Re:How to Avoid Empathy Burnout
by cpncrunch on Saturday April 09, 2016 @10:21PM
(#11464539)
Yes, definitely. I think the main problematic emotions are hate and anger. Also, long-term frustration and resentment can build up and lead to burnout. None of these emotions are very useful except maybe in the very short term until a more useful response is formulated.
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Hate and anger are only problematic if you act on them in destructive ways or are in a culture that stigmatizes them.
For most of us, it's latter that causes the problem.
>Hate and anger are only problematic if you act on them in destructive ways or are in a culture that stigmatizes them.
That is certainly a problem, but it isn't what I was referring to. I meant that hate and anger can lead to burnout (primarily fatigue and depression), if they are experienced excessively.
Acting out the anger may in fact lead to reduced chance of burnout, as it prevents the emotions from building up inside.
I didn't make reference to acting out anger - I talked about acting on it destructively. Acting on it constructively is a different matter.
The side effects of a culture that stigmatizes anger or of acting on anger destructively, are that you experience it more.