3.9K
Downloads
71
Episodes
A raw and authentic podcast for those who work or volunteer in animal care, welfare, or activism, who are struggling with compassion fatigue, burnout, grief and loss, secondary traumatic stress, and other mental health concerns. Through both solo and guest episodes, I blend science, psychology, spirituality, and even a touch of "woo woo" to help you manage compassion fatigue, build resilience, and make your passion for helping animals sustainable. If you're involved in animal caregiving, rescue, trap-neuter return (TNR), sheltering, animal control, cruelty investigations, veterinary medicine, fostering, wildlife or marine rehabilitation and conservation, animal law or lobbying, ethical veganism, or any other role in animal care, welfare, or activism, and struggling with the consequences of caring so much that it hurts, this podcast is for you!
The host, Jen Blough, LPC, is a licensed professional counselor, compassion fatigue coach and speaker, and author with more than 35 years of experience in animal welfare and activism. She is the author of To Save a Starfish: A Compassion Fatigue Workbook for the Animal Welfare Warrior and the upcoming book, Beyond Compassion Fatigue.
Episodes
Sep 10, 2026
Sep 10, 2026
17 min
Have you ever been awake at 2 a.m. replaying a cruelty case in your mind? Or found yourself unable to shake an image, constantly on edge, or avoiding a place because it reminds you of something you experienced while working or volunteering with animals?
If so, you may have wondered: Is this compassion fatigue, or is it something more?
In this episode of Beyond Compassion Fatigue, I explore the similarities and differences between PTSD, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion fatigue, and why understanding the distinction matters for people working and volunteering in animal welfare.
We explore:
- Why PTSD and compassion fatigue are often used interchangeably—but aren't technically the same thing
- What PTSD is and why it is considered a diagnosable mental health condition
- Why compassion fatigue is better understood as an umbrella term rather than a formal diagnosis
- How secondary trauma and secondary traumatic stress can affect animal welfare professionals
- The ways PTSD and secondary traumatic stress can look similar
- Why not every experience of distress should automatically be labeled PTSD
- How compassion fatigue, burnout, moral distress, grief, secondary traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety can overlap
- Why accurate assessment matters when determining what kind of support someone needs
- Why experiencing trauma or suffering does not mean you're weak or "not cut out for the job"
Sign up for my free monthly newsletter here.
Got a suggestion for a future topic? Reach out to me: jen@jenblough.com.
Interested in becoming certified in compassion fatigue? Learn more here!
Follow on social media:
Grab your free resources to help manage compassion fatigue here.
Visit my free virtual calming room here.
Get your copy of To Save a Starfish: A Compassion Fatigue Workbook for the Animal Welfare Warrior here.
Pre-order your copy of Beyond Compassion Fatigue: Trauma, Resilience, and Recovery in Animal Care and Advocacy here.
4 days ago
Thank you for this as always