The Power of Empathy

          Empathy.  What is it?  Who does it impact?  What kind of impact does it have?

          While there are so many definitions of empathy out there and everyone may have their own personal definition of what it is, here’s a personal favorite of mine from the inspiring, Brene Brown: “Empathy is a strange and powerful thing.  There is no script.  There is no right way or wrong way to do it.  It’s simply listening, holding space, withholding judgment, emotionally connecting and communicating that incredibly healing the message of ‘you are not alone’.”

           This particular definition I feel sums up exactly what empathy is in a nutshell.  It’s something that is relatively simple but yet immensely powerful.  This is something I’ve learned and continue to learn every single day as a psychology major and especially as a crisis counselor.  Empathy is the art of listening, being there, and supporting one who needs it and refraining from judgment even when we may hold contradictory or opposite beliefs/opinions from others.

         Empathy impacts everyone and frankly, its impacts actually have the potential to save a life.  This is something I’ve seen first-hand volunteering as a Crisis Counselor.  People text us in times of crisis not necessarily seeking advice, but just someone to be there and all too often I see the power of using empathy allow that person on the other end to go from that an incredibly heated moment back down to that cool calm and safe place again because they felt heard and listened to; they felt someone cared, and thus, they felt less alone.

          It can be so easy and natural to automatically try and give people advice when they come to you and are struggling because we want to help and we think that giving advice will do that and yes, of course, we all need advice sometimes too.  However, when someone is going through a hard time, they often don’t need someone to give advice but rather just someone to listen and understand.  Sometimes just knowing that someone is there is truly all it takes for someone to know that they’re not alone.  

          In addition to practicing empathy in others’ moments of struggle, empathy is something we should strive to provide to everyone we cross paths with.  Why?  Because as I say in all of my presentations; everyone has a story and we never know what someone’s story is.  We never know what people are carrying around with them from day to day when we cross paths with them.  Someone could have just lost someone so close to them, could have received life-changing and heart-breaking news; you just never know.  However, spreading empathy, kindness, and compassion can truly make such a positive difference.

          Thanks so much for reading.  For more inspirational content, be sure to like and follow “Compassionately Inspired” on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.