compassion fatigue: depressive mood, primary traumatic stress symptoms, responses to their patients' trauma, and sleep disturbances. those with a better ability to empathize and be compassionate are at a higher risk of developing compassion fatigue. because of that, healthcare professionals—especially those who work in critical care—who are regularly exposed to death, trauma, high stress environments, long work days, difficult patients, pressure from a patient's family, and conflicts with other staff members- are at higher risk. these exposures increase the risk for developing compassion fatigue and burnout, which often makes it hard for professionals to stay in the healthcare career field. those who stay in the healthcare field after developing compassion fatigue or burnout are likely to experience a lack of energy, difficulty concentrating, unwanted images or thoughts, insomnia, stress, desensitization and irritability. as a result, these healthcare professionals may later develop substance abuse, depression, or commit suicide. a 2018 study that examined differences in compassion fatigue in nurses based on their substance use found significant increases for those who used cigarettes, sleeping pills, energy drinks, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety drugs. unfortunately, despite recent, targeted efforts being made to reduce burnout, it appears that the problem is increasing. in 2011, a study conducted by the department of medicine program on physician well-being at mayo clinic reported that 45% of physicians in the united states had one or more symptoms of burnout. in 2014, that number had increased to 54%. in student affairs professionals in response to the changing landscape of post-secondary institutions, sometimes as a result of having a more diverse and marginalized student population, both campus services and the roles of student affairs professionals have evolved. these changes are efforts to manage the increases in traumatic events and crises. due to the exposure to student crises and traumatic events, student affairs professionals, as front line workers, are at risk for developing compassion fatigue. such crises may include sexual violence, suicidal ideation, severe mental health episodes, and hate crimes/discrimination. some research shows that almost half of all university staff named psychological distress as a factor contributing to overall occupational stress. this group also demonstrated emotional exhaustion, job dissatisfaction, and intention to quit their jobs within the next year, symptoms associated with compassion fatigue. factors contributing to compassion fatigue in student affairs professionals student affairs professionals who are more emotionally connected to the students with whom they work and who display an internal locus of control are found to be more likely to develop compassion fatigue as compared to individuals who have an external locus of control and are able to maintain boundaries between themselves and those with whom they work. in lawyers burnout and compassion fatigue can occur in the profession of law; it may occur because of "a discrepancy between expectations and outcomes," or thinking one may have a larger task to achieve than provided resources and support. recent research shows that a growing number of attorneys who work with victims of trauma are exhibiting a high rate of compassion fatigue symptoms. in fact, lawyers are four times more likely to suffer from depression than the general public. they also have a higher rate of suicide and substance abuse. most attorneys, when asked, stated that their formal education lacked adequate training in dealing with trauma. besides working directly with trauma victims, one of the main reasons attorneys can develop compassion fatigue is because of the demanding case loads, and long hours that are typical to this profession. prevention in an effort to prepare and combat compassion fatigue, especially within healthcare professions, many have been implementing resiliency training, educating workers in coping during stressful situations, being aware and conscious in their duties, working with integrity, creating a support system that includes individuals and resources that can provide understanding and are sensitive to the risks of compassion fatigue, and finally workers are learning how to decompress and destress, utilizing self-care, are all components. personal self-care stress reduction and anxiety management practices have been shown to be effective in preventing and treating sts. taking a break from work, participating in breathing exercises, exercising, and other recreational activities all help reduce the stress associated with sts. there is evidence that journaling and meditation can also mediate the effects of sts. conceptualizing one's own ability with self-integration from a theoretical and practice perspective helps to combat criticized or devalued phase of sts. in addition, establishing clear professional boundaries and accepting the fact that successful outcomes are not always achievable can limit the effects of sts. social self-care social support and emotional support can help practitioners maintain a balance in their worldview. maintaining a diverse network of social support, from colleagues to pets, promotes a positive psychological state and can protect against sts. some problems with compassion fatigue stem from a lack of fundamental communication skills; counseling and additional support can be beneficial to practitioners struggling with sts. self-compassion as self-care in order to be the best benefit for clients, practitioners must maintain a state of psychological well-being. unaddressed compassion fatigue may decrease a practitioners ability to effectively help their clients. some counselors who use self-compassion as part of their self-care regime have had higher instances of psychological functioning. the counselors use of self-compassion may lessen experiences of vicarious trauma that the counselor might experience through hearing clients stories. self-compassion as a self-care method is beneficial for both clients and counselors. mindfulness as self-care self-awareness as a method of self-care might help to alleviate the impact of vicarious trauma (compassion fatigue). students who took a 15-week course that emphasized stress reduction techniques and the use of mindfulness in clinical practice had significant improvements in therapeutic relationships and counseling skills. the practice of mindfulness, according to buddhist tradition is to release a person from “suffering” and to also come to a state of consciousness of and relationship to other people's suffering. mindfulness utilizes the path to consciousness through the deliberate practice of engaging “the body, feelings, states of mind, and experiential phenomena (dharma).” the following therapeutic interventions may be used as mindfulness self-care practices: somatic therapy (body) psychotherapy (states of mind) emotion focused therapy (feelings) gestalt therapy (experiential phenomena) scales used for assessment administration measure accessible professional quality of life measure proqol self-test compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress online, available compassion fatigue and/satisfaction self test for helpers self-test compassion fatigue online, available maslach burnout inventory administered burnout available for purchase compassion fade compassion fatigue is defined as “the physical and mental exhaustion and emotional withdrawal experienced by those who care for sick or traumatized people over an extended period of time”. compassion fatigue usually occurs with those whom we know; whether that is because of a personal relationship or professional relationship. compassion fade is defined as terminology to describe the way in which an individual’s compassion and empathy are reduced due to the amount or intricacy of the issue. this also includes when the need and tragedy in of the world goes up and the amount of desire to help goes down (similar to a see-saw). for example, an individual is more likely to donate more money, time, or other types of assistance to a single person suffering, than to disaster aid or when the population suffering is larger. it is a type of cognitive bias that helps people make their decision to help.