Caregiver burnout vs. compassion fatigue: What’s the difference?

What is caregiver burnout?

Caregiver burnout is a state of overwhelming physical, emotional, and mental fatigue caused by the ongoing demands of caregiving. It often develops gradually and can impact a caregiver’s health, relationships, and ability to provide quality care.

What causes caregiver burnout?

Many factors associated with caregiving can cause burnout, including1-3:

• Feeling responsible for another person's physical and emotional wellbeing.
• Trying to meet everyone’s needs.
• Not knowing exactly what your responsibilities are.
• Having too many things to do.
• Lack of privacy or independence.
• Not being able to say no to your loved one.
• Feeling that you don’t have the necessary skills to care for another person. 
• Feeling that you’ve failed. 

What are the consequences of caregiver burnout?

Left unaddressed, caregiver burnout can lead to chronic stress, depression, anxiety, and even physical health problems. Recognizing the consequences early is key to preventing long-term harm. The most common consequences are1-3:

• Depression.
• Fatigue.
• Feeling helpless or hopeless.
• Low self-esteem.
• Sleep disorders.
• Negative emotions towards the care recipient.
• Getting sick more often.
• Appetite changes.

Caregiver burnout vs. compassion fatigue: How can you tell the difference?

People often mistake burnout for compassion fatigue, but there are significant differences between these two conditions4.

While caregiver burnout builds up over time from the daily responsibilities of caregiving, compassion fatigue stems more directly from prolonged emotional exposure to another’s suffering. Both are serious — but they require slightly different approaches to prevention and care.

Compassion fatigue is usually associated with healthcare professionals, but it can also affect family caregivers. It occurs when the burden of dealing with someone else's pain, while also dealing with your own, becomes too difficult to bear. As a result, you become physically, emotionally, and socially exhausted, until you no longer feel capable of caring for someone else4,5.

Think of compassion fatigue as a defense mechanism in which your body asks you to step back and take care of yourself5.

What are the consequences of compassion fatigue?

Caregivers with compassion fatigue may develop4:

• Symptoms of depression and anxiety.
• Sleep problems.
• A desire to isolate from family and friends.
• Lack of empathy.
• Irritability, excess criticism, cynicism, or sarcasm.
• Loss of interest in the things they used to like.
• Weight or appetite changes.
• Other health issues like headaches, gastrointestinal problems, muscle tightness, and hypertension. 
• Repeated thoughts about other people's suffering.
• Alcohol or drug abuse.

How to manage caregiver burnout and compassion fatigue

To manage caregiver burnout, start by setting healthy boundaries, taking regular breaks, and seeking support. For compassion fatigue, focus on emotional self-care, mindfulness practices, and connecting with a peer or professional counselor1,5:

• Take a moment to pay attention to how you feel. It's okay to have negative feelings –– they don’t make you a bad person. 
• Talk to someone you trust about your feelings and frustrations.
• Join a support group and talk to a mental health professional. 
• Ask for help with caregiving tasks whenever possible. This help can come from friends, family, or even a home care agency. 
• Finding a balance between caring and your personal life is extremely important. Try to eat well, exercise regularly, get enough sleep, and do something enjoyable once in a while. 
• Keep in touch with friends and family.
• Get information from trusted sources and healthcare professionals. The more you know about the disease of the person you're caring for, the easier it is to deal with it because you already know what to expect and what to do. Learn to identify and respect your boundaries.
• Be realistic about your loved one's illness. It may be that he or she needs more specialized help at some point.

How can Hero help?

When it comes to caregiving responsibilities, managing a loved one’s medication can be stressful and time-consuming—especially when their condition requires them to take five or more different pills a day6. 

Without help, it's easy to get lost and disorganized. After all, each medication must be taken at a specific time each day. Some can be consumed with food; others cannot. Some can’t be mixed, or they can cause serious adverse events7. 

What’s more, missing doses or taking meds at the wrong time can impair treatment outcomes, so following your doctor's and pharmacist's recommendations becomes absolutely crucial7.

So, how do you manage a complex regimen when you already have so much on your plate?

Hero’s end-to-end medication management service can help take all the stress out of medication management, so you can focus on other responsibilities and self-care. Hero’s award-winning automatic pill dispenser holds up to a 90-day supply of 10 different medications, and alerts you it’s pill time with a sound and a blinking light. All you have to do is press one button, and it will dispense your dose!

The dispenser comes with a medication management app that allows you to add a medication list, receive pill-time reminders and missed-dose alerts, and track your loved one’s adherence. Hero can even deliver your refills to your door at no extra cost, so you can say goodbye to those countless pharmacy trips! 

Learn more about how Hero takes the hassle out of taking meds here.

Conclusion

Caring for someone is an act of love, but it can also be stressful. When the pressure becomes unbearable, it can affect your health as well as your loved one’s. 

Understanding the difference between caregiver burnout and compassion fatigue empowers you to take action. By recognizing the signs early and using proven strategies, you can reduce caregiver stress, protect your health, and continue providing the best care possible.

Sources

1. Cleveland Clinic. Caregiver Burnout. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9225-caregiver-burnout

2. Johns Hopkins Medicine. Causes and Symptoms of Caregiver Burnout. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/about/community_health/johns-hopkins-bayview/services/called_to_care/causes_symptoms_caregiver_burnout.html.

3. Mayo Clinic. Caregiver stress: Tips for taking care of yourself. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/caregiver-stress/art-20044784. 2020. 

4. Lynch SH, Lobo ML. Compassion fatigue in family caregivers: a Wilsonian concept analysis. Journal of advanced nursing. 2012;68(9):2125–34. 

5. Cleveland Clinic. Empathy Fatigue: How Stress and Trauma Can Take a Toll on You. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/empathy-fatigue-how-stress-and-trauma-can-take-a-toll-on-you/. 2021. 

6. Masnoon N, Shakib S, Kalisch-Ellett L, Caughey GE. What is polypharmacy? A systematic review of definitions. BMC geriatrics [Internet]. 2017 Oct 10;17(1):230. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29017448

1. FDA. Why You Need to Take Your Medications as Prescribed or Instructed. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/special-features/why-you-need-take-your-medications-prescribed-or-instructed. 2016.