Empathy (translation from Greek: “feeling”, “passion”, “suffering”) is a conscious empathy with the current emotional state of another person without losing the feeling of the external origin of this feeling. A person with the ability to empathy is called empathy.

The concept was introduced by Sigmund Freud. He considered it mandatory for any psychoanalyst to put himself in the place of his patient.

Empathy should not be confused. The first concerns only compassion, and an empath can feel the emotions of others: anger, fear, resentment, joy.

Let’s understand if all people are capable of such feelings or for this we need a set of certain qualities.

How does empathy manifest

This skill is expressed as a feeling of the emotional state of people with whom the personality interacts, as well as with the ability to show feelings like others. Such people are prone to deep emotional experiences and understanding the dependence of the feelings shown on the problems of another person.

Why does a person have the ability to empathize

Without empathy, it is difficult for people to develop communication skills and incline to trust.

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 show feelings, to put oneself in the client's place and to be tolerant of his actions.

Empathy levels

All empathic people are divided into 5 types, depending on the depth of the ability to feel:

Types of empathy

Emotional

The basis is the repetition of the behavior and motility of others in different situations.

Cognitive

The basis of this type is intellectual activity - comparison, analogy, etc.

Predicative

Prediction of the behavior of people around them and their emotions in specific situations.

The degree of manifestation of a tendency to empathy

Increased empathy (hyperempathy)

It is characterized by increased sensitivity to other people's problems. Such a person takes everything upon himself, is distinguished by pronounced empathy. Distinctive features: vulnerability, sensitivity, 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 vent to emotions in a circle of close people.

Low

It is characterized by the inability of a person to empathize. Such people consider the actions of people in the state of affect meaningless and incomprehensible to themselves and do not accept other points of view. In this regard, it is difficult for a person to find a common language with others.

The advantages and disadvantages of the ability to empathize

• Advantages include the ability to recognize and understand the emotions and causes of the emotions and feelings shown by other people. This ability allows you to be good friends and good specialists in the fields 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 from other people's problems, perceives everything too closely, “tries on” other people's situations on himself.

How to empathize not to lose emotions in vain

• Understand that each person is free to choose how to behave in his life.
• An empath should not interfere with the emotional state of loved ones unless they ask for it. It is enough just to 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 for everyone, so you don’t have to try to be a friend to everyone. If a person causes you negative emotions and impressions, try to limit communication with him or reduce him to nothing at all.
• Love yourself for who you are. Do not try to take the blame for the whole world and save it heroically.

Empathy development - is it possible?

Empathy is a complex concept. Some scientists believe that this ability is genetic in nature and inherited.

This ability can still be developed. There is a certain technique:

1. The correct perception of self and your feelings. Learn to recognize and distinguish their shades. This will be the first step for an adequate vision of the emotional experiences of others.
2. The ability to manage your own emotions, thoughts and actions plays a big role.
3. Learn to understand and accept the feelings and thoughts of others.
4. Learn to distinguish intonation, facial expressions, gestures. This will help determine the emotional state of a person and what he feels.

Term   Empathy   comes from the Greek word “empathy” and means the ability to realize and understand the inner experiences of another person.

  If a person can determine the emotional state of other people, he's called empathic.

The definition of empathy in psychology was first given by Sigmund Freud, speaking about the need for any psychoanalyst to be able to put himself in the place of his client.

There is not only emotional, but also aesthetic empathy, that is, the ability to deeply penetrate in an artistic way.

This concept applies to almost all emotional manifestations of personality: both positive and negative. If compassion means the ability to empathize in a difficult situation, then empathy embraces other feelings - anger, fear, joy, etc.

The depth of manifestation also varies: some people respond to emotions superficially, while others are completely immersed in the world of other people's experiences. So far, there are no reasonable explanations. Neurobiologists believe that this phenomenon occurs due to the work of the so-called mirror neurons.

Without the ability to empathy, a person cannot become a good psychoanalyst or psychologist. This quality contributes to the development of communication skills, allows you to create a productive working relationship with the patient, which will help solve personal problems of a person. Many people, far from science, associate empathy with the presence of superpowers. However, this is not so: this property is understandable from a scientific point of view and has nothing to do with extrasensory perception.

It is important to note that empathy arises without the participation of intelligence.   Many researchers believe that this is an innate personality trait, determined genetically.

In the process of personality development, the ability to deep empathy can either increase or, on the contrary, weaken. Development depends on the wealth of the inner world of the individual, the subtleties of his perception, the ability to listen to the interlocutor and a number of other factors. With the help of various trainings, empathic opportunities can be developed (only if they are inherent in a person initially). Such trainings are very useful for people who, by occupation, need to communicate a lot and want to develop their communication skills.

Classification

Currently, in psychology, several main types of empathy are distinguished:

• emotional, based on imitation of the behavioral reactions of other people;
• cognitive, which is based on the processes of thinking;
• predicative, manifested in the form of the ability to predict the behavior and emotional reactions of others.

Probably, the ability to such perception is inherent in almost every person initially. And this property must be developed in oneself in order to learn more effective communication. This is especially important for people who, by the nature of their profession, often enter into communication, for example, for psychologists, managers and teachers.

Empathy levels

There is a classification of empaths based on the depth of awareness of the feelings and emotions of people around. Before proceeding to the classification, it is worth saying a few words about people who are completely deprived of the ability to empathy. As a rule, not only the feelings of others, but also their own emotions are inaccessible to these people.

To determine what another person feels, not empaths can only by indirect manifestations, using intelligence and analytical skills. Emotions for such personalities are a somewhat frightening, uncontrollable factor that only makes life difficult. Often a complete lack of empathic perception is demonstrated by people with a schizoid character accentuation, more prone to abstract logical constructions than to the world of feelings and emotional experiences.

Sociopaths are completely deprived of this ability: it is precisely because of the lack of the ability to empathize with others that they often commit unlawful acts, not realizing that this can cause pain to others.

Empaths are able to determine their own feelings and understand what others are experiencing. Moreover, empathy for empaths is a natural process that does not require intellectual effort and awareness.

1. Empaths of the 1st level are able to determine how they feel.   At the same time, only fairly simple shades of feelings are available to them. They can perceive the emotions of others and do not always know how to differentiate other people's emotions from their own.
2. Empaths Level 2
      are well aware of what emotional experiences are. They are able to intentionally read other people's experiences by looking into the eyes of a person or by looking at his motor skills.
3. Empaths Level 3As a rule, they are aware of their own capabilities. They can clearly differentiate their own feelings from strangers, and they can determine the state of another without direct contact, for example, during a telephone conversation or even correspondence.
4. Empatham Level 4   the whole range of other people's emotional manifestations is available. They can be aware of the feelings of others without the need for direct contact. We can say that such people have increased intuition, which is often confused with extrasensory abilities. Moreover, empaths of the 4th level are able to understand not only emotions, but also what became their cause.

   In addition, such people can easily recognize the emotions of several personalities with whom they are in direct contact. From empaths of the 4th level, excellent psychologists, psychiatrists, teachers, doctors and even investigators are obtained. Interestingly, such individuals can even understand the emotional state of animals.

5. Level 5 empaths are able to use their abilities to control the emotions of others..

Diagnostics

To understand whether a person is an empathy, it is necessary to determine his presence or absence of empathic character traits. Special testing is conducted to identify whether a person is able to understand the feelings of others. For diagnosis by psychologist A. Mehrabyan a special scale of emotional response was developed. Typically, this test is used when applying for positions that require skills to empathize with others and understand their emotional state.

Empathy development

Many people want to develop the ability in question in themselves. Psychologists say that it is possible to do this, but you will have to make a lot of effort and regularly perform simple exercises:

1. Active listening. Try to learn to listen and ask questions that allow you to fully disclose the topic under discussion and the person's personality. The ability to share my own emotional reactions to what I heard helps to develop empathy (“When you told me this, it was very painful and unpleasant for me”).
2. "Shelter."   To perform this exercise, you need to take a comfortable pose. Try to imagine your personal refuge. It can be your own house or an invented cabin in the forest, a house in a meadow or a cave in the rock. Provide your shelter in full detail. This place should cause a sense of peace and tranquility. Whenever you feel the need to get rid of anxiety, imagine your refuge: you will immediately experience relaxation and remove the unnecessary emotional “burden”, which will allow a better understanding of the interlocutors.
3. Learn to compliment.   It's not about flattery: just don’t be afraid to tell others that you like their hair, that you are amazed at their abilities and skills in any field of activity, etc. Over time, this will become a habit, and you will become a much more pleasant conversationalist . Unfortunately, in our culture, negative feedback is more common: people easily criticize each other, while experiencing difficulties with compliments and praise.
4. Carefully analyze your own behavior.   You should not think that this is a meaningless self-digging: analyzing your actions, you can better understand others.

The older a person becomes, the more difficult it is for him to develop empathy. Because of their experience, evaluating the feelings of others becomes a daunting task. At the same time, the ability to empathize can be reduced, because empaths are not always easy to be immersed in other people's feelings.

It is proved that the higher the ability under consideration, the more actively a person tries to avoid disputes and conflicts. If this is not possible, the empathy gradually puts an invisible barrier between himself and other people, which helps him to remain calm, while destroying his unique ability to feel into the emotional world of others.

Empathy in children

Children, as a rule, have a very pronounced empathy. This helps them to study the world and their own personality, to build emotional contacts with others.

Empathy in a child depends on how developed the ability to empathize in his loved ones.   Empathy develops well in children whose parents do not experience problems with their own emotions and give the baby love and care. In such a family, children develop altruism abilities: understanding the feelings of others, the child easily comes to the aid of others. Raising empathy is the task of the child's parents.

Do not try to make a child an empathy by force. At an early age, the baby simply does not understand the angry parental phrase: “Look, you brought your sister to tears!” Of course, the child quickly realizes what the parents want from him, and will be able to portray the simulated repentance about his act.

Such behavior cannot be called genuine empathy. Parents should show by their example what empathy is and why it is needed. In addition, some children are not at all predisposed to such an ability: in this case, it is necessary to work simultaneously with the emotional sphere on the ability to understand other people's experiences on an intellectual level.

Practical use

The practical use of empathy is possible in the following areas:

1. HR management. Thanks to this ability, you can understand how employees relate to their work. Empathy is very important for people who are engaged in sales: they can understand the emotions of the buyer and develop more effective strategies for promoting the product.
2. Psychosomatics   - An area lying at the intersection of psychology and medicine and studying the relationship between the psyche and the body (soma). In the framework of psychosomatics, conflicts are investigated, leading to the development of various diseases, types of characters and personalities, which play the role of a predisposition to certain diseases, etc.

   It is believed that the psychological factor plays a significant role in the development of all diseases except for injuries. Even infectious diseases, one way or another, are associated with the psyche, because the emotional background affects the immune system. If the doctor is an empathist, he will be able to quickly determine what factors caused the disease, and build a productive communication with the patient that will make a huge contribution to healing.

3. Work with motivation and fulfillment of desires. In the modern world, trainings aimed at identifying your own goals and intentions are in demand. Empath is able to feel what the other person really wants, which makes him an extremely effective coach.
4. Pedagogy. An empathic teacher is able to find an individual approach to each student and build psychological contact with even his most difficult students. Typically, such teachers are not only able to convey material of any complexity, but also leave an indelible mark on the souls of their students.

Empathy -a very valuable skill, and if you try a little, everyone can develop it in themselves. Do not give up on this: empathy is much easier given everyday communication with others and he is able to achieve great success in life, using his unique abilities.

Video on the topic: Empathy. Another's pain | Big jump

People are all so different, but, as they say, a kind word is also pleasant for a cat. And those who know how to understand and feel other people's experiences, sometimes become a real outlet for those who need such participation. This ability is called empathy. And who is an empath from the point of view of different spheres of human activity?

I feel your feelings

Personal feelings and emotions are the lives of every person. The ability to respond to the psycho-emotional state of others is inherent in all people to varying degrees of intensity. This is how empathy is defined.

For some people who are interested in certain sciences or knowledge, the answer to the question is interesting: "How to understand that you are an empath?" The answer to it can be obtained by passing certain tests, which will be described below.

So different empathy

If we consider empathy as a sphere of psychology, we can see three main types of such a state, distinguished by scientists:

• Emotional empathy rests on the ability to project and imitate other people's emotional reactions to what is happening.
• Cognitive empathy basically has the ability to understand another person’s train of thought. Its basis is intellectual processes, such as analogy, comparison, opposition. This type is useful in discussions and disputes.
• Predictive empathy makes it possible to predict the reaction of a person to ongoing events.

Such a division reflects empathy from all sides, but for a simple layman, the question is unimportant: how to recognize empathy? Empathy and empathy - this is what most people expect from friends and relatives. In these two definitions lies another side of empathy. These forms are much closer to each person than cognitive or predicative ones that are incomprehensible to many. Empathy is the experience of another person’s emotions as a result of identifying with him. Empathy is an aspect of socialization, the ability to feel the experiences of another.

The term "empathy"

Many have heard of the various terms used in narrow areas of knowledge, but not everyone knows the designation of some of them. For most non-professionals, only a guess and a common understanding of the issue are characteristic. The same thing happens with the term empathy. What are these simple words?

The most accurate definition was given to the concept by Sigmund Freud: "To understand the mental state of the interlocutor, putting himself in his place, while comparing his own and other people's experiences." Here you can see the significant difference between reflection and empathy. Empathy and sympathy, but not immersion in the mental emotional state of another is the basis of empathy, while reflection is the complete dissolution in the interlocutor’s experiences, without the remainder of his self.

Interestingly, the term "empathy" was introduced by the German philosopher Theodore Lipps back in 1885. Then, in his work, the founder of American experimental psychology, Edward Titchener, calculated him. The term entrenched in the science of psychology, becoming one of the defining ways of talking about feelings in many areas of life - from medicine to esotericism.

Science and art

Delving into psychology, esotericism, art, one can often hear such a thing as “empathy”. What are these simple words? The ability to feel, respond to the emotions and feelings of the interlocutor, although for each area of \u200b\u200bhuman life the definition of empathy will be somewhat modified. So, in psychology as in the field of medical knowledge, empathy means understanding the emotional state of another person and demonstrating this understanding. For a psychologist (doctor, teacher), an empathic hearing is important, which enables the interlocutor to speak frankly, without hiding their feelings and emotions.

Psychiatry and psychology define empathy as the norm, which has different degrees of manifestation in different people - from complete indifference to complete immersion. Here passes the line of the "normal" state and mental pathologies that require diagnosis and treatment.

Another area where the term “empath” is actively used is esotericism and art. Here, a person who has the ability of emotional telepathy related to extrasensory perception is defined. Whether such an ability is real, science has yet to determine.

Empathy levels

The answer to the question "Who is an empath?" simple enough if you understand that empathy is the ability to respond to the feelings and experiences of another person, identifying yourself as a person. For science, empathy is divided into levels of intensity of its manifestation:

• a low (first) level is characterized by indifference to the experiences of others; these are hermit people, withdrawn in themselves, not having relatives, friends;
• the middle (second) level is characteristic of most modern people - other people's feelings and emotions have no meaning in life, empathy can be shown, which is the basis of empathy, but your own self for such personalities always remains in the foreground; for these people, the main thing is action, not feelings;
• high (third) level, quite rare - people with this ability to perceive other people's feelings and emotions often cannot identify their own condition. They respond to any request without thinking about the consequences for themselves.

Also, a separate group can distinguish professional empaths - those who have learned to feel other people's experiences and manage them according to their needs.

How to identify empath?

As professional psychologists say, the higher the level of spiritual and intellectual development, the higher a person's ability to empathy is developed. It is not difficult to determine the empathic traits if we single out the main points characteristic of this state:

• understanding of the feelings and conditions of others at the level of intuition;
• ability to experience the emotions of the interlocutor;
• the role of the “other” is given very easily;
• the ability to take someone else's point of view on events without evidence and discussion;
• the ability to see everything that happens "not from your bell tower."

A different degree of severity of features characteristic of empathy is the basis of different personality empathy.

Is it good or bad to be an empath?

The ability to feel other people's experiences is inherent in all people in varying degrees of intensity. Someone reacts brightly to what is happening around, someone is closed in the sink of their emotions. What are the empathies in a relationship? Is it good to be sensitive and is it good to communicate with empath? There is no single answer.

The only thing that scientists unequivocally say is that a high level of sensitivity to other people's emotions can cause mental disorders and phobias. The complete lack of ability to empathy makes a person an outcast, a hermit, unable to find those who want to get at least a drop of his attention. So the rule of the middle ground in empathy is very important.

Personal testing

Empathy manifests itself from early childhood, the vast majority of babies relate to their loved ones, primarily parents or those who are engaged in raising a child. But the ability to experience other people's experiences may fade over time. For a person who consciously decides for himself the question of empathy, several test methods have been developed. A popular empathy test is called the Emotional Response Scale. This self-test consists of 25 questions, each of which should be given one of 4 possible answers:

• always;
• often;
• rarely;
• never.

This technique was developed by the American psychologist Albert Mehrabian and has been actively used in self-knowledge for half a century.

There are many such personality checks, and more than one test will help to answer the question "am I empathetic"? For example, Boyko’s questionnaire also allows you to identify the level of personal empathy, but it is considered simpler - the answers “yes” and “no” to 36 questions developed by a psychologist make it possible to determine the level of empathic predisposition.

A few exercises to develop empathy

Adults consciously set themselves tasks and look for ways to solve them. For some, the ability to empathy becomes the step that will provide an opportunity to better understand others. To do this, you must first pass the test for empathy to identify the level of your own ability to feel other people's experiences, and then do self-training on the development of empathy. These simple techniques, which are developed by psychologists, will allow you to learn to more subtly feel the people around you, serve them as a support for psychological comfort, be able to anticipate conflicts and “extinguish” them in time.

1. The ability to listen and hear the interlocutor will help to better understand the partner in the conversation.
2. The desire to understand others - what they think about, what they do in life, where they live.
3. Talking with strangers in transport, although they will serve as a sign of curiosity, will allow you to learn how to subtly feel other people.
4. The ability to try on the role of another person in a difficult situation: what steps should be taken to get the best solution to the problem; you can use the heroes of a psychological drama film.
5. Self-determination in feelings and emotions is the basis of empathy of the golden mean.
6. Development - "such-and-such and such happened, it aroused in me such-and-such feelings."

Such self-exercises are supplemented by exercises with a partner or in a group. Children's fun "Monkey and Mirror" is quite an adult training on the development of empathy. Another simple but effective exercise is “Telephone”: you need to use facial expressions and gestures to tell about an event so that the partners in the lesson understand what happened and what feelings this caused the narrator.

I do not need it!

Empathy is one of the main components of empathy. But for many people, such sensitivity becomes a burden, there is a desire to remove acute sensitivity to other people's experiences from their character. How to do it? Devote more time to yourself, find a new hobby, an activity that can captivate, taking a lot of time. But it should be remembered that the complete rejection of the ability to empathize and sympathize will be through loneliness, misunderstanding by others. You need to be able to find a middle ground - human attention and their own experiences.

Esoteric and Empathy

Art and esotericism answer the question "Who is empath?" somewhat in its own way. In these areas, empathy is a person who has the ability at the level of extrasensory perception to plunge into the emotional background of other people. Often this feature is described in books and films. Practicing psychics also use empathic abilities to work with parallels of reality. Science conducted research on the “ability” to plunge into the emotional world of other people to obtain any information, but no confirmation was given to them. Therefore, empathy as part of esoteric abilities can be said conditionally.

The ability to sympathize and empathize, to respond to the experiences of living beings - a distinctive feature of man. Therefore, the question of who such an empathy has a very wide range of answers, because each of the people is looking for someone who can understand him, answer his feelings. And the ability to empathy becomes the basis of relationships.

Empathy is the ability to experience other people's emotions no less vividly than their 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, this category can include about 20% of the world's population.

The intensity of empathy is different for different empaths. It can be expressed in the usual ability to delve into the state of the interlocutor, and in complete immersion in other people's emotions. Some empaths are so sensitive that the negative feelings of other people cause them physical discomfort.

Today we will talk about those signs with which you can determine your ability to empathy.

Source: depositphotos.com

Sensitivity to incongruent behavior

Communicating among themselves, people use not only words. The meaning of our speech is emphasized and confirmed by the tonality of the voice, loudness, articulation, facial expressions, gestures and postures (the so-called body language). If a person is insincere, these signals are poorly correlated with each other. This behavior is called incongruent.

Due to the peculiarities of perception, an empath is extremely accurate, although unconsciously, reads such discrepancies and feels any falsehood. In the company of a person who behaves incongruently, he experiences a distinct discomfort. In people with strong empathy, communication with liars, bouncers, envious persons or hypocrites can provoke an accelerated heartbeat, shortness of breath, headache and a sense of anxiety.

Avoiding a society of negative people

Intolerance to aggression

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

A person with the ability to empathy, as a rule, is calm, friendly and attentive. He always tries to resolve the contradictions peacefully and does not accept violence.

Emotional perception of other people's troubles

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

Discomfort with an excess of emotions

A person with a strong ability for empathy can hardly tolerate any emotional excesses. He is hurt not only by someone else's grief, but also by an excess of positive. For example, an empath may be uncomfortable attending a noisy celebration, because loud noise, bright light and an abundance of fun people quickly tire him.

Painful perception of criticism

Empaths are usually cautious and restrained in communicating with other people and in expressing their own feelings. They are afraid of hitting someone, creating a conflict or simply incomprehensible situation for others. In response to their own delicacy, they expect similar behavior from other people. Therefore, the tendency to empathy is often combined with excessive sensitivity to criticism: any negative assessment offends the empathy, even if it is expressed mildly.

Empathic ability can be measured. Psychologists do this with questionnaires, the most famous of which (“The Level of Empathy”) was developed by Sally Wilright and Simon Baron-Cohen in 2004.

It may seem that a high level of empathy is “uncomfortable” and can complicate a person’s life. Fortunately, this is not so. Most empaths eventually get used to a special perception of the world and develop a behavior style that helps them maintain physical and mental health. Constantly feeling someone else's pain as your own, of course, is not too pleasant, but it is atone for the opportunity to understand other people, the ability to listen to them and provide the necessary assistance. A person with such talent is usually universally respected. 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, social workers. It is this quality that creates the basis of emotional recovery, without which no creative activity is possible. A successful ad creator, insurance agent, or sales manager must be an empathist. We can say that in a world based on close interaction between people, the ability to empathy positively affects the social realization of a person.

Video from YouTube on the topic of the article:

Even as adults, we always hope that fate will give us a person who will understand us perfectly. A person who shares with us our joys and sorrows as ours. This wonderful feeling that allows you to emotionally feel into your interlocutor is called Empathy.

  Other people's emotions - as their own

The ability to consciously empathize with other people's emotions, unfortunately, is very rare today. The term “Empathy” in psychology was one of the first to be mentioned in the writings of Sigmund Freud, who argued that in order to effectively work with a patient, a psychoanalyst needs to take into account his emotional state. The psychoanalyst goes into this state, after which he gains the ability to understand it by comparing it with his own feelings.

Today, the concept of "Empathy" implies a lot. First of all, empathy is a conscious empathy for a person, his emotional state, without losing the feeling of external control over such a state. In medicine and psychology, empathy is often equated with empathic listening - a demonstration that the specialist correctly understands the patient’s emotional state. In forensics, possessing the skill of empathic listening means the ability to collect information about the feelings and thoughts of an object.

For psychics, empathy is considered a special feeling, accessible only to some people. The value of this ability in psychics is great: it serves as a tool for perceiving the emotional states of other people “directly”, as well as transmitting your emotions, while the lack of direct contact with a person is not a hindrance. This feeling is equated with the concept of emotional telepathy.

The manifestations of empathy are very different: from a complete immersion in the feelings of a communication partner (emotional or affective empathy), to an objective understanding of the experiences of a communication partner without strong emotional involvement. In this case, the following types of empathy are distinguished:

• empathy - emotional responsiveness, the need to provide assistance;
• empathy - a person experiences the same emotions as a communication partner;
• sympathy is a very friendly and warm attitude towards a person.

Empathy is not related to the perception of any specific emotions (as with compassion). This feeling is used to indicate empathy for any condition. There are many professions in which empathic listening is not only desirable, but even necessary. Such professions include almost all professions oriented towards communication with people:

• psychologists, psychotherapists;
• doctors
• educators;
• hR managers
• leaders
• detectives;
• officials
• sellers;
• hairdressers and others.

As you can see, the application of this amazing property of our psyche can be found anywhere. People with the ability to empathy are called empaths.

Is it possible to become an empath?

You can often hear: "He is a born psychologist." Often, such a phrase indicates a person’s ability to emotionally empathize without special professional skills. Is it possible to become an empath? Is empathy an innate or acquired ability? What are its symptoms?

According to biology, brain activity, reflecting the actions and condition of other individuals, is directly dependent on the activity of mirror neurons. Biologists suggest that the strength of empathy depends on their activity.

An indirect confirmation of this is that people suffering from alexithymia do not have the ability to empathy, because their neurophysiological problems do not allow them to distinguish even their emotions.

Modern experts believe that empathy is an innate and genetic property, but life experience enhances or weakens it. The strength of empathy depends on the availability of rich life experience, accuracy of perception, and developed skills in empathic communication. Initially, women, especially those who have children, have a more developed ability for empathy.

Given the innate presence of at least the rudiments of empathy, its development can be accelerated by various training methods and special exercises that develop the skills of effectively applying this ability in professional and personal communication. If you want to learn to understand the emotions and feelings of others, it is useful to practice such artistic sketches as “Remembering faces”, “How others see me”, “Reincarnation”. Also well develop the ability to empathize and sympathize with any fortune-telling, the game "Association". The development of empathy is facilitated by the general development of emotionality through dance, watching films, listening to music, and other methods of art therapy.

To identify the level of empathy ability in people, as well as individual aspects of this ability, there are various methods and techniques. The most reliable diagnosis aimed at determining the level of empathy is called "Empathy Quotient", for Russian-speaking users there is its adaptation called "Level of empathy."

Advantages and disadvantages

Empathy is a real gift that not everyone knows how to use for their intended purpose. Often this property of the psyche brings suffering to a person, because people do not always experience only joy, happiness, love and other positive states. What seems like the ultimate dream for one person is a heavy burden for another.

The ability to empathize and sympathize requires a person to have a developed personality, since an immature mind is unable to cope with a flurry of other people's emotions. Deciding to develop empathy, it will not be out of place to evaluate the pros and cons of such a decision.

Develop or get rid?

Each person must decide for himself what level of empathy he needs for a comfortable life. There are 4 types of empaths:

Non-empaths: completely closed the channels of empathy (knowingly or under the influence of psychological trauma). These people cannot recognize non-verbal and verbal signals.

Usual empaths: they are constantly in a state of stress and emotional overload, they are acutely experiencing other people's problems. Often suffer from headaches. The ability to empathy is not controlled by them.

Conscious empaths: they control their ability to empathize, easily adapt to other people's emotions, knowing how not to pass them through themselves.

Professional empaths: superbly control their ability, often using it for professional purposes. They can control any other people's emotions, change a person’s mood, and relieve mental and physical pain.

If fate has endowed you with a developed ability to empathize, maybe it is still worth developing it? At least in order to fulfill their mission - help other people.

However, one often has to pay for a strong ability for empathy and empathy. Empathists quite often enter into asymmetric relations, not getting enough support from a partner. Such people feel uncomfortable in conflict, are not inclined to rivalry and to defend their interests.

They often suffer from depression as well as anxiety disorders. Empathy is not easy to overcome fear, so panic attacks are possible. The ability to feel someone else's pain leads to what psychologists call empathic stress.

For effective work with people, the presence of developed empathy is a real find. But empaths often have problems with personal relationships. They are so sensitive that nothing is possible to hide from them, and any negative emotions of a partner literally “hit on the head”. Therefore, an empathy partner must necessarily be a kind, loyal and non-conflict person.