Empathy helps us develop resilience.

Empathy can be defined as the ability to share someone else’s feelings. It is also the experience of imagining what it would be like to be in that person’s situation.

After our accident, I have been thinking a lot about the role others played in our recovery process. I am also am thinking about the role empathy plays in our ability to develop resilience.. I consider empathy as a quality, an ability we need to embrace, especially in times of crisis. It helps us cope in the process of helping others. To say it in another way. We all gain from empathy.

When we are hurt or suffering, we all want to feel understood. We want others to take care of us and be gentle. I perceive there is a deficit of empathy, not that it is absent. It is just low or diminished. It is less frequent than desired.

Levels of empathy vary from one person to another. Empathy is a learned behavior. If we did not experience empathy while growing up, we would not be as empathetic. We all experience less empathy at times. Having low empathy does not mean you will have or feel this way all your life. Empathy is an ability that can be developed and increased. It is a skill that can be cultivated.

 It is a human skill that allows us to see things from another person’s perspective. It is easy to be compassionate when we share the same values, culture, and perspectives. The hard part is when the other one is dramatically different. Empathy is about understanding and respecting their viewpoint.

Empathy is about not judging. Empathy implies recognizing that there are diverse ways of thinking, living, and believing. These ways make us feel and so act or respond in certain ways, even under the same circumstances. If we can understand someone else’s feelings, we can react differently.

Empathy that leads to action

According to Paul Ekman and Daniel Goelman, there are three types of empathy.

• Cognitive empathy. This means understanding someone else’s feelings.
• Effective or emotional empathy. This means to feel another person’s emotions.
• Compassionate empathy. It is a combination of cognitive and emotional empathy. You understand another person’s emotions and feel them. This one We all gain from Empathy.

Empathy is an ability. It can be developed and increased. It is a skill that can be cultivated. Having an empathetic response makes us feel good. Empathy is a strength and an asset for surviving and thriving in any environment. Remember, we all gain from it.