Final answer:
Compassion fatigue develops due to exposure to others' suffering and can lead to a sudden onset of emotional and physical exhaustion. Burnout arises from chronic workplace stress, characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a sense of reduced personal accomplishment. The root causes, severity, and physical symptoms differ between compassion fatigue and burnout.
Step-by-step explanation:
Compassion fatigue and burnout are related but distinct concepts, with compassion fatigue often resulting from exposure to the suffering of others and is characterized by emotional and physical exhaustion, and a decreased ability to empathize or feel compassion for others. It can develop more quickly and suddenly than burnout, and is specifically associated with the caregiver role in settings like healthcare, social work, or emergency services. Burnout, on the other hand, tends to develop over a longer period and may not be related directly to exposure to trauma but rather from prolonged job stress and dissatisfaction, and is characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished personal accomplishment.
The key differences between compassion fatigue and burnout include the root causes where compassion fatigue is directly triggered by exposure to traumatic events, and burnout arises from chronic workplace stress. The severity of emotional exhaustion can be profound in both conditions but may present more intensely with sudden onset in compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue can also bring an onrush of physical symptoms that can be acute and reflects a more direct response to stressors.