“I am tired not of work. I am tired of people. Of their faces, their questions, their sufferings. Of the fact that I must be just when inside there is emptiness.” This is not about physical exhaustion. This is about moral exhaustion. A state when the soul burns out from constant stress of responsibility, when the choice between “bad” and “worse” becomes normal. This is the exhaustion from the need to be good when there is no more strength for it.What is moral exhaustion Moral exhaustion is not burnout, although they often go hand in hand. Burnout is exhaustion of resources. Moral exhaustion is exhaustion of meanings. You stop believing in what you do. In the significance of your efforts. You are tired of the injustice of the world, of the need to make difficult decisions, of the fact that you cannot help everyone who wants to be helped. This is a state when your conscience is overloaded. When you know too much about other people's pain and do not know how to alleviate it.How to recognize moral exhaustion Symptoms: apathy, irritability, guilt for not doing more. Cynicism as a defense mechanism. You start to joke about what used to make you cry. You stop believing in good. You feel that your actions are meaningless. It is difficult for you to concentrate. You lose interest in what used to bring you joy. You avoid communicating with people who need help because you can no longer give. This is not depression, although it can lead to it. It is a signal: your moral system is overloaded.Where does it come from Moral exhaustion appears when we take responsibility for what we cannot control. We want the world to be just, for everyone to be fed, for no one to suffer. But the world does not obey our desires. The longer we try to hold the heavens on our shoulders, the harder it becomes. Especially susceptible to this exhaustion are people with a high level of empathy: doctors, psychologists, teachers, social workers, parents with children with special needs, activists. Their li ... Read more