Compassion fatigue - 6 Minute English

Hello. This is 6 Minute

English from BBC

Learning English. I'm Rob.

And I'm Sam.

As awful as the coronavirus

pandemic has been, it's also

highlighted the compassionate

side of human nature -

doctors and nurses helping

the sick.

Yes, and people helping out

elderly relatives and

neighbours, raising money

for charity or wearing

a face mask to keep

others safe.

But the pandemic has

also highlighted a more

worrying issue called

'compassion fatigue'.

Have you heard

of that, Sam?

Yes, I think compassion

fatigue is a kind of emotional

exhaustion which reduces

your ability to empathise

or feel compassion

for others.

Yes, exactly, Sam.

Compassion fatigue has

long been a problem for

people working in medical

professions and is the topic

of this programme.

We'll be hearing how the

suffering and unhappiness

we see on the TV news can

increase feelings

of helplessness.

But first, let me ask you

my quiz question, Sam.

Humanitarian workers see

human suffering on a daily basis

and can easy fall victim to

compassion fatigue. Founded

in 1971, Medecins Sans

Frontieres is one of the

biggest humanitarian

organisations. But what

does Medecins Sans

Frontieres mean? Is it:

a) Medicine to the

frontline?, b) Doctors

without borders?, or

c) Medicine first?

I remember newspapers

calling it MSF and using

its English name, which

I think was, b) Doctors

without borders.

OK, Sam, we ll find out

the answer later on.

Compassion fatigue

centres on the idea that

we can feel too much

empathy and that feeling

can lead to

emotional burnout.

According to psychologist,

Margaret Heffernan,

caring and fatigue are

closely connected.

Caring for others means

taking on someone's pain

yourself and this can have

unhealthy consequences

for the carer.

Well, here's Margaret

Heffernan talking to

BBC World Service's,

The Documentary Podcast.

See if you can hear the

effects of compassion

fatigue she mentions:

As you find people

spending more and more

time online, reading more

and more and more

depressing news and they

become more and more

numb they also become

more and more addicted

to it. And this develops a

kind of state of mind that is

a kind of... it's a form

of learned helplessness,

because I'm consuming

something that's

upsetting me but I

cannot do anything about it.

Margaret Heffernan

mentions that spending too

much time reading

depressing online news

can leave us feeling

numb - unable to feel any

emotions or think clearly

because we are so

upset or afraid.

The news exposes us

to human suffering

around the world which

we feel powerless to help.

This can lead to something

which in psychology is

called learned helplessness -

giving up trying to feel

better because your

previous attempts

have not worked.

This is all incredibly

depressing, Rob!

It sounds like we

have limited

amounts of compassion.

Well, there are more

positive ways of looking

at it, Sam. Here's an

alternative view from Tom

Rivett-Carnac, speaking

with BBC World Service's,

The Documentary Podcast.

I understand why you're

saying that it s finite -

but I also think

compassion is a habit.

So dwelling with that,

developing that habit - yes,

there are a lot of

headwinds to that and the

rapid acceleration of the

news cycle, the focus on

the next problem so

quickly draws our attention

away from developing

those deeper habits as

humanity that gives us

that courage and that

strength to make

these big transformations.

Like Margaret Heffernan,

Tom Rivett-Carnac believes

the news media is

part of the problem.

Online newspapers and

social media, speed up

the news cycle - the

reporting of a particular

news story, from the

first instance to the last.

As a result, we are

constantly worrying

about the next

problem - and this can

easily lead to

emotional fatigue.

Tom emphasises

compassion as a habit to

be developed, instead of

something finite - limited

or having a fixed size.

But such compassionate

habits can be difficult

to cultivate because

they face many

headwinds - forces

blowing in the opposite

direction which stop

you moving forward.

Headwinds such as

the rapid news cycle

which distracts us

from developing

compassion and courage.

Maybe the answer is

to help in whatever

ways we can, without

becoming hard-hearted -

like the volunteers of MSF.

Ah yes - your quiz

question, Rob. You

asked what the French

name Medecins Sans

Frontieres means

in English. I said,

b) Doctors without

borders.

Which was the correct

answer! Well done!

Doctors Without Borders

offer volunteer medical

assistance in the world's

worst conflict zones.

OK, Rob, let s recap

the vocabulary, starting

with compassion fatigue -

emotional exhaustion

which reduces your

feelings of compassion.

This can leave you numb

- unable to feel any

emotions because you

are so shocked or scared.

Learned helplessness

is a psychological term

for when someone stops

trying to feel better

because their previous

attempts failed.

Some people believe

that compassion is

finite - limited or having

a fixed size.

And it can be

disturbed by the news

cycle - the round of

media reports and

reactions to

a news story.

Which can be a

headwind or opposing

force, which stops us

caring for others.

And that's it for

this edition of

6 Minute English.

Bye for now!

Bye!