Do you consider yourself an empathetic person? Empathy has to do with our ability to understand others, putting ourselves in their place and connecting with their emotions.
It is an especially important skill in people who are dedicated to listening, accompanying, helping others… for example, teachers, doctors, psychologists, caregivers… However, it is essential for any human being who lives in society.
Although we all have a certain degree of empathy, the truth is that it is a skill that can be worked on and enhanced. How to know if we are empathetic? In this article we tell you how to learn to develop it and, in turn, to improve your relationships. Do not miss it!
What is Empathy?
- What is empathy really? According to the American sociologist Jeremy Rifkin, it is a unique and relatively new concept in the vocabulary of any human language spoken until now, which began to be used in the year 1909, approximately.
- It can be defined as a social, emotional and communicative ability; It is that ability to put ourselves in the other’s place and understand it. To feel what he/she feels (or to get close to that feeling) and, ultimately: to perceive, share and infer other people’s emotions, feelings and thoughts.
- It is a vital ability to understand others and connect with them, which allows us to recognize them as equals.
7 signs that you are a person with empathy
Are you an empathic person? How to know? What signs would indicate that you have a good empathy? We are talking about 7 of them!
You absorb the emotions of others
Empathic people feel that they “absorb” the emotions of others. And this affects them on a mental and emotional level, and also on energy. For this reason, when they are with sad people, they “infect” their sadness (they feel it too; their mood and energy change), and the same happens with very stressed or very happy people, for example.
You are guided a lot by your intuition
It is believed that empathetic people are not only more intuitive than the rest of the population, but also that they use that intuition to a greater extent to make decisions and to move through the world. This intuition is beneficial for multiple situations; Among them, surround yourself with positive people who help maintain emotional balance.
You pay attention to verbal and non-verbal language
Empathic people, during their social interactions, pay attention to both verbal and non-verbal language (gestures, posture, distance…) This allows them to extract more information from the interlocutor. Therefore, if you look at all of this, this could be another sign that you are an empath.
You have ease to understand
Empathy facilitates understanding of situations, and above all, of the emotional states of others. When you are an empath, you are able to understand much sooner (and better) what is happening to your friends, or why they feel sad, etc. If you easily identify all of this, it is probably that you are an empath.
You need to spend time alone
Empathic people, in general, also like to have moments of solitude (and need them). They enjoy with them. On the one hand, this helps them to disconnect from the emotions of others (which they feel so intensely that they sometimes feel overwhelmed), and on the other, it allows them to enjoy their own emotions and sensations.
You connect with nature
Another sign that could indicate that you are an empath is the greater connection you have with nature. If you are an empath, it will not be too difficult for you to connect with her when you go to the field, for example; you are capable of appreciating its nuances, of letting yourself be seduced by its beauty.
You also easily disconnect with it, and recharge your batteries when you enjoy a good landscape. And it is that empathy also has a lot to do with sensitivity and the ability to perceive the beauty of things, of the environment.
You appreciate the beauty in things
In relation to the previous point, empathic people more easily perceive the nuances of the environment. They also empathize with him, and above all, they are capable of appreciating the beauty in many of the things they see. A beauty that does not have to be normative, but much deeper, spiritual or personal.
“Beauty does not make the one who possesses it happy, but the one who can love and adore it.”
-Hermann Hesse-
How to enhance and develop empathy?
As we have seen at the beginning, empathy is a skill that can be enhanced. How to do it? We leave you some key ideas to start putting it into practice in our day to day.
Give importance to emotions
One way to develop empathy is to place more importance on emotions than on data. In emotions we find a very valuable source of information, which rarely deceives us.
Pay attention to people’s non-verbal language
As we have seen, empathic people tend to pay a lot of attention to non-verbal language during their interactions. Thanks to this, they can better understand the other, connect with their situation, with their emotions… because they extract much more information from their speech.
Therefore, if you want to start developing empathy, we encourage you to pay attention to what the other person’s body says, their tone of voice, their looks, their hands and the way they move them, etc.
Set aside prejudices and opinions
To understand a person, to put yourself in his place, it is important not to judge him. If you judge her, it will be difficult for her to open up to you and be herself.
Therefore, if you want to be more empathetic, try to put prejudices and opinions aside when you talk to someone (especially if they are explaining a problem or a complicated situation). Focus on what the other explains to you, on how he feels, and not so much on the preconceived ideas that you have about his situation.
Read and watch movies
Can reading and watching movies improve our empathy? Well, the truth is that yes, or at least, so some studies say. For example, in a study conducted by researchers at Stanford University, they found that when a person engages in reading a fiction text, areas related to what the characters do or feel are activated in their brain.
Curious, right? Furthermore, reading about everything allows us to acquire a broader view of things, because it connects us with new realities, and that, after all, opens our minds.
Listen carefully (active listening)
- Finally, during your interactions, listening carefully can also be an action that stimulates your empathy. We are talking about active listening. This goes beyond the mere fact of listening.
- Some actions that allow us to listen actively are: accompanying the interlocutor with our non-verbal language, making statements or issuing words or short phrases that indicate that we are following their speech, asking open questions, showing ourselves close with our non-verbal language, with a posture open, show interest (avoid yawning, for example, or look at the mobile), maintain eye contact with the other (the look) and respect the silences.
- And you, are you empathic? Remember that it is never too late to try to learn to develop this ability, which allows us to approach others from a more emotional and compassionate perspective. And also, we can put it into practice in any situation that involves contact with others.
“The great ability of the human being is that he has the power of empathy.”
-Meryl Streep-