. A break from social media is a good method to immediately overcome compassion fatigue. It can help create distance between the happenings of the world and personal lives. Although, it is a temporary solution since it will only be effective for the time being of the break. Logging back onto social media platforms would open the gates to a new news cycle of tragedies (5). Additionally, individuals may experience feelings of guilt upon returning to social media platforms, when they understand that it is their privilege which allows them to easily disconnect from real-world issues.

Prioritising and working towards smaller issues (6) can help combat the feeling of futility. Along with using social media to raise awareness and share information, it may be worth identifying a list of local organisations who work towards the same cause. By doing this, individuals can not only help contribute to a larger issue but also experience the fulfilment from their efforts. Furthermore, the difficult feelings of numbness and worthlessness can be avoided while maintaining participation and involvement.

Compassion fatigue is a body mechanism (5) which protects individuals from experiencing excessive stress. It is in the interest of the individual’s well-being and those around them to allocate time, effort and resources to achieve a reasonable set of pre-established goals, and take a concrete step towards making the world a better place.

1 - Barranco, J., & Wisler, D. (1999). Validity and systematicity of newspaper data in event analysis. European sociological review, 15(3), 301-322.

2 - Lytle, R. (2014). Social Media Users Are More Charitable Than You Might Think. Retrieved 11 June 2020, from https://mashable.com/2014/09/18/social-media-charity/

3 - Figley, C. R. (Ed.). (1995). Brunner/Mazel psychological stress series, No. 23.Compassion fatigue: Coping with secondary traumatic stress disorder in those who treat the traumatized. Brunner/Mazel.

4 - Boyd, D. (2019). Compassion Fatigue - The American Institute of Stress. Retrieved 17 June 2020, from https://www.stress.org/military/forpractitionersleaders/compassion-fatigue

5 - https://themedium.ca/opinion/feeling-numb-while-watching-the-news-it-might-be-compassion-fatigue/

6 - Amador, M. (2020). How compassion fatigue is taking over social media. Retrieved 17 June 2020, from https://thedispatchonline.net/11365/commentary/how-compassion-fatigue-is-taking-over-social-media/