Welcome to this in-depth discussion of vicarious trauma and burnout where we will explore these intricate concepts through a clinical lens as well as through a spiritual perspective to offer a holistic understanding of the common and complex topics. Whether you are in a helping profession, a loved one of someone who has endured trauma, a caregiver, or someone curious about the merging of spiritual and emotional well-being in the clinical world, this article aims to provide a deeper insight into the causes, symptoms, impacts, and solutions for vicarious trauma and burnout. Once you have finished this read, be sure to check out part II for a holistic & comprehensive guide to healing from Vicarious Trauma and Burnout.
Disclaimer: I am no longer licensed and do not work in the field of clinical social work any longer, with that said this is not a form of clinical consultation, training, supervision, or advice. Always adhere to your state policies and professional ethics and training requirements when it comes to your work in being of service to others in these professional roles.
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Unveiling Vicarious Trauma
Vicarious trauma, also known as secondary traumatic stress or compassion fatigue, is a psychological and emotional response that occurs when individuals are indirectly exposed to the trauma and suffering experienced by others. It can affect a wide range of people, including healthcare workers, therapists, first responders, social workers, journalists, caregivers, and even friends and family members of trauma survivors.
Symptoms of Vicarious Trauma Vicarious trauma shares several symptoms with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and can include:
Intrusive thoughts, images, or memories related to the trauma.
Emotional numbing or detachment from others.
Hyperarousal, such as increased irritability, anger, anxiety, or hypervigilance.
Feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, or a diminished sense of safety.
A decrease in empathy and compassion for others.
A sense of being overwhelmed by the suffering of those they are trying to help.
Increased tearfulness.
Fatigue & exhaustion.
Physical tension and headaches.
Sleep disturbances, including nightmares.
Changes in appetite or weight.
Gastrointestinal problems.
Persistent sadness or depression.
Difficulty concentrating and making decisions.
Guilt or shame related to not being able to help more.
Substance abuse as a coping mechanism.
Decreased job satisfaction and productivity.
Factors Influencing Vicarious Trauma
Not everyone who witnesses secondary stress will develop symptoms. Multiple factors may contribute to a higher likelihood of experiencing vicarious trauma. Highly sensitive individuals and those with extrasensory empathic abilities may be more susceptible. Additionally, individuals with their own unresolved trauma histories may find that secondary trauma triggers their own past experiences.
Mirror Neurons: The Empathy Factor
An intriguing facet of this issue is the role of mirror neurons, which were first discovered in the early 1990s. These neurons play a crucial role in our ability to understand and imitate the actions, emotions, and intentions of others. Mirror neurons fire when we observe another person performing an action or expressing an emotion, and they are essential for social cognition, social interaction, and our capacity to connect, empathize, understand, and feel compassion for others.
When mirror neurons fire during the observation of another they can lead to a natural impulse to mimic or imitate that action. This is why you can watch a movie knowing its only actors portraying a story but when you see them cry you begin to tear up or when they are fearful you feel the fear from their expression of it as these neurons imitate this emotional experience within your mind and body. Mirror neurons are responsible for the saying laughing or yawning is contagious.
When mirror neurons are active while observing someone else's suffering, they can lead to a deeper understanding of the person's pain and a genuine desire to help. This empathy can be a double-edged sword, as it can also result in vicarious trauma when individuals become overwhelmed by the suffering they witness.
Professionals or caregivers who are regularly exposed to traumatic circumstances may repeatedly activate their mirror neurons. Over time, this can lead to emotional and psychological exhaustion, contributing to the development of vicarious trauma. The constant activation of mirror neurons without adequate emotional regulation, stress tolerance, and self-care, can take a toll on an individual's well-being but there are ways to improve this which we will address in part II.
The positive effect of the activation of mirror neurons while observing someone else's suffering offers a unique potential to condition our nerves through building resilience, stress tolerance, and emotion regulation, enabling individuals to navigate the emotional challenges associated with helping professions and receiving the positive impacts of offering loving support to others in their healing journey.
A Spiritual Perspective of Vicarious Trauma
From a spiritual perspective it can be seen that our souls are on a journey of growth and learning. Experiencing vicarious trauma could be viewed as an opportunity for personal and spiritual growth. It might be seen as a challenge that the soul has chosen to face in order to evolve and learn important lessons about self-love, strength and empowerment, acceptance, compassion, increased self-awareness, empathy, and resilience. As we cultivate compassion for others and the will to be of service to help others alleviate suffering and sorrow, we begin to see the interconnectedness of all life. When others suffer, we collectively experience that suffering on some level, when others are in a space of happiness and peace, we are more likely to experience that when with them. We see this interwoven connectedness between ourselves and others that compassion and empathy help us become aware of.
From a spiritual perspective, suffering and trauma can be viewed as a catalyst for some for personal transformation and spiritual awakening. Suffering can bring us to this threshold of seeking to know ourselves and the meaning of life. When we are in pain, there is no greater motivation to seek the truth and we are more willing to practice mindfulness to sit with, witness, and be compassionate towards our pain as a means of helping us alleviate the suffering and cultivate healing.
When we are suffering, we become more inclined to:
read about psychology and spiritual teachings
spend time in nature recharging
quieting the mind
challenging negative belief systems
practicing positive affirmations
meditating
seeking therapy and treatment for unresolved pain
practicing self-care like gratitude, prayer, spending quality time with loved ones
finding time for solitude, among other methods.
We begin to contemplate greater existential questions like:
who am I?
What is the meaning of life?
What is the reason for pain?
How do we heal pain?
What is God or a higher power?
What is the truth?
Vicarious trauma may serve as a means of breaking down old belief systems, ego structures, and barriers to one's spiritual growth, leading to a deeper connection with one's true self and a greater sense of purpose.
Understanding Burnout
Burnout refers to a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that can result from chronic work-related stress. It is especially a widespread concern in professions that involve helping others and educators. Burnout can significantly impact the well-being of those working in these fields and impact the quality of care or services being provided. Burnout not only impacts our professional life but has significant consequences on how we show up in our lives to care for ourselves and our families.
Key characteristics of burnout in these professions include:
Emotional Exhaustion
Feelings of hopelessness & helplessness
Depersonalization which can present as a negative attitude towards others and life, lowered self- worth, lack of empathy, and a loss of purpose causing us to question the significance of our efforts to help others.
It can create a diminished sense of personal achievement and effectiveness in one's work leaving one feeling like their efforts are futile which can cause a loss of self-confidence, doubt in one’s abilities and the value of one’s work along with a decrease in motivation.
Burnout can manifest in physical symptoms including headaches, gastrointestinal problems, changes in appetite or sleep patterns, and an increased susceptibility to illness.
It can cause persistent fatigue and low energy levels making it difficult to find motivation to engage in their work causing a decline in performance that can also cause a decrease in creativity, concentration, and problem- solving skills.
It can cause Increased irritability, mood swings, and heightened sensitivity to stressors
It can lead to social withdrawal and isolation along with a loss of interest in hobbies and spending time with family and friends.
The effects of burnout can extend beyond the workplace and affect various aspects of one's personal life and family dynamics. When feeling emotionally drained and fatigued we may have limited emotional reserves to invest in our personal relationships that could lead us to not being present with our loved ones and not fully engaged in conversations with them or able to offer emotional support when needed.
This can lead to our loved one’s feeling hurt and frustrated but also cause us to be irritable and resentful for the time they want of ours and feeling they are not being empathetic to our needs and stressors we have going on, creating a vicious cycle of disconnect, misunderstanding and conflict making healthy communication and bonding more challenging. As we now cope with the demands socially and emotionally from work, we can then begin to feel this within our personal relationships which can worsen detachment and social isolation.
Burnout can have major impacts on parenting if one is distracted and emotionally exhausted, compromising their ability to fully engage with their children which can impact their physical, mental, and behavioral health, healthy development, and their overall well-being.
Causes for Burnout
Large caseloads
High work demands
Lack of social support from mentors and colleagues
Being highly driven and perfectionistic
Self-sacrificing or codependency tendencies
Challenging or traumatic client cases
Unrealistic expectations imposed by managed care or an employer
Limited resources
Long work hours
Fear of job loss or financial uncertainty
Inadequate self-care and healthy boundaries
Unresolved traumas that may be triggered when working with clients who have similar trauma histories
Lack of recognition or appreciation for one's efforts
A strong sense of personal responsibility for the well-being of clients, including their needs and expectations.
Seeking Worth through Work
This last part is worth touching on a bit more, sometimes we may not realize how much pressure we place onto ourselves to help others. We may also wish to receive positive feedback or reviews from others and we may try to find our sense of worth through our effectiveness as a healing guide or helping professional which can be a subconscious drain on our energy levels associated with low self-esteem. If we are trying to receive validation and acceptance from those we are helping or feel responsible for their needs and expectations, we begin to lose our true authentic nature quickly as we are having to be a chameleon, changing, and adapting each hour to another person and what we perceive are their expectations of us which can quickly lead to emotional exhaustion and burnout.
A Spiritual Perspective of Why Burnout Happens
In our quest to understand the causes of burnout, it's crucial to approach the issue from an alternative spiritual standpoint. Let's delve into the heart of relationships and their inherent nature. At their core, relationships are all about connection. This connection can manifest emotionally, physically, intellectually, or spiritually. In most cases, relationships involve a level of interdependence and reciprocity, where individuals rely on each other for various forms of support, companionship, and mutual benefits such as sharing responsibilities, respect, trust built and earned over time, and relying on one another.
An Unequal Exchange of Energy
In healthy relationships there is an exchange of energy between give and take. Relationships offer various forms of support, such as emotional backing, shared experiences, favors, or simply time and attention. But when a relationship becomes one-sided, with primarily one person giving and the other mostly receiving, it can become draining and exhausting. This dynamic can manifest in various spheres of life, including business relationships, friendships, romantic partnerships, and family relationships, even those involving caregiving for someone with special needs, young children, or the elderly. This unbalanced exchange can lead to feelings of burnout and frustration despite the rewards of loving and caring for others when that care is not being received and balanced in other relationships in one’s life.
The Unique Perspective in Therapeutic Relationships
When we apply this perspective to therapeutic/helping relationship, a unique insight emerges. The therapeutic relationship involves an unequal energy exchange, mainly due to its one-sided nature. While therapists, healthcare professionals, and caregivers provide continuous care, they do not experience a similar level of energy and support in return due to the design of how healing relationships are structured in our healthcare institutions that are based on a business model rather than one of genuine and mutual human connection. While compensation, both monetary and through expressions of gratitude, help restore some balance, it doesn't always fulfill a deeper need for a genuine and mutual exchange.
The Mask We Wear
Furthermore, it's important to recognize that individuals in these roles are essentially playing a role, akin to actors in a long-running play. Imagine the strain of performing for eight hours straight in a theatrical production – it would be physically and emotionally exhausting. Similarly, healthcare professionals, therapists, and caregivers often find themselves in a role where they must suspend parts of their own identity and needs to fulfill their duties.
The Impact of Multiple Caregiver Roles
For those juggling multiple caregiving roles, such as being a parent or looking after disabled or elderly loved ones, this one-way energy exchange within relationships becomes even more pronounced. Our souls inherently seek true connection and reciprocity, and when it's lacking over long periods of time and within many parts of our lives, we can become restless and disheartened.
Revisiting Traditional Societies
In contrast, in traditional societies, healers, helpers, and teachers didn't live separately from those they served. They were an integral part of the community, both giving and receiving support. The energy exchange in such tribal settings was more equal, promoting more ease and longevity in roles involving caregiving. The healers in these communities weren't merely seen as professionals or defined by their roles as helpers or healers but they were seen as individuals with their own emotional journeys and authentic selves and were supported by those they served in return through their life and healing journey.
A Transformative Experience
I had a significant shift in my perspective around healing relationships when I began attending alternative healing workshops. These experiences were in stark contrast to formal and impersonal clinical trainings where no sense of connection, community, trust, or safety was built before learning intense somatic healing modalities. We sought to learn skills while practicing on healing our own traumas with no further personal details of who one actually is other than one’s credentials. Reflecting on this now, this doesn’t feel aligned with safe and mindful healing work as we have seen in research, a significant tell of how effective healing is, is from a positive therapeutic relationship and rapport which builds a sense of safety for a person to explore deeper areas of trauma and unresolved pain.
In contrast, the alternative healing workshops emphasized building safety, connection, and community among participants, setting the stage for profound healing. These sessions demonstrated that healing doesn't solely rely on the modality itself; it's equally dependent on courage, vulnerability, embodiment, love, connection, and mutual support.
The facilitators were also participants in the healing work and would share their feelings, thoughts, or some on the hardships they were navigating or found healing through using the approach we were there learning. They did not stand on the outside of this healing work but joined us in this work and disclosed and processed no differently than what they were asking us to do. This courage, openness, and willingness to heal with us rather than be locked in their roles as the healers who were only observing our experiences of our healing inspired us all. It gave the attendees permission to hold nothing back in shame and bring our greatest fears, insecurities, and pains to the table through their embodied example of courage to share and be exactly as they are.
Finding Your Healing Tribe
It's essential to honor the clinical framework of therapeutic relationships and uphold appropriate professional boundaries as this type of community healing is not the standard of practice in the clinical world and we cannot change that without major collective movements towards that which is not the case right now. This also doesn’t make these clinical therapeutic relationships or the way the social institutions of healthcare are set up wrong, there is a beauty and sacredness in being of service in these roles to be with others during their efforts and intents to heal.
However, as we become more conscious of this dynamic, we can ensure that we find our own healing tribe outside of this work to genuinely connect to others, receive a mutual and balanced exchange of giving and receiving energy and emotional support, and be with others where we can express ourselves authentically especially in ongoing efforts of healing and self-development.
By finding your own healing community, practicing self-care, and healthy boundaries around your work life or helping role, this will help us reduce resentment, burnout, and loss of passion for caring for others. This holistic approach to understanding the causes of burnout offers valuable insights and paves the way for meaningful change in the way we approach caregiving roles.
Finding a Path to True Connection, Self-care, & Healing
Regardless of what is causing us to feel burnt out, it can be a frustrating experience to endure this and feel the hard work that was put into this career is not creating feelings of happiness and contentment like we had hoped it would. Having any of the mentioned symptoms of vicarious trauma and burn out or having a feeling like you want to quit your job and move away to live in a house on the side of a mountain in solitude is a good indicator a break is needed along with some good self-care which we get into in part II.
I will link part II to this video that will go over all the different ways to heal on each level of our being, mind, body, and soul and overcome one of these things or both if you are enduring them so be sure to check that out. Also don’t forget to subscribe to the email list to receive more helpful information like this and please share with anyone you know who may benefit from this discussion.
Thank you for joining us in this exploration of vicarious trauma and burnout. If you've experienced these challenges or have insights to share, please feel free to share your experiences in the comment section of the YouTube video on this.
Remember you are amazing and healing, peace, and happiness are within your reach!
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