WELLNESS WEDNESDAY

EMPATHY
PUTTING YOURSELF IN ANOTHER'S SHOES

WHAT'S INSIDE WHAT IS EMPATHY?

WHAT IS EMPATHY? Empathy is generally defined as the ability to sense others'
- 1 emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone
else might be thinking or feeling. Contemporary researchers
often differentiate between two types of empathy: "affective
WHY CULTIVATE
empathy" refers to the sensations and feelings we get in
EMPATHY? response to others' emotions, which can include mirroring
- 2 what that person is feeling, while "cognitive empathy,"
sometimes called "perspective taking," refers to our ability to
identify and understand other people's emotions. Having
PRACTICES TO PROMOTE
empathy doesn't necessarily mean we'll want to help
EMPATHY - 3 someone in need (in fact, sometimes, uncontrolled empathy
can be highly overwhelming, especially for sensitive people),
FURTHER READING but it is often a vital first step towards compassionate action.
Although empathy does tend to increase as children get older
- 3
and more cognitively able to understand others' perspectives,
even toddlers in their second year of life have been shown to
demonstrate empathetic behavior.
 WHY CULTIVATE
EMPATHY?
Because it helps us understand the perspectives,
needs, and intentions of others, empathy is a
building block of morality and a key ingredient of
successful relationships.
Increased empathy can decrease bullying and
aggression among kids and make them kinder
and more inclusive towards their peers.
Students who are empathetic are more
cooperative in class, have better relationships
with their teachers, and are more engaged in
school.
People higher in empathy are more likely to
help others in need, even when doing so goes
against their own self-interest.
By encouraging us to reach out and help others,
including those from stigmatized groups,
empathy can help fight inequality; conversely,
increased inequality can actually reduce
empathy.
Empathy can reduce prejudice and racism.
In relationships, empathy can deepen intimacy
and boost relationship satisfaction.
Managers who show more empathy have
happier and healthier employees.
“When we honestly ask ourselves
which person in our lives mean the
most to us, we often find that it is
those who, instead of giving advice,
solutions, or cures, have chosen rather
to share our pain and touch our
wounds with a warm and tender hand.
The friend who can be silent with us in
a moment of despair or confusion, who
can stay with us in an hour of grief and
bereavement, who can tolerate not
knowing, not curing, not healing and
face with us the reality of our
powerlessness, that is a friend who
cares.”
HENRI NOUWEN
OUT OF SOLITUDE: THREE
MEDITATIONS ON THE
CHRISTAN LIFE
 Developing Empathy in Children and Youth
PRACTICES TO https://educationnorthwest.org/s

PROMOTE EMPATHY ites/default/files/developing-

empathy-in-children-and-
Putting a Human Face on Suffering youth.pdf
So often, we see problems such as poverty, illness, and inequality
in terms of statistics rather than the suffering of real human
beings. These exercises can help you and students put a "human Is Empathy Being Squeezed Out of
face" on suffering. Americans?
1. When researching a problem in news reports or other sources, https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article
look for profiles of specific individuals.
/item/the_chauffers_dilemma
2. Use photographs and video footage, not just individuals'
names, when teaching about them, especially when learning
about their lives and choices.
Empathy Reduces Racism
3. Use descriptive language and details that allow people to
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article
imagine themselves in the shoes of a victim, rather than
abstract language that shows preference to statistics. /item/empathy_reduces_racism

Shared Identity
One great barrier to kindness and altruism is the empathy gap
FURTHER READING
called "group difference": We feel much less motivated to help
someone if they don't belong to our "in-group," and we may even
feel hostile towards members of an "out-group."
That said, who we see as part of our "in-group" is actually quite “The only time you look
malleable, provided that we can recognize commonalities with
someone else, even if the similarities aren't immediately in your neighbor's bowl
apparent.
1. Think of a person in your life who is different from you in
is to make sure that
every way you can imagine: they might have different they have enough. You
interests, different political or religious beliefs, or different life
experiences. Perhaps they're someone with whom you come don't look in your
into conflict regularly.
2. Now, make a list of all the things you most likely share in
neighbor's bowl to see
common with that person. Maybe you both work for the same if you have as much as
company, attend the same school, both have children, both
have a significant other. You've probably both had your heart them.”
broken at some point, lost a loved one, or felt love for another
person. At the broadest level, you're both humans, which
means you share 99.9% of your DNA with each other. LOUIS SZÉKELY
3. Review the list. How do they make you see this person in a
new light? Instead of seeing this person as a member of an
out-group or unfamiliar, now try to see them as an individual,
one whose tastes and experiences might overlap with your
own.
4. Repeat this exercise as needed, especially when trying to
connect with someone with whom you've had a conflict, who
makes you uncomfortable, or initially seems very different
from you.