Emotions have always been and will always be one of the most important components of society and of every human being in general. Without emotions people would not be human beings, and it is not clear how we would express our feelings, share our sensations and receive them at all. Emotional component is the basis of communication, we can even say that it is the basis of the whole essence of a human being.
But in addition to expressing emotions, you also need to understand them. That is, when communicating with a person, it is not possible to express only your feelings all the time, ignoring the interlocutor. Then it is no longer a dialog, but a monologue. That is why it is so important to have empathy, as well as to be able to manage it.
What is empathy?
Empathy is the ability to understand and accept the emotional state of another person, the willingness to give them proper emotional support. By the way, it is not associated with certain feelings (negative or positive). It is a conscious empathy with any emotion. People with developed empathy are called empaths.
Sometimes there are interesting cases when a person's empathy is not tied to their own emotions. That is, this person can be very responsive, with a fine mental organization, but weakly emotional. There is also an inverse dependence of the parties: when developing the ability to empathize, the emotional field "automatically" expands, increasing susceptibility to feelings and their expression.
Psychologists divide empathy into several types:
- Emotional (basic). Projecting oneself into the place of another person and accepting their feelings.
- Cognitive or intellectual. This type includes making analogies, comparative thinking, etc.
- Predicative. It is much less common. This is the ability to predict the emotional reactions of a person in certain situations.
Two forms are also distinguished:
- Empathy - experiencing the emotional state of another person.
- Sympathy - expressing one's feelings and emotions about the narrator's experiences.
Of course, for a certain range of people, empathy is especially important. For example, for some professions: psychologists and psychotherapists, teachers, educators, medical personnel and many others. But it can not be argued that empathy and understanding of other people's emotions is important only for work. Perhaps each of us is a teacher for the younger members of the family, or you are a personal psychologist for your friend. At any given moment, you need to be able to accept another person's feelings and respond to them appropriately.
How can you develop empathy?
Learn to listen
Hearing and listening are different things. When listening to a person, try to ask them your questions (but never interrupting). Express your feelings about what you hear. It is important to make it clear that you have their full attention.
Relieve emotional tension
To understand the feelings of another person, it is necessary to discharge yourself. After all, who would want an overabundance of emotions? Learn to relax and release your emotions. Preferably, negative ones.
Constantly analyze
Observe the behavior of people around you, the manifestation of their emotions, their reactions. And also watch yourself. This will help develop an understanding of people's actions in different situations and notice their feelings at a certain moment.
Diagnostics of empathy
There is a large number of different diagnostic techniques to identify the emotional range and level of empathy, which are often used by psychologists, managers (when considering a candidate for a certain position), and many others. This range can vary from a weak emotional response, to deep empathy with full acceptance of another person's emotions and immersion in their personal story.
People with very well-developed empathy are able to abstract and be in the storyteller's shoes, fully feel his or her condition and, perhaps, give some of their own advice on how to get out of the situation. Or simply support the person so well that the way out will be found on its own.
Take an empathy test
This way you can find out how wide your emotional sensitivity is, and whether you are capable of sympathy and empathy.
