For many people, it can be easy to share an emotion that a close friend or loved one is experiencing. For example, when the pandemic started and many of us had to spend a considerable amount of time away from our loved ones, many of us shared with others the sadness that we felt as a result. Sympathy involves the acknowledgment and acceptance of the challenges that an individual may be experiencing or feeling.

Sympathy is a good thing, and it is something that many of us possess, should embrace, and ultimately display towards other people. However, there is another way in which we can connect with others on a deeper level. For some, it may involve a bit more work but the benefits of its actions far outweigh the costs. This other way is empathy.

Empathy is when you try to understand how someone else may be feeling or thinking about a particular situation. Another way of explaining it is that empathy has little to do with how you may be feeling but much more about how the other individual is feeling.

“if empathy is all about the other person, then what does it have to do with me?”

That’s a very good question! If empathy is about trying to understand how someone else may be feeling, empathy also helps us in learning how to respond to individuals that may be feeling a certain way. Let’s look at a few examples

  • Sarah wants to play with the group of classmates at recess. Every time she approaches them, they laugh at her and run away, not including her in their game. How do you think Sarah feels? Would you say anything to Sarah?
  • John’s pet dog ran away from home last night. He’s been sad all day and has been looking out the window hoping that he might see his dog run by. Why do you think John is so upset? What other words would you use to describe how John is feeling?

Now, with both examples replace “Sarah” and “John’s” names with your own. Imagine it was you that was being left out or your pet that had ran away from home. How would you feel? What would you want someone to do if they knew how you were feeling? that’s another thing about empathy, it’s more than just understanding how someone may be feeling but also caring and choosing to do something about it.

Throughout the month of November, we will be talking about the many ways that we can empathize and sympathize with other individuals. With the tools and tips that we will learn and discuss throughout the month, we will discover new ways in which we can connect with and support those around us

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