ugubriat t1_j0h3mal wrote on December 16, 2022 at 4:26 PM

Do you make a distinction between compassion and empathy?

For instance, compassion is an awareness of suffering and a heartfelt wish to alleviate it; while empathy is to feel as another person feels?

I ask because I think the distinction might be important. Extended periods of feeling what others feel can lead to empathy fatigue (checking out and shutting down), but extended periods of wishing to help alleviate suffering don't seem to lead to compassion fatigue.

What do you think?

UniversityofBath OP t1_j0yimb0 wrote on December 20, 2022 at 10:33 AM

This is a really great point. I think they are different too. Some people have made a similar argument to yours: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336746147_Contesting_the_term_%27compassion_fatigue%27_Integrating_findings_from_social_neuroscience_and_self-care_research

I think we maybe don't know quite enough about the subtleties of the differences yet, but this is something I'm trying to get my head around at the moment.