I am finding out from many sources that highly empathetic people who face nonstop exposure to a wide range of suffering have documented issues and are becoming more common. Compassion Fatigue is the term. Hmmm. I think I can relate. Starting with watching news and that guy I found in the street a few months back. And now my family stuff. Did I mention the dead whales and garbage I saw on the Oregon Coast?

From what I have read so far, compassion fatigue is trauma from feeling overwhelmed by the news, other people’s trauma, and the struggles of friends and family. It seems to cause a person to be preoccupied by injustice and the desire to fix it. As compassion fatigue goes on and gets worse, it affects apathy and massively chronic burnout takes hold. This can sabotage our relationships and connection with family. It will destroy physical, emotional, and happy energy. Just google the term. The one reoccurring point I read is that it resembles posttraumatic stress (PTSD).

Even if I am just crazy, lazy, and plain selfish (I get this from feedback), there are some things I am going to do (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/compassion-fatigue).

1. Exercise… check, easy one.
2. Healthy eating… working on it and does actually help.
3. Sleep and rest… hard one, so will try meditation to stop my mind from cranking out ideas all night.
4. Time off… currently working on avoiding all things that trigger my apathy… for now.
5. Therapy… thinking about this and considering what level, who, where, when.