General public definition
- Compassion fatigue is currently not listed as a diagnosis in the DSM-5-TR or ICD-11.
- Compassion fatigue is an emerging condition, meaning that it has not been well studied and is not yet fully defined. It is a type of mental health condition that can occur in caregivers.
- Compassion fatigue refers to the stress of caring for patients or clients, family members, or others.
- Compassion fatigue can create a sense of helplessness, confusion, and at times, a loss of empathy for others.
- People who are experiencing compassion fatigue can feel emotionally isolated from colleagues, family members, and other important people in their lives.
Academic definition
- Compassion fatigue is currently not listed as a diagnosis in either the DSM-5-TR or ICD-11.
- Compassion fatigue is an emerging condition that has not yet been well studied, elaborated, understood, or researched, and the term remains controversial. Compassion fatigue appears to be a series of adverse psychological reactions to providing care to others. The adverse reactions appear related to the emotional toll and stress of caring for others.
- Compassion fatigue is often described as occurring in those who provide psychological care to patients or clients who have experienced one or more potentially psychologically traumatic event.18
- Compassion fatigue can include a sense of helplessness or confusion and a loss of empathy toward the person who is being treated or helped, as well as a feeling of emotional isolation from colleagues, family, and other social supports.
- Compassion fatigue can occur as a result of a single exposure or an accumulation of exposures to patients’ or clients’ detailed descriptions of their psychologically traumatic experiences.
- Compassion fatigue is sometimes associated with, or conflated with, secondary traumatic stress or vicarious trauma. Compassion fatigue is generally considered to be distinct from burnout.
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