Empathy The ability to identify with another person, to feel what he feels (See also:).

Brief explanatory psychological and psychiatric dictionary. Ed. igisheva. 2008.

Empathy

(from Greek empatheia - empathy) - comprehension of an emotional state, insight into the experiences of another person. The term "E." introduced by E. Titchener, who generalized the ideas about sympathy that developed in the philosophical tradition with the theories of empathy of E. Clifford and T. Lipps. A distinction is made between emotional emotion, which is based on the mechanisms of projection and imitation of the motor and affective reactions of another person; cognitive E., based on intellectual processes (, etc.), and predicative E., manifested as a person predicting the affective reactions (see) of another in specific situations. As special forms E. distinguish empathy - the subject of the same emotional states that another person experiences through identification with him, and sympathy - the experience of one’s own emotional states regarding the feelings of another. Important characteristic processes of E., which distinguishes it from other types of understanding (identification, role acceptance, decentration, etc.), is the weak development of the reflexive side (see), isolation within the framework of direct emotional experience. It has been established that the empathic ability of individuals increases, as a rule, with increasing life experience; Emotion is easier to implement if the behavioral and emotional reactions of the subjects are similar.

Brief psychological dictionary. - Rostov-on-Don: “PHOENIX”. L.A. Karpenko, A.V. Petrovsky, M. G. Yaroshevsky. 1998 .

Empathy

Comprehension of the emotional state, penetration, feeling into the experiences of another person. The ability of an individual to parallel experience those emotions that arise in another individual during communication with him. Understanding another person by emotionally empathizing with his experiences. The term was introduced into psychology by E. Titchener. They differ:

1 ) emotional empathy - based on the mechanisms of projection and imitation of the motor and affective reactions of another;

2 ) cognitive empathy - based on intellectual processes - comparison, analogy, etc.;

3 ) predicative empathy - manifested as the ability to predict the affective reactions of another in specific situations.

How special forms of empathy are distinguished:

1 ) empathy - experiencing the same emotional states that another experiences, through identification with him;

2 ) sympathy - experiencing one’s own emotional states in connection with the feelings of another.

An important characteristic of empathy processes, which distinguishes it from other types of understanding, such as identification, role acceptance, decentration, and others, is the weak development of the reflexive side ( cm.), isolation within the framework of direct emotional experience. It has been found that empathic ability usually increases with life experience; empathy is more easily realized when the behavioral and reactions of emotional subjects are similar.

Dictionary practical psychologist. - M.: AST, Harvest. S. Yu. Golovin. 1998.

Empathy Etymology.

Comes from the Greek. empatheia - empathy.

Category.

The phenomenon of communication.

Specificity.

A person’s ability to involuntarily experience those emotions that arise in another person in the process of communicating with him. The individual begins - despite conscious control - to share the moods of the other person. Due to this, greater mutual understanding is achieved, which is very important for psychotherapeutic work.

Psychological Dictionary. THEM. Kondakov. 2000.

EMPATHY

(from Greek empatheia- empathy).

1. Non-rational knowledge by a person of the inner world of other people ( empathy). Ability to E. - necessary condition to develop such a professional quality as insight in a practical psychologist (consultant, psychotherapist).

2. Aesthetic E. - feeling into an artistic object, a source of aesthetic pleasure.

3. A person’s emotional responsiveness to the experiences of another, a type of social (moral) emotions. E. as an emotional response is carried out in elementary (reflex) and in higher personal forms (sympathy, empathy, rejoicing). At the basis of E. as social cognition and higher forms E. how the emotional response lies in the mechanism decentralization. It is human nature to experience a wide range of empathic reactions and experiences. The highest personal forms of emotion express a person’s relationship to other people. Empathy and compassion differ as a person’s experience of himself ( egocentric E.) and for another ( humanistic E.).

Empathizing, a person experiences emotions identical to those observed. However, empathy can arise not only in relation to the observed, but also the imaginary emotions of others, as well as in relation to the experiences of the characters works of art, cinema, theater, literature (aesthetic empathy). Cm. .

At sympathy a person experiences something different from the one who caused an emotional response in him. Sympathy motivates a person to help another. The more stable a person’s altruistic motives are, the wider the circle of people whom he, out of sympathy, helps (see. ).

Large psychological dictionary. - M.: Prime-EVROZNAK. Ed. B.G. Meshcheryakova, acad. V.P. Zinchenko. 2003 .

Empathy

   EMPATHY (With. 661) (from Greek empatheia - empathy) - penetration into the inner world of another person through a feeling of involvement in his experiences. The term empathy a personal trait is also determined - the ability for this kind of understanding and empathy.

IN recent years term received widespread in domestic psychological literature, however, until now it is absent in everyday speech (as well as in universal dictionaries of the Russian language). Borrowed from English language, where it has existed for a relatively long time (English - empathy). IN in this case, as in most similar ones, this borrowing seems to be a terminological excess, a naive tribute to Westernism, since the content of the concept empathy is quite exhaustively conveyed by the Russian word .

In most domestic publications in which this concept is introduced, there are references to C. Rogers, to whom its authorship is often attributed. Indeed, in Rogers's concept the concept empathy belongs key role, and it was thanks to Rogers that it was introduced into Russian psychological terminology in the late 80s, when attempts to fill the suddenly emerging ideological vacuum gave rise to the cult of humanistic psychology (it was Rogers who became the prophet of this cult and its newly-minted icon). However, the term was not invented by Rogers - in English dictionaries the word empathy first appeared in 1912, when the future master was still going to school and catching moths on his father's farm. The word came into English psychological terminology even earlier thanks to E. Titchener, who found it as English equivalent German concept (feeling), which had an even longer history. It is characteristic that in German The traditional German form is still used to denote this phenomenon; it is this word in their native language that the Germans use when talking about empathy.

The first concept of empathy was formulated in 1885 by the German psychologist Theodor Lipps (1851-1914). He considered it as a special mental act in which a person, perceiving an object, projects his emotional state onto it, while experiencing positive or negative aesthetic experiences (Lipps’s works primarily dealt with the perception of works of fine art, architecture, etc. ). According to Lipps, the corresponding aesthetic experiences are not so much awakened by an artistic creation as introduced into it. Thus, when perceiving inanimate forms (for example, architectural buildings), a feeling appears that they are full of inner life (“gloomy house”, “cheerful facade”, etc.). This explains, in particular, some geometric illusions - for example, a vertical line is perceived to be longer than in reality, since the observer feels as if he is being stretched upward. Ideas about the subject's feeling of linear and spatial forms were subsequently developed in various works on the psychology of art.

The concept of empathy was also one of the most important in the “understanding psychology” of Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1911). Dilthey considered the ability to empathize as a condition for understanding cultural, historical, human reality. Various cultural phenomena arise from a “living whole” human soul“Therefore, their understanding, according to Dilthey, is not conceptualization, but penetration, as if transferring oneself into a holistic state of mind the other and its reconstruction based on empathy. Note that this interpretation dates back to 1894.

Closest to modern concept empathy was formulated by S. Freud in 1905. In his work “Wit and its relation to the unconscious” Freud pointed out: “We take into account mental state patient, we put ourselves in this state and try to understand it by comparing it with our own.” It is characteristic that empathy has an important place in the conceptual apparatus of psychoanalysis. In particular, this term among others, appears in the recently published “Dictionary-Reference Book of Psychoanalysis” by V.M. Leibin, as well as in the “Critical Dictionary of Psychoanalysis” by C. Rycroft and other similar publications. It is important that both publications mentioned above emphasize maintaining an objective view of the origins and nature of another person’s experiences when empathizing. Thus, V.M. Leibin points out: “Empathy presupposes identification of the analyst with the patient. To some extent, it resembles projective identification. At the same time, empathy is not such an identification with the patient, thanks to which the analyst completely identifies himself with the latter. On the contrary, having the opportunity to become involved in the inner world of another person, the analyst retains the ability to distance himself from him in terms of presenting his own unbiased interpretations and developing a psychoanalytic therapy strategy acceptable for a specific analytical situation.”

Let us note once again that the original works of Lipps, Dilthey and Freud were published in German, and in all the mentioned cases this concept was described by the term empathy, which English-speaking psychologists did not blindly borrow, but found more consonant native language equivalent.

In the humanistic psychology of C. Rogers, empathy became the main technique of “client-centered therapy”, in which the psychologist enters into deep, empathic contact with the client and helps him realize that he is a full-fledged person, capable of taking responsibility for solving his own problems. Along with the unconditional acceptance of the client and the so-called congruence (another linguistic monster for which we are too lazy to find an equivalent), empathy is one of the components of the so-called Rogers psychotherapeutic triad - a triple set of conditions, without which, according to supporters of this approach, the psychotherapeutic process would not may be complete. Empathy as a method of psychotherapeutic communication presupposes temporary living as if it were another life, delicate, without preconceived assessments and judgments, staying in the personal world of another, sensitivity to his constantly changing experiences. Joint interpretation of exciting or frightening problems helps to experience them more fully and constructively and, ultimately, to change the structure , which makes him more flexible, creative, and open to positive experiences.

Let's give the floor to Rogers himself. This is how he describes empathy as one of the components (conditions) of his psychotherapeutic triad.

The third condition can be called empathic understanding. When the therapist feels feelings and personal meanings the client at every moment of time, when he can perceive them as if from the inside, the way the client himself feels them, when he is able to successfully convey his understanding to the client, then the third condition is met.

   I suspect that each of us knows that such understanding is extremely rare. We do not often feel such understanding and rarely show it ourselves. Usually we offer a completely different, different type of understanding instead: “I understand that you are not okay,” “I understand what makes you do this,” or “I had such troubles, but I behaved completely differently.” . These are the types of understandings we typically receive or offer to others, these are - evaluative understanding from an external position. But when someone understands how it feels or looks to me, without the desire to analyze or judge me, then I can “flourish” and “grow” in this climate.

The study confirms this generally accepted observation. When a therapist, remaining himself, can capture every moment inner life the client the way he sees and feels it, then changes are likely to occur" ( Rogers K. A look at psychotherapy. The Becoming of Man. M., 1994. P. 106)*.

    *[The translation has been slightly edited by the author of these lines; for example, another linguistic perversion - therapist- replaced with a more familiar word therapist(although this is unlikely to deter therapists from continuing to call yourself this funny and stupid word)].

At the same time, it is very important to emphasize the essential feature of empathy (noted, by the way, by Freud). To have empathy means to perceive the subjective world of another person as if the perceiver were that other person. This means - to feel the pain or pleasure of another as he himself feels it, and to relate, as he does, to the reasons that gave rise to them, but at the same time not for a minute forget about the fact that “as if”. If the last condition is lost, then this state becomes a state of identification - very, by the way, unsafe. Indicative in this regard is the experience of Rogers himself, who in the early 50s so “felt” into the inner world of one of his clients, who suffered from a severe disorder, that he was forced to resort to the help of a psychotherapist. Only a three-month vacation and a course of psychotherapy with one of his colleagues allowed him to recover and realize the need to respect certain limits of empathy.

This point seems especially important in connection with the absolutization of the role of empathy, which clearly takes place in lately. A number of works consider empathy as one of the key factors for successful professional activities psychologist. It is emphasized that the ability to empathy can be formed with the help of special training techniques (this is not surprising - with the help of training today we try to form anything, even the meaning of life).

It seems undeniable that empathy is valuable professional quality a psychologist whose practical activity involves direct contact with people, helping them solve their problems. At the same time, it is especially important not to forget about its subjective limits, exceeding which is fraught with professional “burnout.” In other words, a psychologist must be able to empathize with the experiences of another person, but not so much as to turn other people’s problems into his own.

Popular psychological encyclopedia. - M.: Eksmo. S.S. Stepanov. 2005.

Synonyms:

See what “empathy” is in other dictionaries:

EMPATHY- (from the Greek empatheia, empathy, sympathy) a person’s ability to identify (identify) one of his self-images with an imaginary image of “another”: with the image of other people, living beings, inanimate objects and even with linear and... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

The word empathy comes from the Greek empatheia, which means empathy. In modern psychology, empathy means a person’s ability to imagine himself in the place of another person, to understand the feelings, desires, ideas and actions of another, on an involuntary level, to have a positive attitude towards his neighbor, to experience feelings similar to him, to understand and accept his current emotional state. Showing empathy towards your interlocutor means looking at the situation from his point of view, being able to “listen” to his emotional state.

The term “empathy” was introduced into psychology by E. Titchener to denote internal activity, the result of which is an intuitive understanding of the situation of another person. E. Titchener combined philosophical ideas about sympathy with the theories of feeling of E. Clifford and T. Lipps.

Among the modern definitions of empathy are the following:

Knowledge about the internal state, thoughts and feelings of another person;

Experiencing the emotional state in which another is;

The activity of reconstructing another person's feelings using imagination; thinking about how a person would behave in the place of another;

Feeling sad in response to another person's suffering;

An emotional reaction oriented towards another person, corresponding to the subject’s idea of ​​​​the well-being of another.

It turned out that important side empathy is the ability to take the role of another person, which allows you to understand not only real people, but also fictional characters in works of art. Empathic ability has also been shown to increase with more life experience.

The most striking example of empathy is the behavior of a dramatic actor who gets used to the image of his hero. In turn, the viewer can also get used to the image of the hero, whose behavior he observes from the auditorium.

Empathy as an effective tool of communication has been at the disposal of man since the moment he was separated from the animal world. The ability to cooperate, get along with others, and adapt to society was necessary for the survival of primitive communities.

Empathy as an emotional response to the experiences of another is carried out at different levels of mental organization, from elementary reflexive to higher personal forms. At the same time, empathy should be distinguished from sympathy, empathy, and sympathy. Empathy is not sympathy, although it also includes the correlation of emotional statuses, but is accompanied by a feeling of concern or concern for another. Empathy is not sympathy, which begins with the words “I” or “me,” it is not agreement with the point of view of the interlocutor, but the ability to understand and express it with the words “you should think and feel this way.”

In positive psychology, empathy is one of the highest human qualities, along with optimism, faith, and courage. Empathy is also highlighted here as a personality trait, which can be cognitive in nature, the ability to understand and anticipate, affective - the ability to react emotionally, and active - the ability to participate.

According to A. Vallon, a child at the early stages of development is connected with the world through the affective sphere, and his emotional contacts are established according to the type of emotional contagion. This kind of connection is described as extra-intellectual consonance, the need for orientation in the emotional mood of other people.

Marcus views empathy as an individual’s ability to understand the inner world of another person, as an interaction of cognitive, emotional and motor components. Empathy occurs through acts of identification, introjection and projection.

Women and men do not differ in their level of emotional intelligence, but men have a stronger sense of self-esteem, and women have a stronger sense of empathy and social responsibility.

There are several mechanisms of empathy:

emotional empathy - based on the mechanisms of projection and imitation of the motor and affective reactions of another;

cognitive empathy - based on intellectual processes - comparison, analogy;

Predicative empathy - manifested as the ability to predict the affective reactions of another in specific situations.

Special forms include:

1) empathy - experiencing the same emotional states that another experiences, through identification with him;

2) sympathy - experiencing one’s own emotional states in connection with the feelings of another.

An important characteristic of the processes of empathy that distinguishes it from other types of understanding of identification, role-taking, and decentralization is the weak development of the reflexive side, isolation within the framework of direct emotional experience 10].

Not everyone is given the ability to experience a deep sense of empathy, but sometimes we are obliged to show it. The rules of good manners dictate that we show empathy. Sincere empathy usually occurs between two close people and allows you to feel mutual understanding.

In psychology, there are two types of empathy - it can be emotional and cognitive. Emotional empathy is the ability to empathize with a person on a feeling level, and this is very deep empathy. The cognitive variety allows, through logical thinking, to understand what a person feels at such a moment, and through this to get closer to true empathy.

Empathy is a multifaceted concept, and within itself it has three divisions into levels. Let's look at them in order.

Level 1 empathy is considered the lowest. People who belong to this level are focused on themselves, they are absolutely not interested in the thoughts and feelings of other people. Sometimes they are confident that they understand others, but their opinion is wrong. Due to concentration on themselves, they are not able to realize this.

Level 2 empathy is the most common. Most people can ignore other people's thoughts and feelings not all the time, but occasionally. It is believed that in various manifestations this type is characteristic of the vast majority of people.

Level 3 empathy is considered the highest. Such people are rare, and history often remembers them. People whose sense of empathy has the third level constantly deeply feel those around them, are able to mentally recreate any experiences, and understand people better than themselves. Such people do not impose their opinion and give the most effective advice– after all, they are given from the point of view of the questioner. These are the people who become your best friends and psychologists.

It is easy to guess that empathy and sympathy are closely related. We are drawn to people who understand us well, and we push away those who are unable to understand us. Every person strives to have friends around him who will understand him as he does.

M. A. Ponomareva considers empathy as a systemic formation that includes cognitive, emotional, and conative components. Thus, the full empathic process includes empathy, sympathy and assistance.

L.P. Vygovskaya proposes to consider empathy as a holistic phenomenon in which three interacting components can be distinguished: cognitive - mental operations, factual knowledge about an object or another person; affective - emotional reactions to a certain object or person, emotions, feelings, experiences; conative - motor reactions, a person’s behavioral intention towards a person or object of attitude, action, deed. She notes that empathy can develop both towards antisocial behavior and towards prosocial behavior.

The links of the empathy process are the perception of another, empathy, sympathy, internal assistance, real assistance. At each link of the process, the autonomous functioning of all components (cognitive, affective, conative) or their combination occurs with the dominance of one of them. Each previous link determines the functioning of the next one.

The development of a child’s emotional sphere contributes to the process of human socialization and the formation of relationships in adult and child communities.

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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 people with whom a 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:

Type	Description
First	These people are able to identify their feelings. At the same time, they distinguish between simple feelings. They can perceive the emotional state of others, but often do not distinguish other people's emotions from their own. These empaths tend to focus on own feelings oh and emotions.
Second	People belonging to this type perfectly feel the whole range of other people's sensations. They can read someone else's emotional state and mood by looking into the person's eyes or determine them by their motor skills and movements.
Third	Can determine a person’s emotions without his presence (during telephone conversation or correspondence). They clearly differentiate their own condition and experiences from those of others.
Fourth	Level 4 empaths can perceive and recognize the full range of emotional expressions in those around them. However, they do not need direct contact with humans. They often have heightened intuition. They can easily recognize the emotional state and feelings of several people who are in direct contact with an empath.
Fifth	People belonging to this type can feel and capture the entire range of emotions of those around them, but with the help of their abilities they can control the emotions of others.

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 hypersensitivity to other people's problems. 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. Due to this, it is difficult for a person to find 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 quite good specialists in the 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. Ability to manage 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.

Empathy is the ability to experience other people’s emotions no less vividly than your own. Despite the fact that in psychology the presence of such an ability is considered the norm, some people (empaths) are gifted with it to a greater extent. According to scientists, about 20% of the world's population can be classified into this category.

The intensity of empathy varies among empaths. It can be expressed in the usual ability to understand the state of the interlocutor, and in complete immersion into other people's emotions. Some empaths are so sensitive that other people's negative experiences make them physically ill.

Today we will talk about the signs with which you can determine your ability to empathize.

Source: depositphotos.com

Sensitivity to incongruent behavior

When communicating with each other, people use not only words. The meaning of our speech is emphasized and confirmed by the tone of our voice, volume, articulation, facial expressions, gestures and postures (the so-called body language). If a person is insincere, these signals do not correlate well with each other. This behavior is called incongruent.

Due to the peculiarities of perception, an empath extremely accurately, although unconsciously, reads such discrepancies and senses any falsity. In the company of a person who behaves incongruently, he experiences distinct discomfort. For people with strong empathy, communication with liars, braggers, envious people or hypocrites can cause increased heart rate, shortness of breath, headache and a feeling of anxiety.

Avoiding the company of negative people

Intolerance of aggression

Empaths do not tolerate any conflict situations. They are deprived of mental balance not only by the direct aggression of others, but also by too noisy behavior, especially if it is dictated by emotions such as indignation, anger or malice.

A person who has the ability to empathize is usually calm, friendly and attentive. He always tries to resolve contradictions peacefully and does not accept violence.

Emotional perception of other people's troubles

An empath takes other people's troubles to heart. He reacts equally sharply to the pain of a familiar person, the misfortune seen in a TV report, and the misfortunes of characters feature film. Of course, he understands that these are different things, but all situations of this kind cause a strong outburst in him negative emotions.

Discomfort with excess emotions

A person with a strong capacity for empathy finds it difficult to tolerate any emotional excesses. He is traumatized not only by someone else’s grief, but also by an excess of positive things. For example, an empath may experience discomfort when attending a noisy festival, as the loud noise, bright lights and abundance of people having fun quickly tires him out.

Painful perception of criticism

Empaths tend to be cautious and reserved when interacting with other people and expressing their own feelings. They are afraid of offending someone, creating a conflict or simply incomprehensible situation for others. In response to their own delicacy, they expect similar behavior from other people. Therefore, a tendency towards empathy is often combined with excessive sensitivity to criticism: an empath is offended by any negative assessment, even if it is expressed mildly.

The ability to empathize can be measured. Psychologists do this using questionnaires, the most famous of which (Empathy Level) was developed by Sally Wheelwright and Simon Baron-Cohen in 2004.

It may seem that high level empathy is “inconvenient” and can complicate a person’s life. Fortunately, this is not the case. Most empaths, over time, get used to a special perception of the world and develop a style of behavior that helps them maintain physical and mental health. Constantly feeling someone else's pain as if it were your own is, of course, not very pleasant, but this is redeemed by the ability to understand other people, the ability to listen to them and provide necessary help. A person with such talent is usually respected by everyone. Those around him love and appreciate him, although they do not always know how to protect him from unnecessary stress.

Empathy is very important for people who work as doctors, psychologists, teachers, employees social services. It is this quality that creates the basis for emotional uplift, without which no activity is possible. creative activity. A successful advertising creator, insurance agent or sales manager must be an empath. We can say that in a world based on close interaction between people, the ability to empathy has a positive effect on a person’s social realization.

Video from YouTube on the topic of the article:

To be a truly compassionate, understanding person, able to experience the feelings of another person as if they were your own is an amazing gift. However, this is also a big responsibility, since the inability to use it can cause a lot of inconvenience to its owner.

Empathy is the ability to empathize and respect the feelings of others. In simple words, a person prone to empathy subtly reacts to the feelings and emotions of others, while literally “passing” them through himself.

An empath is a hypersensitive person who is always ready to help anyone.

Ecological relationships are where empathy, talent and endless kindness live.
Margarita Lapina

Empathy - PROS

Empathy has important for the professional activities of doctors, teachers, psychologists, managers and other specialists. For efficient work they must have some degree of developed empathy in order to establish emotional contact with the interlocutor.

There is no doubt that empathy is a good quality.

People who have this ability easily sense other people's moods, are responsive, prone to deep empathy, and know how to resolve conflict situations. It is very difficult to deceive such a person, since on an emotional level he will immediately sense insincerity.

DISADVANTAGES OF EMPATHY

However, in addition to positive aspects, this quality also has its drawbacks.

An empathic person who cannot control his abilities faces daily with certain inconveniences:

• He has a hard time saying no, and people can take advantage of this by blaming him for their problems. Relationships arise when empathic man walking contrary to its interests, which makes it suffer even more.
• With an excess of both negative and positive emotions, it is very difficult for him to endure emotional overload. He not only takes the misfortune of a friend to heart, but also reacts sharply to events seen on TV, or is overly worried about the characters in the movie, feeling severe mental pain.
• Any conflict situation causes a strong surge of negative emotions.
• Very sensitive to criticism from others. Any careless word can hurt him painfully.
• Often such a person is subject to frequent mood swings and may lose control over his feelings and emotions.
• A person prone to empathy is more susceptible to depression and other mental problems. Such a person begins to worry about everything and sees everything as an obstacle; is under constant stress, which leads to emotional emptiness.
• It is not easy for an empath to overcome his fear, which can lead to panic attacks.

How can an empath protect himself from negative emotions?

Several variations of the “self-defense” solution are possible:

1. Visualization of invisible protection– imagine yourself in a white cocoon, from which all negativity is fought off.
2. Don't be afraid to refuse people. If a long conversation begins to tire you, you should try to stop it without hesitation.
3. Learn to filter other people's emotions and don’t let them pass through you.
4. Try not to communicate with people who are negative and all the time they try to “pour” their energy garbage on you.

Conclusion

Such a rare ability as empathy is not always a source of joy and happiness. Sometimes this is a heavy burden that negatively affects the life of a person who has this developed quality.

Developing your own style of behavior in accordance with such a special perception of the world, which will help maintain mental health, is the main task of empaths.