I was in a training for mental health where we were forced to watch a video about how sympathy is useless and you have to feel empathy for people. You’d think that someone knowledgeable about MENTAL HEALTH would realize that not everyone is capable of feeling empathy, and you just called them heartless.
Here’s the thing: both empathy and sympathy (which I personally define as “identifying the other person’s feelings”) can lead to compassion. They can also both lead to a lack of compassion. If you feel what other people feel, you may want to make them feel better so you can feel better. If you know what other people feel, you may want to make them feel better because you don’t like seeing other people suffer. But knowing that someone else feels bad doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to do anything about it. (How many times have you thought “yeah, that sucks, but they deserve it”?) And if you feel another person’s negative feelings, your immediate need might be to get away from the situation, because it’s hurting you. Other people can turn off their own empathy when it gets overwhelming. Or you may shut down and be unable to do anything.
pixelskylines
origamiaround
