At least you recognize the issue

Casadena

Dear Prudence,

I’ve struggled with compassion fatigue since 2020. I used to work in a people-centered job and got out as soon as I realized I no longer felt appropriate levels of patience or concern towards vulnerable clients. I now work in a technical role with no client-facing duties, which doesn’t require empathy. I’ve expected it to rebound after two years in this new job and it just…hasn’t. I can still feel moderate levels of sympathy and care for people I already know and care for, and of course I’m polite to strangers. But I don’t feel for them, at all. I live in NYC, where a lot of people are Eastern and Central European immigrants and/or Jewish and/or have multiple citizenships, and have complicated feelings about at least one of the two big new-ish wars in the news. I agree that war is bad, and wish for peace in an abstract way, but other than that I find myself annoyed by news coverage, or irritated by how much this topic comes up everywhere. People are dying! And other people are rightfully upset about it. I feel nothing but inconvenienced, as if it’s an interruption to normally scheduled programming. How and when will my empathy come back? I’m trying hard to fake it.

banana468

Take a break.  The last few years are intense and if you start to feel like you're lacking compassion it's likely not a surprise given how often stations are screaming gloom and doom.

Unplug and see if a disconnect helps.  If not,  you may need to also seek therapy and see if scheduled time away from technology and news cycles can help. 

charlotte989875

We all experienced trauma, especially folks in NYC and in people facing roles, during the pandemic. Seeing that level of trauma for as long as you did can take a toll and make you feel unable to appropriately assess a level of empathy for a situation. 

Maybe some trauma counseling would help. 

levioosa

Between school, pandemic, the health care profession in general, the general dumpster fire of the world, and the election nonsense since 2016, I hear LW. Honestly I had to take a break from news because I just can’t keep doing it. Ive only recently started reintroducing it and it really does impact my mental health. And then I feel torn because I want to be an informed individual, but the sense of dread and burnout starts to take over. There’s no good answer here. If they’re truly feeling this level of burnout they should take a break from social media/news, and get to therapy. 

short+sassy

It's been an emotionally wrenching last few years for everyone!  Especially someone who previously worked in a field where they had to help vulnerable clients.

As long as the LW isn't being rude or completely uncaring about people in front of them, it's okay if they have lost a lot of their empathy.  Maybe it will come back someday.  Maybe it never will.

Even in times of peace, over 100,000 people die every day.  Many of those deaths are tragic and unexpected.  But you can't bog down your life with the suffering of strangers.  

For people who are so inclined, it's a great and positive thing if they donate their money or time to help others.  Especially during times of great tragedy, like a war or national disaster.  But most people go through their day with thoughts and prayers (if appropriate) for those folks and don't do much else.  And there is nothing wrong with that either.  The LW not even having those thoughts doesn't make any difference in the grand scheme of things.