Empathy (translation from Greek: “feeling”, “passion”, “suffering”) is conscious empathy for the current emotional state of another person without losing the sense of the external origin of this feeling. A person with the ability to empathize is called an empath.

The concept was introduced by Sigmund Freud. He considered it essential for any psychoanalyst to put himself in the place of his patient.

Compassion should not be confused with empathy. The first concerns only the ability to sympathize, and an empath can feel the emotions of others: anger, fear, resentment, joy.

Let's figure out whether all people are capable of such feelings or whether this requires a set of certain qualities.

How does empathy manifest itself?

This skill is expressed as feeling the emotional state of the people with whom the person interacts, as well as the ability to express feelings like others. Such people are prone to deep emotional experiences and understanding of the dependence of the expressed feelings on the problem of another person.

Why does a person need the ability to empathize?

Without empathy, it is difficult for people to develop communication skills and gain trust.

The lack of such skills can negatively affect the professional side of life.

It is impossible to become a good psychologist, psychoanalyst, doctor, lawyer, teacher without a tendency to express feelings, put oneself in the client’s place and be tolerant of his actions.

Levels of empathy

All empathic people are divided into 5 types depending on the depth of their ability to feel:

Types of empathy

Emotional

The basis is to repeat the behavior and motor skills of others in different situations.

Cognitive

The basis of this type is intellectual activity - comparison, analogy, etc.

Predicative

Predicting the behavior of surrounding people and their emotions in specific situations.

Degrees of manifestation of the tendency to empathy

Increased empathy (hyperempathy)

Characterized by increased sensitivity to the problems of other people. Such a person takes everything upon himself and is distinguished by expressed empathy. Distinctive features: vulnerability, impressionability, feeling of guilt for no reason.

Normal degree

The most common type. Such people control their emotions and prefer not to show them for ethical reasons. They can give free rein to their emotions in the circle of close people.

Low

Characterized by a person’s inability to empathize. Such people consider the actions of people in a state of passion senseless and incomprehensible to them and do not accept other points of view. In this regard, it is difficult for a person to find a common language with others.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Empathy

• Benefits include the ability to recognize and understand emotions and the reasons for other people's emotions and feelings. This ability allows you to be good friends and good specialists in areas of working with society.
• The disadvantages include the fact that among the problems of others you can lose yourself, your emotional state. This can happen to a person who does not know how to abstract himself from other people’s problems, takes everything too closely, and “takes on” other people’s situations for himself.

How an empath can learn not to waste emotions in vain

• Understand that every person is free to choose how to behave in their life.
• An empath should not interfere with the emotional state of loved ones unless they ask for it. It is enough to simply accept a person as he is and empathize with him.
• To establish spiritual harmony, or choose another type of relaxation for yourself.
• You won’t be good to everyone, so you don’t need to try to be a friend to everyone. If a person evokes negative emotions and impressions in you, try to limit communication with him or eliminate it altogether.
• Love yourself the way you are. Don’t try to take the blame for the whole world and heroically save it.

Developing empathy - is it possible?

Empathy is a complex concept. Some scientists believe that this ability is genetic in nature and is inherited.

This ability can still be developed. There is a certain technique:

1. Correct perception of your own “I” and your feelings. Learn to recognize and distinguish their shades. This will be the first step to adequately seeing the emotional experiences of others.
2. The ability to manage your own emotions, thoughts and actions plays a big role.
3. Learn to understand and accept the feelings and thoughts of others.
4. Learn to highlight intonation, facial expressions, and gestures. This will help determine the person's emotional state and how they feel.

Manifestation of Empathy and properties
Empathy manifests itself in a Strong Personality as the ability to feel the severity of other people's experiences. This is the ability to understand the feelings of others and the ability to let them know that you know their feelings. However, this is not enough. The ability not to turn away, to listen to someone else’s pain, while knowing that the person does not even know how difficult it is and how he got there.
Empathy is your sincere desire to understand another, to tune into his emotions. Empathy depends on the depth of life experience, sensitivity, compassion, empathy, psychological literacy, accuracy of perception, and the ability to tune into the emotional wave of the interlocutor.

Most often, all the people who communicate with us need emotional support. They seek some kind of emotional closeness with those people who, it seems to them, treat them with Empathy.

The term “Empathy” first appeared in the English dictionary in 1912 and was close to the concept of “sympathy”. It arose on the basis of the German word einf?hling (literal meaning - penetration. One of the earliest definitions of empathy is found in Freud’s work “Wit and its relation to the unconscious” (1905): “We take into account the mental state of the patient, put ourselves in this state and We try to understand it by comparing it with our own.”

Empathy is a more modern word and concept than Empathy which is a very close concept.

Assess your strength

Empathy can become unsafe if a person enters too deeply into the state of another. Therefore, before showing deep Empathy, evaluate your capabilities to exit the state of this Empathy.
It is necessary to clearly understand the need to observe certain limits of Sympathy and Empathy. Empathic way of communication with another personality has several facets. It implies entering the personal world of another and staying in it.

This way of deep Empathy involves constant sensitivity to the changing experiences of another - to fear, or anger, or emotion, or embarrassment, in a word, to everything that he or she experiences.
This means temporarily living another life, delicately living in it without evaluation and judgment in the neutral zone of only observation.
Empathy means grasping what another person, in deep conversation and transferring their energy, is barely aware of. In fact, you take on some of the negative energy, saving your interlocutor from excess. You must be absolutely sure that you yourself can cope and not accept this energy, but ground it and direct it to neutralize it.

In fact, by showing Empathy, you take on part of the negative energy of your interlocutor

You should not try to reveal the completely unconscious feelings of another person, as they can be traumatic.
You cannot communicate your impressions of the inner world of another when you look with a fresh and calm look at the components of the ego of feelings and emotions that excite or frighten the interlocutor.
You are a confidant for another and this means frequently asking the other to check in on your impressions and listening carefully to the answers you receive.
By pointing out possible meanings to another's experiences, you help them experience more fully and constructively. To be with another in this way means to put aside one's own points of view and values ​​for a while in order to enter the other's world without prejudice.
Empathy can only be achieved by Strong people who feel safe enough. They know that they will not lose themselves in this strange or bizarre world of another person. They are confident that they can safely and successfully return to their world whenever they want.

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– a relatively new concept in psychological science, which is characterized by significant features that allow us to assert its existence. What is empathy? Empathy is understood, first of all, as a feeling of internal sympathy for another person who at a given moment in time needs consolation. When we perceive our opponent's feelings as our own, we can truly understand what is really happening to him. Deep empathic listening is about looking for opportunities to help someone in need. If you consider yourself a caring person, you will find this article interesting. Remember that indifference destroys any relationship. If you only care about satisfying your own interests, then there can be no talk of any empathy.

The empathy method is to learn to imagine yourself in another person's place.. This is quite easy to do at first glance. It is enough to simply begin to imagine what is expensive and significant for a particular individual, and try to understand him. The method itself is not at all complicated to implement, but quite effective. You need to mentally feel like a different person. Try to determine what he is thinking about, what feelings he is experiencing, what his main pain is today. The good thing about the empathy method is that it allows you to develop personally and develop a sincere ability to empathize. True self-discovery is only possible when we are completely focused on helping the other person. Selfless dedication increases the likelihood that people around us will trust us just as unconditionally. The method of empathic penetration into the soul of another person contributes to the development of the best qualities of character.

Levels of empathy

Leading experts in the field of psychology identify three main levels of empathy. All these levels of empathy are interconnected and can transform one into another.

A low level of empathy is characterized by an undeveloped sense of empathy. Such a person is more selfish, capable of caring only about satisfying his daily needs. A low level of empathy does not mean that a person will forever remain focused only on his own considerations. It only signals the present moment - that a person is not able to provide real support, to be an attentive and helpful listener. In this case, the person is concerned, first of all, only about satisfying his own needs.

Most people have an average level of empathy. The average level is expressed in the fact that the person is ready at the right moment to show sympathy for the person who needs it, but at the same time does not strive to be completely imbued with his condition. We are all mentally capable of feeling sorry for the person with whom failure happened. However, not everyone is ready to really take a serious part in the fate of a stranger. Even if the person is familiar to us, this does not mean that you would prefer to put aside all your urgent matters and immerse yourself in solving someone else's problem.

A high level of empathy is manifested in the fact that a person tries to be as useful as possible to those who are nearby. People cannot always appreciate the care of loved ones or just acquaintances. Sometimes it happens that others begin to manipulate the feelings of those who treat them with great attention and support. A high level of empathy always indicates that a person is ready to show care and express his feelings. He will never remain indifferent to those around him. Developed empathy always manifests itself in the fact that a person gains integrity and becomes more open and sociable.

The empathy method is quite common nowadays. There are types of empathy that allow you to create a holistic picture of what is happening. All types of empathy are closely related.

Emotional empathy

This type of empathy involves connecting emotionally to your opponent's feelings. An empathetic person often finds that he soon ceases to share his own feelings and emotions of the person with whom he is talking. Such a holistic picture of deep understanding by one person of another is formed. The method of empathic listening itself assumes that a person is completely immersed in the thoughts and feelings of his opponent and begins to perceive them as his own. With this approach, the problem often resolves itself as if by itself. This happens because the opponent begins to feel that they are showing genuine concern and attentive attitude towards him.

Cognitive empathy

This type of empathy consists in the ability to analyze the feelings and actions of an opponent. That is, the listener not only emotionally participates in the conversation, but also seeks to analyze what events led him to certain results. This method of empathic listening is aimed at revealing the internal resources and capabilities of the individual. Cognitive empathy suggests that the helping party must first understand the negative attitudes of the person that led him to an upset state. The activities of psychologists and psychotherapists are entirely based on this method.

Predicative empathy

This type of empathy assumes that a person over time gains the ability to predict the feelings and moods of his opponent. In this case, there is a complete immersion in the experiences of another person. The helping party should strive as much as possible to be able to predict the further course of events and alleviate the mental state of the one who currently needs help. The empathy method cannot be implemented without deep outside support.

How to develop empathy?

Many people who want to provide support to others wonder: how to develop empathy in yourself? This is not as easy to do as it might seem at first glance. After all, you need to learn to understand the feelings and moods of your opponent, to really empathize with him; ostentatious sympathy will not lead to anything good. The following methods help bring empathy to a high level.

Listening skills

You must, first of all, learn to listen and hear your opponent. Don’t try to talk too much, give him the opportunity to speak out and express himself more often. The indicated point of view already makes the task easier and adds confidence to the person in his abilities. The ability to listen is perhaps the most important quality that a person with highly developed empathy should have. If you truly learn to listen to your interlocutor without interrupting, you will be able to achieve unprecedented heights in helping other people later. Deep listening involves a complete rejection of criticism, all kinds of negative judgments and attitudes. You should simply immerse yourself in the world that your opponent reveals to you and forget about what is happening around you for a while.

People watching

This step will give you the opportunity to draw appropriate conclusions in a timely manner. Be flexible, study different personalities of people, look at them from the outside. Observation allows you to learn a lot, including objectively assessing your own actions. You will learn under what circumstances a person is most likely to be nervous and anxious. You will be able to observe the primary reactions of the individual, which are usually hidden from prying eyes. Observing people is a truly valuable tool that sets you up for proper, effective work.

Conversation with strangers

Reading books

Studying fiction is sure to be beneficial. Firstly, reading helps broaden your horizons. You will learn a lot more than you knew before today. Study special literature on personal growth and self-improvement. This is the only way to reach a high level of understanding of other people. By applying the described methods in life, the chances of becoming truly useful to others increase significantly. You will learn to see the situation from the inside, from different angles. Secondly, carefully analyze what you read. You should strive to draw appropriate conclusions from books. When you encounter a similar situation in life, you will no longer think for a long time, but will boldly begin to take active steps.

Analyzing your feelings

It is necessary in order to learn to better understand your opponent. All people, being in equal conditions, experience approximately the same emotions. They either agree with what is happening, or with all the strength of their souls they resist accepting the situation. Analyzing your own feelings will help you understand what a person experiences when certain events happen to him. You can mostly rely on your own feelings and make assumptions based on them.

Thus, empathy is a special form of human interaction with others, in which there is an acceptance of feelings and a deep analysis of events that occurred in the past. Empathic listening is a sacred gift, but it can be cultivated through special exercises.

Even as adults, we always hope that fate will give us a person who will understand us perfectly. The kind of person who will share our joys and sorrows with us as if they were his own. This wonderful feeling that allows you to emotionally feel into your interlocutor is called Empathy.

Other people's emotions are like your own

The ability to consciously empathize with other people's emotions, unfortunately, is very rare today. The term “Empathy” in psychology was one of the first mentioned in the works of Sigmund Freud, who argued that in order for a psychoanalyst to work effectively with a patient, it is necessary to take into account his emotional state. The psychoanalyst enters this state, after which he gains the ability to understand it by comparing it with his own sensations.

Today, the concept of “Empathy” implies many things. First of all, empathy is conscious empathy with a person and his emotional state, without losing the sense of external control over such a state. In medicine and psychology, empathy is often equated with empathic listening - demonstrating that a specialist correctly understands the patient's emotional state. In forensics, empathic listening means the ability to gather information about a target's feelings and thoughts.

For psychics, empathy is considered a special feeling that is available only to certain people. The significance of this ability in extrasensory perception is great: it serves as a tool for perceiving the emotional states of other people “directly,” as well as broadcasting one’s emotions, while the lack of direct contact with a person is not a hindrance. This feeling is equated to the concept of emotional telepathy.

Manifestations of empathy are very different: from complete immersion in the feelings of a communication partner (emotional or affective empathy), to an objective understanding of the experiences of a communication partner without strong emotional involvement. In this case, the following types of empathy are distinguished:

• sympathy - emotional responsiveness, the need to provide help;
• empathy - a person experiences the same emotions as a communication partner;
• sympathy is a very friendly and warm attitude towards a person.

Empathy is not associated with the perception of any specific emotions (as with compassion). This feeling is used to indicate empathy for any state. There are many professions in which empathic listening is not only desirable, but necessary. Such professions include almost all professions focused on communicating with people:

• psychologists, psychotherapists;
• doctors;
• teachers;
• HR managers;
• managers;
• detectives;
• officials;
• sellers;
• hairdressers and others.

As we see, the application of this amazing property of our psyche can be found anywhere. People who have the ability to empathize are called empaths.

Is it possible to become an empath?

You can often hear: “He is a born psychologist.” Often such a phrase indicates a person’s ability to empathize emotionally without special professional skills. Is it possible to become an empath? Is empathy an innate or acquired ability? What are its signs?

According to biology, brain activity, which reflects the actions and states of other individuals, is directly dependent on the activity of mirror neurons. Biologists suggest that the strength of empathy depends on their activity.

An indirect confirmation of this is that people suffering from alexithymia do not have the ability to empathize, since their neurophysiological problems do not allow them to distinguish even their emotions.

Modern experts believe that empathy is an innate and genetic property, but life experience strengthens or weakens it. The power of empathy depends on having rich life experience, accuracy of perception, and developed skills in empathic communication. Initially, women have a more developed ability to empathize, especially those who have children.

Provided that at least the rudiments of empathy are innately present, its development can be accelerated by various training methods and special exercises that develop the skills to effectively use this ability in professional and personal communication. If you want to learn to understand the emotions and feelings of others, it is useful to practice such artistic sketches as “Remembering Faces”, “How Others See Me”, “Transformation”. The ability to empathize and sympathize is also well developed by any fortune-telling and the game “Association”. The development of empathy is facilitated by the general development of emotionality through dancing, watching films, listening to music, and other art therapy methods.

To identify people's level of empathy ability, as well as individual aspects of this ability, there are various methods and techniques. The most reliable diagnostic aimed at determining the level of empathy is called “Empathy Quotient”; for Russian-speaking users there is an adaptation called “Level of Empathy”.

Advantages and disadvantages

Empathy is a real gift that not everyone knows how to use for its intended purpose. Often this mental property brings suffering to a person, because people do not always experience only joy, happiness, love and other positive states. What seems like the ultimate dream for one person is a heavy burden for another.

The ability to empathize and sympathize presupposes that a person has a developed personality, since an immature mind is unable to cope with the barrage of other people’s emotions. Having decided to develop empathy, it is not superfluous to evaluate the pros and cons of such a decision.

Develop or get rid of?

Each person must decide for himself what level of empathy he needs for a comfortable life. There are 4 types of empaths:

Non-empaths: have completely closed the channels of empathy (consciously or under the influence of psychological trauma). These people cannot recognize non-verbal and verbal cues.

Ordinary empaths: are constantly in a state of stress and emotional overload, acutely experiencing other people's problems. They often suffer from headaches. The ability to empathize is not controlled by them.

Conscious empaths: manage their ability to empathize, easily adapt to other people's emotions, knowing how not to let them pass through themselves.

Professional empaths: have excellent control over their ability, often using it for professional purposes. They can control any other person’s emotions, change a person’s mood, relieve mental and physical pain.

If fate has endowed you with a developed ability to empathize, maybe it’s still worth developing it? At least in order to fulfill my purpose - helping other people.

However, a strong ability to sympathize and empathize often comes at a price. Empaths quite often enter into asymmetrical relationships without receiving sufficient support from their partner. Such people feel uncomfortable in conflict and are not inclined to compete or defend their interests.

They often suffer from depression as well as anxiety disorders. Empaths have a hard time overcoming fear, which is why panic attacks are possible. The ability to feel someone else's pain leads to what psychologists call empathic stress.

To work effectively with people, having developed empathy is a real godsend. But empaths often have problems with personal relationships. They are so sensitive that it is impossible to hide anything from them, and any negative emotions of a partner literally “hit you on the head.” Therefore, an empath’s partner must be a kind, loyal and non-conflict person.