Résumé : In the veterinary field, we often talk about compassion fatigue to describe the wear and tear caused by others’ suffering. But behind this term, there may be something else: attachment fatigue—more intimate, more insidious. This subtle distinction changes everything: between carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders and remaining present, with clarity and kindness, at the very heart of pain.

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The Narrative We’ve Been Given

For a long time, we’ve been told and reminded that in veterinary medicine, we suffer from compassion fatigue. We talk about the constant presence of suffering, the heaviness of euthanasia, the difficult decisions that must be made—sometimes for behavioral or financial reasons.

This reality comes with deep distress: that of clients, families, and the animals themselves. And all of this reflects back onto us, animal health professionals.

But if we look more closely at the word Compassion, it may not be entirely accurate.
For me, it is rather a matter of attachment fatigue.

And that is precisely what makes it so difficult to carry.

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Attachment Fatigue

Attachment fatigue comes from the fact that we become attached.
To animals, to clients, to our team, to their stories.

We become attached to people going through poverty, helplessness, or anger. And it is these attachments that make us suffer.

Attachment fatigue also arises from our expectations: wanting to save everyone, heal everything, fix everything.

That weight is heavy—with guilt, responsibility, and a sense of duty.

These attachments take up space, time, and energy. And they exhaust us.

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A Simple Experiment

Say these two words out loud:

**Compassion**
**Attachment**

Feel the difference…

– Attachment weighs you down, pulls you inward
– Compassion feels light, fluid, open

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True Compassion

For me, COMPASSION is something else entirely.

1. It is the ability to see what is happening around us: suffering, frustration, poverty, fear.
2. To recognize them without getting lost in them. It is remaining present to everything that is there, without judgment. Looking at others with openness and be the witness to what is happening.
3. And from that space, opening ourselves to other possibilities, without expectation.

True compassion cannot be exhausted. It is infinite, fluid and free.

Because it does not cling, does not judge.

It acts—or simply remains a witness—according to what is right.

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My Experience

I have known what is called compassion fatigue—or rather, attachment fatigue.

I have suffered from it. I have gone through depression, burnout, and panic attacks.

But I finally chose a different path: the path of true Compassion.

Not judging has become my daily practice. Meeting people where they are, offering the best I have, aiming for my optimal—not an impossible maximum.

And then observing, with them, where that path leads.

Since then, I work differently. It feels lighter. I can assist people with greater clarity, even in moments of stress and deep sadness. I understand what they are going through, and this compassionate posture helps me bring them clarity and peace.

Often, they later tell me:

“Yes, it was difficult. Yes, I’m sad.
But it felt gentler, more peaceful after our conversation.”

Because they were accompanied with compassion, not with the weight of attachment.

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An invitation

Right now, in our veterinary field—with the challenges of practice, starting businesses, and the complex realities of work—I believe it is time to reconnect with this word: COMPASSION.

Try it.

Have fun feeling the difference between compassion and attachment.

Become aware, in your own life, of the attachment fatigue that sometimes slips in.

It brings immense relief.

And breathe…