Compassion Burnout May Be Caused by Lack of Compassion

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Nate Regier / 1 comments
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Are you tired of helping? Are you weary of carrying everyone’s burdens, being the go-to person in the office, and shouldering so much. Are you suffering from compassion burnout or compassion exhaustion?

Signs of Compassion Exhaustion & Fatigue

The reason for your fatigue may lie in a misunderstanding of compassion.

  • If you are trying to help someone who doesn’t need or want your help, you aren’t practicing compassion.
  • If you are helping others in a way that creates dependence, you aren’t practicing compassion.
  • If you insert yourself to help and then get rejected or wonder why they aren’t grateful, you aren’t practicing compassion.
  • If you are putting out fires instead of addressing underling causes, you aren’t practicing compassion.

These types of helping will lead to rejection, fatigue, or frustration. It’s not the good kind of tired, like when you know you’ve made a positive and lasting difference in someone’s life.

Compassion comes from the Latin root meaning, “To suffer with.” If you are struggling instead of or in place of another person, you aren’t practicing compassion.

  • Real compassion builds confidence and competence, not dependence.
  • Real compassion lifts people up without putting someone’s dignity at risk.
  • Real compassion holds people accountable, doesn’t cover for them.

The Compassion Cycle shows the three compassion skills that can help you exert energy in way that won’t lead to compassion burnout! Learn how to use these skills by clicking here.

Compassion Cycle

Check out our new book on about compassionate accountability and see how you can stop wasting energy in drama.

Copyright 2016, Next Element Consulting, LLC

CWC + Discussion GuideGet our latest book Conflict Without Casualties: A Field Guide for Leading With Compassionate Accountability. This book is the foundation for our Leading Out of Drama program, a comprehensive system for building cultures of compassionate accountability.

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1 Comments

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dan stutterheim
Posted on July 25, 2016

Nice article, Nate!

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