Is Your Empathy Overwhelming You? Here’s How to Fix It.

Scenic Route, Social Change and Mental Health Conversations for Perfectionists

For decades, empathy has been celebrated as the glue of human connection— but what if it’s actually burning you out? In this thought-provoking episode of The Scenic Route, we unpack why empathy alone isn’t enough and why it’s time to shift toward something more sustainable: compassion.

💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✔️ Why empathy is exhausting—and how it leads to burnout, anxiety, and emotional paralysis
✔️ The three ways empathy has been weaponized in modern life
✔️ How selective empathy keeps us trapped in caring for some while ignoring others
✔️ Why compassion—not empathy—is the antidote to overwhelm and emotional fatigue
✔️ Actionable steps to set boundaries, stop absorbing everyone’s pain, and channel care into action

🎙 My Personal Story
I share my journey of unlearning toxic empathy, from growing up in a household where empathy was a one-way street to realizing how this pattern mirrors larger societal systems of emotional extraction.

The Scenic Route Podcast is your weekly dose of mindset shifts, deep conversations, and radical compassion—so you can stop over-functioning and start thriving. New episodes every Tuesday!

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This episode is part of #Podcasthon!
I’m thrilled to participate in this global initiative where 1,000+ podcasters unite to support charitable causes. This episode highlights the Frauenzentrale Zürich, an incredible nonprofit that has supported women for over a century.

👉 Support their mission here: https://frauenzentrale-zh.ch/spenden/

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Visit jenniferwalter.me – your cosy corner where recovering perfectionists, misfits, and those done pretending to be fine find space to breathe, dream, and create real change."

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Розділи

1. Is Your Empathy Overwhelming You? Here’s How to Fix It. (00:00:00)

2. The Limitations of Empathy (00:00:18)

3. Personal Reflections on Empathy Burnout (00:09:53)

4. Weaponizing Empathy in Society (00:22:33)

5. Empathy's Fatal Flaws (00:38:00)

6. Neoliberalism and Fear Politics (01:05:16)

7. From Empathy to Compassion (01:22:05)

8. Building Sustainable Compassion (01:33:09)