You love your job, your organization, and your community. But there can still be days when you feel like you have nothing left to give. If at the end of the day you feel drained, or irritated, or both, you may have “compassion fatigue.” Compassion fatigue, also known as secondary traumatic stress (STS), is a condition characterized by a gradual lessening of compassion over time. This session will help you recognize the symptoms and the situations that may trigger compassion fatigue and understand how it affects you and your working environment. Explore ways to take care of yourself so you can continue to show compassion and give your patrons the care they need.

1. Compassion Fatigue:
When Helpers Get Tired of Helping
Courtney Brown
Southeast Regional Coordinator

5. Agenda
1. Understand Compassion Fatigue
2. Recognize, Cope, Overcome
3. Cultivate a Culture of Care and Compassion
4. Resources

6. What is Compassion Fatigue?
“A state experienced by those helping people in
distress; it is an extreme state of tension and
preoccupation with the suffering of those being
helped to the degree that it can create a
secondary traumatic stress for the helper.”

7. What is Occupational Burnout
“A type of psychological stress that is
characterized by exhaustion, lack of
enthusiasm, and motivation, feelings of
ineffectiveness, and as a result reduced
efficiency within the workplace”

8. Recognizing Compassion Fatigue
• Bottled up Emotions
• Irritability
• Depression
• Chronic Physical Ailments
• Difficulty focusing or concentrating
• Avoiding work / calling in sick / coming in late

9. What are some things that you
have encountered that can
trigger compassion fatigue?

10. “Taking care
of myself
doesn’t mean,
me first. It
means, me
too.”
L.R. Knost

11. Wheel of Human Needs

12. What are some things you
experience at work that can
trigger negative emotions?

13. Emotional Labor

20. Turn Your Stress Around

21. What are some activities that
you engage in to relax or
promote renewal?

22. Cultivating a Culture of Renewal

23. Useful Playlists

24. https://learn.continuinged.isl.in.gov

25. Questions?
Courtney Brown
Southeast Regional
Coordinator
cobrown@library.in.gov