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In this fast-paced modern life, we all often listen to the problems of our friends, family members or close ones and console them. But has it ever happened to you that while relieving someone else’s pain or consoling them, you yourself start feeling very tired, sad and filled with emptiness from within? If yes, then be alert. This is not common physical fatigue, but in the language of psychology it is called ‘Empathy Fatigue’ or ‘Compassion Fatigue’. This is a mental condition in which, while showing excessive sympathy and empathy towards others, the person himself breaks down emotionally. According to health and lifestyle experts, people who are very emotionally sensitive by nature, unknowingly take the mental burden of others on themselves, due to which their own mental health is at stake. Why and who suffers the most from empathy fatigue? There are many psychological reasons behind empathy fatigue. The first reason is that if you are overly emotional, the pain of others quickly overwhelms your mind and heart. Second, if you do not give yourself enough time to mentally recover after helping others, then gradually a strange emptiness begins to develop within you. Apart from this, if you are already struggling with many types of stress or personal problems in your life, then someone else’s whining or negative talk puts additional burden on your mind. The most important thing is that people who do not know how to set emotional limits in their life or who are unable to say ‘No’ to anyone, become the first victims of this mental problem. Recognize with these 6 major symptoms whether you too are in its midst? If you are suffering from empathy fatigue, your body and behavior start giving you many types of signals. Its main symptoms are that the person suddenly becomes numb to his emotions and starts feeling disconnected from his loved ones. Such a person suddenly starts getting angry or irritable over very small things and even the small daily tasks of life start seeming as heavy as a mountain. Feeling physically weak and tired all the time, having constant headache, stomach upset or insomnia are also its major symptoms. In this situation, the person does not get any motivation even to do his favorite work and despite helping others, there is always a feeling of hopelessness or guilt in the mind. Best ways to keep your mental health fresh and avoid empathy fatigue. To protect yourself from this serious mental condition, first of all you have to learn to create ’emotional boundaries’ to save your energy. You have to understand that you cannot solve everyone’s problem alone. If you are in a caregiving profession like a doctor, nurse, social worker or counselor, be sure to take short mental breaks in between work. During lunch with office colleagues or friends, always avoid discussing serious or heavy topics and keep the atmosphere as humorous and light-hearted as possible. If during a serious or sad conversation you start feeling stiffness in your jaw, difficulty in breathing or heaviness in the chest, then immediately move away from that place and take a walk in the open and fresh air for some time. Apart from this, there must be at least one such strong relationship in your life (be it a true friend, life partner or therapist) where you do not need to show yourself strong and you can open your heart. Limit watching too much sad news, crime shows or negative content on digital media and instead watch funny animal videos or comedy clips in Reels. Whenever stress increases, immediately splash cold or lukewarm water on your face, this helps in controlling the body’s ‘Vagus Nerve’, which works to calm the signals between our brain, heart and digestive system.