We often hear about being empathetic is the need for time. You must be wondering why it is so. In this scenario what’s important is being aware of what empathy and being empathetic is and how to nurture those skills.
Being empathetic is when our heart goes out to someone else, and being an empath means we can feel another person’s happiness or sadness in our own bodies. We might certainly experience this in one way or another.
Empathy means the ability to consider the emotions of another person. It essentially places one in someone else#39s place and feels what they may be feeling. One can be able to picture themselves in the other person's position automatically when one sees another person struggling and feel empathy for what they are going through.
Although people are generally very attentive to their thoughts and feelings, getting into someone else's head can be a bit more difficult. The ability to feel empathy allows people to "walk a mile in another's shoes." It permits people to understand the emotions that others are feeling.
The concepts of empathy were broken down into three groups by psychologists Daniel Goleman and Paul Ekman.
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Cognitive empathy – It is the ability to understand how a person feels and what they might be thinking. Cognitive empathy makes us better communicators because it helps us relay information in a way that best reaches the other person.
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Affective empathy - It is the ability to share the feelings of another person. Some have described it as "your pain in my heart." This type of empathy helps you build emotional connections with others.
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Empathic concern- It states when a person goes beyond simply understanding others and sharing their feelings: it moves us to take action, to help however we can.
Benefits of being empathetic
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Empathy allows for the creation of social relations with others. In social settings, people can react effectively by knowing what people think and feel.
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The empathy of others allows you to understand how to control your own emotions.
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Emotional regulation is critical in that it helps you to regulate your emotions without getting overwhelmed, even in times of great stress.
Empathy encourages attitudes that help. Not only are you more likely to engage in positive activities when you feel empathy for others; other people are often more likely to support you when you feel empathy with others.
Here are some suggestions to nurture your empathy skills:-
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Practice active listening- Active listening involves entering into a conversation with a genuine desire to understand the feelings and perspective of the other person, without judgment or defence. When you engage in active listening, you tune into what your partner says without interrupting him or her, pay careful attention to their body language and facial expressions, and periodically repeat to them what you think they're trying to say, to make sure you understand them correctly. Research suggests that practising active listening can increase your sympathy and enhance your relationship satisfaction.
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Share people’s joy- Empathy is not just about commiserating; it can also be experienced in response to positive emotions like happiness and pride.
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Look for commonalities with others- When interacting with people who at first glance seem to be different from you, look for sources of commonality and shared experience. Maybe you’re fans of the same sports team or both know what it’s like to lose a loved one. If nothing else, you can remind yourself that you are both members of the human species. Seeing your Shared Identity can help you overcome fear and distrust and promote empathy and cooperation.
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Read fiction- Reading a great work of literature—or watching a film or play—allows us to temporarily step out of our own lives and fully immerse ourselves in another person’s experience. Indeed, research suggests that fiction readers are better attuned to the social and emotional lives of others.
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Pay attention to expressions- Facial expressions communicate a lot about a person’s emotional state. So pay attention towards each expression
While empathy may sometimes fail, most people in different situations will empathize with each other. This ability to see things from the viewpoint of another person and to understand other's feelings plays a significant role in our social lives. Empathy helps us to consider others and, most frequently, compels us to act to alleviate the pain of another human.
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