The Importance of Self-Care in Preventing Compassion Fatigue for Non-Profit Workers and Pastors

Our ability to empathize is what makes us uniquely human. But without healthy boundaries or self-care, we can push our empathy to the limit, putting ourselves at risk of compassion fatigue.

Also known as empathy fatigue, this a very real issue for many professionals – particularly those in caregiving roles – with up to 39% of registered nurses experiencing compassion fatigue at some point in their careers.

But have you thought about how empathy fatigue affects community builders like you? Whether you’re a non-profit worker, a pastor, or in a leadership position, you’re at risk of emotional exhaustion and burnout.

We live in an emotionally-charged, politically polarized world. As a community builder, your empathy skills are in high demand – and potentially stretching thin – to create a safer, more inclusive world for everyone.

Sure, big responsibility is baked into the nature of your work. But it shouldn’t come at the cost of your mental health. In fact, you’ll need all the emotional energy you can get to take it on. Before we unpack how self-care can help prevent emotional overwhelm, let’s first take a look at what empathy fatigue is and how to recognize it.

What is empathy fatigue?

While empathy fatigue and burnout have a lot in common, and both are serious issues, but there’s a distinct difference between the two.

Burnout is the result of overworking ourselves physically and mentally. But by definition, empathy is more than considering the struggles of others – it’s the act of feeling it ourselves. We experience compassion fatigue when we take on too much of the emotional struggles and psychological distress of others in our lives, whether in a professional or personal capacity.

It impacts our ability to care for others and ourselves. In severe cases, or if left unchecked, it can even lead to secondary traumatic stress disorder, which presents with many of the same debilitating symptoms as PTSD itself.

The compassion fatigue self-test

In a community leadership role, it’s essential to familiarize yourself with compassion fatigue symptoms so you can recognize them in yourself if they start to arise.

Typical signs and symptoms of compassion fatigue include:

  • Chronic fatigue or exhaustion
  • Emotional overwhelm or detachment
  • Feeling irritable or short-tempered
  • Developing resentment toward your work
  • Lack of motivation and energy
  • Severe stress, anxiety, and depression
  • Struggling to experience joy

If you’ve been experiencing any of these symptoms, you might be suffering from empathy fatigue.

It’s important to note that women tend to be at higher risk. While compassion satisfaction (joy derived from helping others) is often higher in women, unfortunately, compassion fatigue is higher in women, too.

Learn more about dealing with compassion fatigue in this interesting podcast from The Center for Transforming Engagement with Dr. Mary Kathryn Nader.

How self-care helps prevent empathy fatigue

Helps you establish and maintain boundaries

Creating distinct boundaries between your professional and personal self is an essential part of protecting your mental health and preventing empathic distress fatigue.

By practicing regular self-care, the lines between your work and personal life become clearer and easier to uphold, helping you leave any negative feelings you might have from work at the door.

Improves physical and mental health

Self-care is a highly effective way to keep the emotional and physical symptoms of stress at bay and keep your overall health in better condition.

When you’re in good health, you’ve got more energy, better mental clarity, and greater emotional capacity, making it easier to care for yourself and others without feeling overwhelmed.

Enhances mindfulness and awareness

When you’re experiencing compassion fatigue, your mind can start to spiral into negative thought patterns and self beliefs.

A big part of self-care is bringing yourself back to the present. By making self-care part of your daily routine, it becomes easier to catch these spirals in the moment and return your attention to positive emotions instead.

Makes it easier to accept support

When we’re in touch with ourselves and able to separate our needs from those of others, we’re better able to recognize when things are getting a little out of balance.

Being able to acknowledge when you need help is vital for leaders and community builders like you. Look after yourself as best you can, but when there’s too much on your shoulders, make sure to reach out for the help and support you need.

Tips to avoid emotional exhaustion

1. Prioritize personal downtime

Making enough time for yourself is an essential part of preventing long-term compassion fatigue. Set aside time to switch off from your responsibilities and check in with yourself every day.

Mindfully detaching from any negative emotions or experiences at work doesn’t make you a bad leader. It allows you to disconnect, rest, and recharge so you can come back stronger.

2. Make time for the things you love

It’s crucial not to lose sight of who you are in your pursuit of bringing people together.

Sure, your work might be a source of joy for you. But it’s essential to connect with and nurture other sides of yourself, too. Make time to explore your hobbies and personal interests to keep your mental health in balance..

3. Look after your physical health

As we’ve seen, physical health and emotional health are interrelated. Sufficient sleep, healthy meals, and physical exercise all support your overall well-being and help keep compassion fatigue at bay. 

Physical movement in particular is a fantastic way to get out of your head and into your physical body, helping you feel more grounded. Not to mention the impact of endorphins on your general well-being! Sometimes exerting a little physical energy can help restore the emotional energy you need to lead at your best.

4. Tend to your own emotional needs

When you’re super busy at work and tending to the emotional pain and needs of others, it can be difficult to look inward and check in with your own feelings.

But self compassion is incredibly important in your line of work. When things get difficult, remember that you’re doing the best you can, and it’s okay not to feel okay. Don’t be afraid to reach out to mental health professionals for support at any point on your journey.

Build your emotional resilience through self compassion with the help of The Center for Transforming Engagement

As a non-profit worker or pastor, you’ve got to protect your personal peace at all times, not just when you worry you might be developing compassion fatigue.

To do your community justice, you need to look after yourself.

Want to change the way you relate to yourself so you can better relate to others? There’s a place for you in our resilience circles. Reconnect with yourself and with God so you can lead your community with greater compassion.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Upcoming Virtual Summit
Leading During Polarizing Times
This FREE online event is designed for ministry leaders seeking practical tools, spiritual wisdom, and renewed strength to lead faithfully when your church community faces deep differences.
Upcoming Virtual Summit
Leading During Polarizing Times
This FREE online event is designed for ministry leaders seeking practical tools, spiritual wisdom, and renewed strength to lead faithfully when your church community faces deep differences.
Full attendance and participation during all sessions are expected to complete the program.
Terms / Conditions. By registering for a Resilience or Leaders Circle, you agree to the following (scroll down and click agree)
Please consider the schedule closely to ensure you will be able to participate in the virtual meetings, and block off your calendar to ensure your attendance. Should you have an emergency (illness, situations out of your control) that will impact your participation please email transforming@theseattleschool.edu
Time commitment:
Two hours one day per month for 8 months, dates to be determined by majority of registrants' availability and adjusted as needed during the first group meeting.
Your feedback is immensely valuable!
As an essential component of your participation in this program, we ask that you provide us with your honest, candid, and timely feedback in program surveys and conversations, and consider providing reviews or testimonials of the program for promotional use.
Code of Conduct:
The Center for Transforming Engagement strives for intentionality in the ways we relate to one another - how we as a team relate to each other, how we relate to participants, and how we hope participants will relate to us and one another. To that end, we hold cultural norms about the ways we interact with one another. Your participation in this program is contingent on your agreement to abide by these cultural norms. i. For growth to happen, we all need to be able to share about the deeper challenges we face. To provide that atmosphere of openness and support, you commit to not sharing personal information that is shared in program meetings. ii. In our interactions with each other and our communities, we practice the humility of not-knowing that is required to listen and discover. iii. Be aware of different cultural and characterological ways of communicating, and invite others’ voices. Respect theological differences: the river of Christian orthodoxy is wide, and while the streams of that river are distinct, they are not inherently better or worse. Even if you can’t respect the belief, treat the person with respect. iiii. We value both thoughts and feelings as valuable pieces of information that inform one another, and inform our learning and discerning together. iv. Be in the here and now (not mentally somewhere or some time else), with the people who are sharing their time and stories with you. Eliminate any distractions possible.
Fair Use Policy
All program content, recordings, and materials are the intellectual property of The Seattle School and may not be presented, distributed, or replicated. The Seattle School retains the copyright for all recorded content. Some print materials (PDFs, worksheets, journal prompts, etc.) will be licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike. Those materials will be available for download on our website, and may be used as long as the following conditions are met: (1) attribute to the Center for Transforming Engagement even if remixed/modified; (2) do not use for commercial (paid) purposes; and (3) anything you make that remixes or builds upon this material, you must also distribute under Creative Commons. More information on this license is available at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
(scroll down and click agree) Full attendance and participation during all sessions are expected to complete the program. Please consider the schedule closely to ensure you will be able to participate in the virtual meetings, and block off your calendar to ensure your attendance. Should you have an emergency (illness, situations out of your control) that will impact your participation please email transforming@theseattleschool.edu Time commitment: Two hours one day per month for 8 months, dates to be determined by majority of registrants' availability and adjusted as needed during the first group meeting. Your feedback is immensely valuable! As an essential component of your participation in this program, we ask that you provide us with your honest, candid, and timely feedback in program surveys and conversations, and consider providing reviews or testimonials of the program for promotional use. 2. Code of Conduct The Center for Transforming Engagement strives for intentionality in the ways we relate to one another - how we as a team relate to each other, how we relate to participants, and how we hope participants will relate to us and one another. To that end, we hold cultural norms about the ways we interact with one another. Your participation in this program is contingent on your agreement to abide by these cultural norms. Confidentiality. For growth to happen, we all need to be able to share about the deeper challenges we face. To provide that atmosphere of openness and support, you commit to not sharing personal information that is shared in program meetings. Curiosity. In our interactions with each other and our communities, we practice the humility of not-knowing that is required to listen and discover. Respect differences. Be aware of different cultural and characterological ways of communicating, and invite others’ voices. Respect theological differences: the river of Christian orthodoxy is wide, and while the streams of that river are distinct, they are not inherently better or worse. Even if you can’t respect the belief, treat the person with respect. You are invited to be a whole person, with both thoughts and feelings. We value both thoughts and feelings as valuable pieces of information that inform one another, and inform our learning and discerning together. Presence. Be in the here and now (not mentally somewhere or some time else), with the people who are sharing their time and stories with you. Eliminate any distractions possible. 3. Fair Use Policy All program content, recordings, and materials are the intellectual property of The Seattle School and may not be presented, distributed, or replicated. The Seattle School retains the copyright for all recorded content. Some print materials (PDFs, worksheets, journal prompts, etc.) will be licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike. Those materials will be available for download on our website, and may be used as long as the following conditions are met: (1) attribute to the Center for Transforming Engagement even if remixed/modified; (2) do not use for commercial (paid) purposes; and (3) anything you make that remixes or builds upon this material, you must also distribute under Creative Commons. More information on this license is available at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/