Are Compassion Fatigue and Burnout the same?
Although similar, compassion fatigue and burnout are not identical concepts (Harr, 2013). Burnout is made up of three components that can lead to feelings of hopelessness in their ability to make a difference (Craig and Sprang, 2010). These components are emotional exhaustion, cynicism and inefficiency in their job roles (Craig and Sprang, 2010; Harr, 2013; Huggard, 2008). Essentially, there is a conflict between what needs to be done and what can be done (Harr, 2013). Burnout tends to occur over time and may increase the power of compassion fatigue (Craig and Sprang, 2010; Gottlieb, Hennessy, & Squires, 2004; Harr, 2013; Huggard, 2008).
"We burn out not because we don’t care but because we don’t grieve. We burn out because we’ve allowed our hearts to become so filled with loss that we have no room left to care."
- Rachel Remen