Which term describes the emotional toll on professionals from assisting others over time?

• A. Compassion fatigue
• B. Stigma
• C. Hypervigilance
• D. Secondary trauma

Answer: (A)

Compassion fatigue describes the emotional toll that caring professionals experience from consistently helping others over time. When exposure to clients’ suffering accumulates, a caregiver’s energy can drain, empathy may diminish, and feelings like hopelessness or numbness can creep in. This makes it the best fit for describing the ongoing impact of the caregiving role itself. Stigma centers on social judgment, not the emotional burden of providing care. Hypervigilance is a heightened, ongoing state of threat awareness often tied to trauma responses, not the general toll of assisting others. Secondary trauma refers to trauma symptoms that emerge specifically from exposure to others’ traumatic experiences, which is related but narrower than the broad fatigue described here. Recognizing compassion fatigue helps guide steps like setting boundaries, seeking support, and practicing self-care to sustain work over time.