Compassion fatigue

As human beings, we are programmed to care about things! We care about how our friends and family are doing, and we feel compassion for others who are suffering. I care especially about justice and equality, interests which have led me to get quite involved with volunteering. 

Lately, I've noticed myself listen with indifference to horrible stories on the news. I feel tired and just can't seem to care as much as I used to. My motivation for my volunteering is really low. When I see something sad on my news feed I just scroll past. 

It occurred to me that maybe I'm experiencing compassion fatigue. When we're tired, we can't always easily process compassion for others, especially if it's over an extended period of time and on a large scale. There is always a lot of suffering portrayed on the news, but this year has been especially brutal, with the summer's bushfires and then COVID-19. On top of this, isolation has meant that a lot of the people around me are struggling with mental health issues and other challenges. It's hard not to get worn out and desensitised. 

But I don't want to stop caring! It's important to me to feel empathy for others. So I'm going to try and rest a little more, limit my news consumption and give myself time to process what's been happening. And I'm going to keep working towards justice and equality even if my motivation is low - it's important, regardless of whether I feel inspired about it or not. 

Hopefully my compassion will come back soon.