Do you suffer from empathy burnout syndrome?

Empathy is a quality that benefits our personal relationships. In addition to putting ourselves -in part- in the other person’s shoes, it also allows us to perceive and understand their emotions. However, empathizing too much can progressively cause us to end up suffering from empathy burnout syndromea definition that was proposed by psychologist Charles Figley.

According to the study Professional care and palliative mechanisms for empathy burnout, empathy can be dangerous and disabling if not managed properly. If we are not able to stop empathy burnout in time, it can cause severe secondary traumatization or become the beginning of Burnout syndrome.

Usually, Empathy burnout syndrome affects those professionals who deal with patients or clients who suffer, who have discomfort or who suffer great pain. We are talking about psychologists, social workers or doctors, among others. Empathy is an important part of your job. However, without the right tools, what you get through this tool can end up becoming your own enemy.

The emotional pain of others

Although empathy burnout syndrome can affect certain people who work in some of the professions we already mentioned, we, without practicing any of the so-called risky professions, can also suffer from it. This can happen because we are very empathetic and we worry excessively about the emotional pain of others.

However, it is one thing to understand the pain of others and another to feel it. The latter is what happens to people who are very empathetic. It is as if they absorb the pain of others and prolonged exposure (or very intense exposure) to it can cause empathy burnout syndrome. We talk about emotional exhaustion, often followed by feelings of isolation, confusion, and a tendency to repress/contain emotions.

Fortunately, as we pointed out, there is the possibility of having certain tools that allow us to deal with this syndrome and prevent it. Knowing them is important to avoid being trapped by the emotions of others, keeping a certain psychological distance to protect our well-being and regulate our moods.

“Somehow, what another person feels vibrates in me, and when the emotions to which a person is exposed are deep suffering, the impact is evident.”

-Russet-

Tools for empathy burnout syndrome

Next, we are going to see some tools that we can put into practice if we have a job that requires being in contact with people who need help or if we are highly empathetic and that causes us intrusive thoughts, loss of energy, increased anxiety, somatization of emotions or apathy. To do this we will continue the following work: Empathy attrition in family doctors.

Interaction with friends: it represents a relief from the emotional burden, in addition to an exchange of opinions that can be a great support for complex situations or cases.Family support: Family is an important element that allows us to dialogue, vent and abstract ourselves from problems as much as we can, whether at work or on a personal level.Recreational activities: Carrying out activities related to a sport or hobby, such as taking care of an organic garden, helps us take care of ourselves and give ourselves time for ourselves.Psychological therapy: essential not only to know these types of tools, but also to carry out exercises in the consultation that can help face empathy burnout syndrome.

Another series of tools that the aforementioned work tells us about is the need to know how to disconnect, as well as to inform and train to be able to manage burnout through empathy. All This does not mean eliminating our ability to empathize, but rather putting certain strategies into practice to safeguard our well-being..

Empathy burnout syndrome can make us feel guilty: We may find ourselves so psychologically tired that we believe we have lost our ability to empathize. This is nothing more than a consequence of empathizing without knowing how to regulate and protect ourselves adequately.

We hope that the tools we have talked about will help you, not only to deal with empathy burnout, but also to deal with another series of problems you may experience. At the end of the day, each of them are nothing more than recommendations that we should put into practice more often to feel better and enjoy greater well-being.

In any case, If you think you suffer from empathy burnout syndrome, don’t hesitate, ask for professional help. A psychologist will guide you to find what works for you and will accompany you throughout the process. Thus, you will continue to be an empathetic person, although now you will have resources to protect your well-being.

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