Compassion Fatigue is best described as which of the following?

Compassion Fatigue is best described as which of the following?

• A. Cumulative stress from helping others and not being able to relieve suffering
• B. Acute stress from a single event
• C. Financial stress
• D. Lack of empathy

Answer: (A)

Compassion fatigue is emotional wear that comes from prolonged exposure to others’ suffering, especially when you’re unable to relieve it. This describes a cumulative buildup from repeatedly helping and witnessing pain over time, which leads to fatigue, detachment, and a diminished ability to empathize. That makes the description of cumulative stress from helping others and not being able to relieve suffering the best fit. It’s not about a single incident causing stress (that would be an acute, short-term reaction), not about money pressures, and not simply a lack of empathy—which can occur as a protective response to ongoing strain but isn’t the defining cause of compassion fatigue itself.

Compassion fatigue is emotional wear that comes from prolonged exposure to others’ suffering, especially when you’re unable to relieve it. This describes a cumulative buildup from repeatedly helping and witnessing pain over time, which leads to fatigue, detachment, and a diminished ability to empathize. That makes the description of cumulative stress from helping others and not being able to relieve suffering the best fit.

It’s not about a single incident causing stress (that would be an acute, short-term reaction), not about money pressures, and not simply a lack of empathy—which can occur as a protective response to ongoing strain but isn’t the defining cause of compassion fatigue itself.