Mindful Self-Compassion Offers Transformative Antidote to Compassion Fatigue

Healthcare professionals make up 10.8% of the US workforce and one in four Americans are caring for a loved one with a medical condition or disability. Choosing a healthcare career or caring for a loved one can bring a tremendous sense of meaning, purpose, and resilience. For many, it is truly a calling. But when caregivers become so immersed in service to others that they are no longer able to recognize and tend to their own pain, the physical, mental, and emotional strain can have negative impacts on their ability to thrive on and off the job. It’s not surprising that as many as 80% of healthcare practitioners and two-thirds of family caregivers experience burnout and compassion fatigue..