Mo Ford is an experienced coach, facilitator and consultant. She is the founder of Live and Breathe Coaching, which offers services supporting individuals, groups and organisations to communicate with courage, create spaces where people can be their authentic selves, and prevent burnout.
Have you noticed yourself feeling increasingly detached from work you once found meaningful? Perhaps you're going through the motions, but the spark that originally drew you to your role has dimmed. Or maybe you're wondering why you can't seem to summon the same level of empathy and engagement that once came naturally.
No doubt we’ve all come across someone overstretched and under-supported in their job, who seems disproportionately irritated by the smallest request from a member of the public, having listened to others’ needs and complaints for too long without a break. Perhaps we have been that person at some point. This is an example of compassion fatigue, having run out of the necessary energy and capacity to care.
Over time, this can make it particularly difficult to stay motivated in work, family, and community roles where we have responsibility for supporting and collaborating with others. We may also experience shame or guilt at times when it’s hard to connect with our sense of purpose. If any of this resonates, you might be experiencing compassion fatigue or burnout, but there is a way back to reconnecting with your sense of purpose.
Understanding compassion fatigue and burnout
While often discussed interchangeably, compassion fatigue and burnout are distinct experiences, though they can occur simultaneously. Burnout typically develops gradually through prolonged exposure to high demands and insufficient resources or support. Compassion fatigue, on the other hand, might emerge more suddenly, particularly in helping professionals who are repeatedly exposed to others' trauma or distress. This is also related to vicarious trauma, which can occur when we engage empathetically with others’ traumatic experiences and results in a trauma response as if we had experienced the traumatic event ourselves.
The common thread? All of this can leave us feeling disconnected from our sense of purpose and struggling to care as deeply as we once did. This isn't a character flaw or professional failing; it's a natural response to prolonged emotional and psychological demands without adequate support or resources for recovery.
The warning signs
Early recognition is crucial. Some common indicators include:
Feeling emotionally numb or disconnected from your work and colleagues
Decreased empathy or compassion for those you support
Difficulty maintaining professional boundaries
Physical exhaustion that isn't relieved by regular rest
Increased cynicism or negative attitudes about your work
Loss of satisfaction in tasks you previously enjoyed
The body's wisdom
Our bodies often signal when we're heading toward burnout before our minds fully register it. Physical symptoms might include disrupted sleep patterns, persistent tension headaches, or that knot in your stomach when checking work emails. We may also find other subtle physical signs of discomfort that we can tune into, which are unique to each individual. These aren't just inconvenient symptoms to push through; they're valuable warning signs that something needs to change.
We’re less likely to be surprised and overwhelmed by a sense of disconnect if we’re able to tune into the body’s signals early enough to make changes while we still have the capacity to do so relatively easily. To achieve this, it can be helpful to consciously look out for any physical signs of discomfort or fatigue and to make a note of these over a period of at least a week in order to start spotting patterns.
Beyond quick fixes
In a world of quick fixes and "life hacks," it's tempting to search for simple solutions. But reconnecting with your sense of purpose requires something deeper than a new productivity system or meditation app. It requires creating space to reflect, reset, and reconnect with what originally drew you to your work.
This doesn't mean you need to quit your job or make dramatic life changes (though sometimes these might be necessary). Often, it's about finding ways to create sustainable practices that allow you to maintain your compassion while protecting your well-being. Building new practices and resources with the support of a trusted accountability partner or professional can make a significant difference.
Practical steps for reconnection
1. Establish clear boundaries
Start by identifying what you need to maintain your well-being. This might mean setting limits on your working hours, taking proper breaks, or learning to say no to additional commitments. Rather than being selfish, boundaries are an essential component of maintaining our well-being and being able to support others to the best of our ability.
2. Reconnect with your body
Practice tuning into physical sensations and using them as guidance for what you need. Simple breathing exercises or brief body scans can help you stay connected to your physical experience rather than operating on autopilot.
3. Seek support
If you're used to being the supporter, asking for help might feel uncomfortable. But connecting with peers, seeking supervision, or working with a coach can provide valuable outside perspective and remind you that you don't have to figure everything out alone.
4. Revisit your ‘why’
Take time to reflect on what originally motivated you in your work and support of others. How has your understanding of your purpose evolved? What aspects of your role still align with your values and what might need to change? How might you be able to create the space to reflect more deeply on these questions?
A different kind of reset
Sometimes, the path back to purpose requires more than incremental changes. It might mean taking dedicated time out to reflect deeply on your needs and direction. This isn't about escaping problems but about creating space to reconnect with your most authentic, purposeful self.
Remember: caring less isn't a permanent state. It's often a signal that something needs to shift, whether it's external circumstances or internal patterns. By treating this experience as information rather than failure, you can begin to chart a path back to meaningful engagement with your work and purpose.
If you’re looking for support with compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma or burnout, why not contact me for an exploratory call to find out how I might be able to help?
Read more from Mo Ford
Mo Ford, Embodied Communication Coach and Facilitator
Mo Ford is an Embodied Communication coach, facilitator and consultant. She has two decades of experience in supporting people to overcome complex challenges, move past trauma, and express themselves authentically. Mo experienced a well-being and communication crisis in her twenties, having significantly injured her voice. The support and cutting-edge tools she encountered while recovering from this led her to train as a practitioner in performance psychology, embodied communication, breathwork, and other trauma-skilled, somatic approaches. Mo works with individual clients, groups and organisations with a social mission, offering support to help them re-regulate their nervous systems, communicate with courage and prevent burnout.
