Hello dear readers. Today we will talk about such a concept as empathy, what is it in simple words. You will find out what manifestations characterize him. Find out the variety of types of empathy, the degree of its manifestation. Let's talk about what needs to be done to develop it, how to get rid of excessive empathy. Also consider positive sides and disadvantages of this state.

Definition, classification and levels

Empathy is the ability to empathize with other people, to respect their feelings. A person who is prone to empathy reacts very sharply to the emotions and feelings of others, he feels them on himself. An empath is a hypersensitive person, always ready to help.

In psychology, there are five types of empathy.

1. Emotional. The perception of people's feelings on an emotional level is characteristic.
2. Cognitive. There is an intellectual perception of the feelings of other people, while turning to analogies, comparisons, parallels are drawn.
3. Predicative. The ability to identify in advance the possible reactions of the individual to certain events, behavior in specific situations.
4. Empathy. There is an identification of oneself with a person who experiences some emotions, experiences of his emotional state.
5. Sympathy. The social aspect that expresses the state of the empath regarding the worries of another individual.

You need to understand that empathy begins to form from childhood. As an individual grows older, he gains life experience, becomes able to recognize the feelings of people. However, regardless of how old, who is, there are manifestations of sensitivity in varying degrees. So there are four main levels.

1. Short. There is a weak craving for empathy. Such people rely only on logic and real facts, they are not familiar with actions that are performed under the influence of emotions. Such individuals do not understand the feelings of other people, they look at all problems only from their own position, without thinking that for someone they may be more significant. It is extremely difficult for these individuals to get along with others, they try to avoid companies, rarely communicate with neighbors and colleagues, they have very few friends. Among men, non-impati is four times more common than among women.
2. Normal. This level of empathy is typical for the majority. It is also called the standard level. It is characteristic for 80 percent of people. Such individuals can understand the emotions and feelings of others, but they do not experience too often, they do not really think about other people's feelings. Such empathy is typical for almost every second person, often they remain indifferent to the problems of others. They are sensitive to the emotions that they themselves or their close environment experience.
3. Tall. Such people are not often found. They are just called empaths. They understand the emotions and feelings of other people very well, listen carefully, notice all the details, empathize in any situation. Such people are distinguished by social activity and easily make new acquaintances, they have many friends. Thanks to the ability to communicate with people, they achieve great achievements in personal and social life, career growth. A person who is at this level empathizes with others, while not experiencing discomfort, the emotional perception of the feelings of other people does not cause anxiety or suffering.
4. Elevated. For such individuals, the feeling of empathy causes discomfort. A person has difficulty in distinguishing his problems from others. This condition is accompanied by the following manifestations:

• excessive impressionability;
• strong vulnerability;
• acute experience of feelings and emotions of other people;
• the emergence of feelings of guilt for the pain felt by others;
• anxiety and suffering for the problems of others.

This level has a negative impact on the life of an empath, impairs his communication skills, and is often a factor influencing the development of mental illness. In such a situation, it is important to engage in psychotherapy in order to correct hyperempathy.

The manifestations of empathy can be different. It should be taken into account that, for example, psychological and pedagogical empathy are not similar to each other, however, both are subspecies of the same ability. Let's look at examples that appear in different situations.

1. Pedagogical. It appears when the student communicates with the teacher. A teacher with empathic abilities will be able to easily establish contact with the child, he will recognize his needs, feelings, take into account inclinations and personal characteristics, will not challenge his point of view and unobtrusively direct him in the right direction.
2. Psychological. It appears when the psychologist communicates with the patient. The specialist listens attentively to him, recognizes the emotional state, expresses true empathy.
3. Creative. Typical for an actor who gets used to the role. In order to play well, he needs to try on the image of a character, feel his emotions, feelings, understand the reasons for his actions. As a result, when the audience sees the performance this person He made sure of his professionalism.

Characteristic manifestations

The following signs may indicate that a person has developed empathy:

• the ability to recognize the feelings of another person on an intuitive level;
• the ability to feel someone's role;
• the ability to assess the situation through the eyes of another individual;
• experiencing the emotions that another person is currently experiencing;
• the ability to agree with someone else's point of view.

Many people want to develop this ability in themselves or strive to ensure that their children develop it. However, it must be borne in mind that empathy has not only advantages. It often leads to severe suffering. In order to resist someone else's negativity, you must have a mature mind and a strong character. If a person wants to develop this ability in himself, he must take into account all the advantages and disadvantages.

The positives include:

• prospects for professional development;
• helping your loved ones;
• impossibility to be deceived;
• the ability to resolve conflicts and prevent their development.

The negative points include:

• the risk of a mental disorder;
• problems when communicating with others;
• the likelihood of inflicting moral pain and the ability to resist it.

Diagnostics

If you look at preschoolers, you can already notice the first manifestations of empathy in them. By the time of attending school, the ability to empathize is finally formed. To determine how strongly empathy is manifested in a person, psychometric diagnostics can be used:

• Boyko test for empathic empathy;
• Yusupov's diagnostic questionnaire;
• questionnaire Kosonogov on the level of empathy.

It can be used as one type of testing, or all together. In addition to questionnaires and tests, you can also involve a psychotherapist who can recognize how well a particular person can understand the feelings of other people.

I passed the Boyko test. According to its results, I have a high level of empathy, emotional appearance. I think it will be interesting for every person to find out how developed these abilities are in him.

Development of empathy

There is no need to think that empathy is a gift from above or some kind of superpower. In one form or another, almost all people have a predisposition to it. Despite the fact that this quality is innate, it can also be developed in oneself. To do this, you can resort to various group exercises.

1. "The Monkey and the Mirror". The group is divided into pairs. So in each pair one becomes a "mirror", the other becomes a "monkey". The one who is in the role of a monkey must demonstrate certain feelings with the help of facial expressions. The person playing the role of a mirror must copy them. After that, the partners switch roles.
2. "Guess the feelings." The group is given cards on which the name of the feelings is indicated. In turn, the participants demonstrate what they got, using only their facial expressions. Other people try to guess what it shows.
3. "Phone". Each participant receives a card with an imaginary interlocutor indicated on it. It can be a relative, a loved one, a boss. People take turns imitating a conversation on the phone, other participants try to understand who exactly the conversation is with.

Exercises in which it is necessary to copy gestures, voice, speech features can also be used. When a person in a group performs such exercises together with other people, he masters the skill of empathy, gets on a common wave of emotions.

How to control

People who think too much about others, worry about them, sometimes it is very difficult to live with it. This often leads to emotional breakdowns and mental health problems.

To learn how to correct this condition, you must follow certain rules.

1. When the feeling comes that the heart is overwhelmed by the problems of another person, you need to try to concentrate on something else or stop the conversation and retire, or just be silent for a while so that inner peace comes. If you don’t want to turn around and leave so as not to offend the interlocutor, it’s better to think about something else or count to a hundred. It is important that you get the feeling that you have only your emotions, there are no others.
2. You need to think about who you empathize with. This mechanism always arises with the help of other people. It is important to understand who in your particular case causes sympathy, why this happens.
3. Learn to empathize consciously. You don’t need to renounce your ability to recognize the feelings of another person, you need to learn not to allow other people’s negative emotions to come to you. It is necessary to turn off your empathy on a subconscious level. For this purpose, you can master meditation or breathing exercises. At first it will be difficult, but after a while you will learn to switch off, to provide support to someone, while not harming yourself.

If you are thinking about how to protect yourself from negativity, you need to resort to the following methods:

• visualize protection, for example, you can imagine that you have a real shield in front of you or you are in some kind of cocoon that does not allow any flow of information to pass through;
• stop worrying about the fact that you will have to refuse a person even in a conversation - if, when communicating with someone, you begin to experience too negative emotions, it is better to immediately stop this conversation and leave;
• it is important to learn to weed out other people's emotions, not to let them penetrate your consciousness;
• avoid people who have a negative attitude and want to dump their energy garbage.

If you can’t cope on your own, you need to seek help from a specialist who will teach you how to abstract from the influence of other people.

I have long known about my ability to empathize. Before, until I learned to control it, she gave me discomfort. It is very difficult when dealing with people to feel their pain. She always took other people's problems too close to her heart, passed them through herself. If you also face similar difficulties, be sure to take care of yourself, learn how to protect yourself from negative influences by putting up an imaginary shield.

Now you know what empathy is, what are its manifestations. As you can see, this quality is not always appropriate in a person's life. Sometimes it can negatively affect the human psyche. But do not forget about the need to show sympathy to people in trouble, empathize with them. That is what makes us human.

Emotions

- a relatively new concept in psychological science, which is characterized by essential features that allow us to assert its presence. What is empathy? Under empathy is understood, first of all, a feeling of inner empathy for another person who at a given moment in time needs consolation. When we perceive the feelings of an opponent as our own, we can really understand what is really happening to him. Deep empathic listening is about looking for opportunities to help someone in need. If you consider yourself a caring person, this article will be of interest to you. Remember that indifference destroys any relationship. If you only care about satisfying your own interests, then there can be no question of any empathy.

The method of empathy is to learn to imagine yourself in the place of another person.. This is quite easy to do at first glance. It is enough just to start imagining what is dear and significant for a particular individual, to try to understand him. The method itself is not at all complicated, but quite effective. You need to mentally feel like a different person. Try to determine what he thinks about, what feelings he experiences, what is his main pain today. The method of empathy is good because it allows you to develop personally, to form in yourself a sincere ability to empathize. True self-disclosure is only possible when we are fully focused on helping the other person. Selfless dedication increases the likelihood that the people around us will trust us implicitly as well. The method of empathic penetration into the soul of another person contributes to the development of the best qualities of character.

Empathy levels

Leading experts in the field of psychology distinguish three main levels of empathy. All these levels of empathy are interconnected and can move from one to another.

A low level of empathy is characterized by an undeveloped sense of empathy. Such a person is more selfish, able to care only about satisfying his daily needs. A low level of empathy does not mean that a person will forever remain concentrated only on his own considerations. It only signals the present moment - that a person is not able to provide real support, to be an attentive and useful listener. In this case, the person worries, first of all, only about satisfying his own needs.

Most people have an average level of empathy. The average level is expressed in the fact that a person is ready at the right time to show sympathy for the person who needs it, but at the same time does not seek to be completely imbued with his condition. We are all mentally capable of pitying the person who failed. However, not everyone is ready to really take a serious part in the fate of a stranger. Even if the person is familiar to us, this does not mean that you would rather put aside all your urgent business and immerse yourself in solving someone's problem.

A high level of empathy is manifested in the fact that a person tries to be as useful as possible to those who are nearby. People do not always appreciate the care of relatives, but just acquaintances. Sometimes it happens that others begin to manipulate the feelings of those who treat them with great attention and support. A high level of empathy always indicates that a person is ready to take care, to express their feelings. He will never remain indifferent to those around him. Developed empathy is always manifested in the fact that a person acquires integrity, becomes more open and sociable.

The empathy method is quite common at the present time. There are types of empathy that allow you to get a complete picture of what is happening. All types of empathy are closely related.

emotional empathy

This type of empathy is an emotional connection to the feelings of the opponent. The empathetic person often finds that he soon ceases to share his own feelings and the emotions of the person with whom he is talking. Such the whole picture deep understanding by one person of another. The method of empathic listening itself implies that a person is completely immersed in the thoughts and feelings of his opponent, begins to perceive them as his own. The problem with this approach is often solved as if by itself. This happens for the reason that the opponent begins to feel that genuine participation and attentive attitude are being shown to him.

cognitive empathy

This type of empathy consists in the ability to analyze the feelings and actions of the opponent. That is, the listener not only emotionally participates in the conversation, but also seeks to analyze what events led him to certain results. This method of empathic listening is aimed at revealing the inner resources and capabilities of the individual. Cognitive empathy suggests that the helping party must first understand the negative attitudes of the person, which led him to an upset state. The activity of the psychologist and psychotherapist is entirely based on this method.

Predicative empathy

This type of empathy assumes that a person eventually gains the ability to anticipate the feelings and moods of his opponent. In this case, there is a complete immersion in the experiences of another person. The helping party should strive as much as possible to be able to predict the further course of events, to alleviate the state of mind of someone who currently needs help. The method of empathy cannot be carried out without deep support from the outside.

How to develop empathy?

Many people who want to give support to others are wondering: how to develop empathy in yourself? This is not as easy to do as it might seem at first glance. After all, you need to learn to understand the feelings and moods of your opponent, really empathize with him, ostentatious sympathy will not lead to anything good. The following methods help bring empathy to a high level.

Listening skills

You must, first of all, learn to listen and hear your opponent. Do not try to talk too much, give him the opportunity to speak out more often, to express himself. The indicated point of view already facilitates the task, adds to the person's self-confidence. The ability to listen is perhaps the most important quality that a person with highly developed empathy should possess. If you really learn to listen to your interlocutor without interrupting, you can reach unprecedented heights in helping other people later. Deep listening involves a complete rejection of criticism, all kinds of negative judgments and attitudes. You just have to immerse yourself in the world that your opponent reveals to you and forget about what is happening around you for a while.

People watching

Such a step will give you the opportunity to draw appropriate conclusions in time. Be flexible, study the different characters of people, look at them from the side. Observation allows you to learn a lot, including an objective assessment of your own actions. You will learn under what circumstances a person tends to be most nervous and anxious. You will be able to observe the primary reactions of the individual, which are usually hidden from prying eyes. People watching is a really valuable tool that sets you up for the right, efficient work.

Conversation with strangers

Reading books

Study of fiction sure to be beneficial. First, reading helps broaden one's horizons. You will learn much more than you knew before today. Read specialized literature personal growth and self-improvement. This is the only way to reach a high level of understanding of other people. Applying the described techniques in life, the chances of becoming really useful to others increase significantly. You will learn to see the situation from the inside, from different angles. Secondly, carefully analyze what you read. You need to strive to draw appropriate conclusions from the books. When a similar situation occurs in life, you will no longer think for a long time, but boldly begin to take active steps.

Analysis of your feelings

It is necessary in order to learn to better understand the opponent. All people in equal conditions experience roughly the same emotions. They either agree with what is happening, or with all their souls they resist accepting the situation. Analyzing your own feelings will help you understand what a person experiences when certain events happen to him. In most cases, you can rely on your own feelings and make assumptions based on them.

Thus, empathy is a special form of human interaction with others, in which feelings are accepted and a deep analysis of past events takes place. Empathic listening is a sacred gift, but it can be cultivated through special exercises.

What is Empathy

Empathy is the ability of one person to focus on the emotional state of another person, and to share or feel their experiences as if they were their own.

What is empathy - definition in simple words. Meaning of the word.

In simple words, empathy is the ability of a person to understand what state or situation another person is in. You can also say that empathy is the ability to put yourself in the place of another person, so to speak, “to be in his shoes”, and really, imbued with his problems and experiences.

Speaking of empathy, first of all, it should be noted that this is a rather complicated, but very important ability. They especially ate to take into account the fact that a person is a highly social being. Empathy is at the heart of any healthy relationship. Thanks to this ability, a person has the opportunity to understand how various external factors affect people's emotional state. In turn, this helps to right decisions and take the best actions in relation to loved ones. And that's what makes a man good friend, colleague, husband or wife, etc.

If we approach this ability purely from a practical point of view, then we can list several aspects that it has a beneficial effect on:

• Empathy expands the perception of the world;
• Increases the level of satisfaction and intimacy from love relationships;
• Strengthens relationships with loved ones;
• Reduces the level of aggression towards people;
• Promotes peaceful resolution of conflicts;
• Helps fight prejudices such as:, and so on;
• Promotes the emergence of heroic deeds and the development of altruism;
• Balances social inequality between different classes society;
• Contributes to the creation of a healthy atmosphere in the working environment;
• Empathy in the medical field contributes to improved emotional health among patients.

It should be noted that in addition to positive aspects, a high level of empathic response can negatively affect a person as an empath. The fact is that too high sensitivity makes him very vulnerable in an emotional state. Such a person is easy enough to offend, and he is not a strong competitor in an aggressive survival environment.

Empathy level.

From the point of view of modern psychology, almost all people have the ability to empathize, to a greater or lesser extent. Conventionally, this degree of emotional sympathy can be divided into 5 levels:

1. Low level of empathy. In this case, a person has practically no ability to empathize with other people.
2. Moderately low level of empathy. A person is able to pay attention to other people's problems, but not delve into them.
3. Average or normal level of empathy. A person is able to enter into the position of another, think rationally and draw appropriate conclusions.
4. Moderately conditional level of empathy. A person is able not only to delve into the problem of another, but also to understand what feelings underlie his experiences.
5. High level of empathy. A person is able to almost exactly reflect the emotional state of another person.

Development of Empathy.

To develop empathic abilities in yourself, there are quite a lot of different practices, but we will give some effective tips that will allow you to slightly improve this skill.

Tip #1 When talking with another person, try to focus your attention on the interlocutor, on his behavior, mood and his expressions. Pay special attention to body language and make eye contact. Listen to him very carefully and delve into every word without being sprayed on preparing an answer.

Tip #2 Let the interlocutor be really heard.

Tip #3 Physically, mirror the other person in your own body language. In fact, this is quite simple, since we constantly do this unconsciously in relation to those people that we like.

Empathy is a conscious empathy for another person in his emotional state. Therefore, an empath is a person who has developed the ability to empathize. The development of empathy occupies a significant place in the development of emotional intelligence. It helps to understand the emotional state of a person, while focusing on gestures and facial expressions.

With the help of empathy, empathy makes it possible to understand the emotions of the interlocutor. It is desirable for her to own those people who use communication in their work. For example, these are educators, psychologists, teachers, managers, doctors. Scientists note that the stage of development of emotional empathy ends in childhood. For conscious empathy, fear is fatal.

Empaths do not feel comfortable in a conflict situation, they do not tend to compete, as well as defending their interests, more often they step aside. Empaths cannot easily get rid of fear, because they are very patient and look for their own ways to correct this condition. In the absence of the ability to cope with fear, he is able to accompany a person all his life, which will provoke further panic attacks.

Empathy and sympathy are interconnected. We are drawn to people who understand us well, and repel those who are not able to understand us. Each person purposefully wants to see those people around him who will understand and accept him as he is.

Development of empathy

There are several levels of empathy and learning to develop conscious empathy is possible, but very difficult for those who have not mastered it before. It is impossible to turn the world upside down and change in an instant, starting to feel everything. This requires enough time to change beliefs and master conscious empathy.

The feeling of empathy does not refer to simple feelings and experiences. This is a complete understanding, as well as awareness of sensations, as it were, happening to you. Features of emotional empathy lie in the feeling of the subtle world of a completely alien life.

The development of empathy includes several levels. The first level is marked by the ability to highlight emotional gestures, notes. The tone of voice can tell you what state a person is in and how they feel. This level shows the ability to accurately focus attention on the emotional state of a person.

Understanding empathy involves shifting the sensory world of sensations onto oneself. This is hard to learn. To do this, it is necessary to study facial expressions, body movement, voice timbre. Start practicing on acquaintances, friends, the first people you meet. Notice any little things: a hair on a jacket, slovenliness, makeup on the face, hair. It can tell a lot about a person. Master this skill.

The second level of training includes the possession of certain skills. This level is more difficult, it is important for trainees to transfer to themselves the habits, sensations, body movements, the timbre of the voice of the object that you need to feel. For easier introduction into the image, a strong emotional reaction is necessary. It is important to carefully observe the person, to imagine that you are him. Having merged with him completely, you can predict in advance how he will act. You will be able to live his life without thinking or judging what is wrong. You will become one with him and will experience the same emotions as he: love, pain, disappointment. This is difficult to learn, but possible. An empath over time perceives the other person's feelings as their own. But these feelings are different.

The third level of training allows you to become a real empath. Empaths are able not only to feel other people's experiences, they know how to manage this state. The first possibility is the ability to bring oneself out of a negative state quickly. The second comes down to the ability to get the interlocutor out of the negative state. An empath is able to influence emotions.

The development of empathy makes it possible to communicate with people with ease and understanding. There are pros and cons to developing empathy. On the one hand, a person begins to understand people, and on the other hand, he turns into a more sensitive one, who is difficult to resist in conflict situations interlocutor.

Empathy level

Being a diverse concept, empathy has many levels within itself.

The first level of empathy is the lowest. People belonging to this level are focused on themselves, they are indifferent to the thoughts and feelings of other people. They rarely understand others and have difficulty establishing contacts, they feel uncomfortable in a large unfamiliar company. The emotional manifestations of such people seem incomprehensible, as well as meaningless. With low levels of empathy, people prefer solitary pursuits, bypassing teamwork. Representatives of a low level of empathy are supporters of precise formulations, as well as rational decisions. Such people have few friends, and those that do have a clear mind and business qualities rather than sensitivity and responsiveness. People answer such people the same. Such people feel alienated because others do not indulge them with their attention. With a very low level of emotional empathy, a person finds it difficult to speak first, keeps apart from colleagues. Often it is very difficult for him to contact children, as well as older people. In interpersonal relationships, an empath often finds himself in an awkward position, often does not find mutual understanding with others, loves thrills, art. Painfully endures criticism, but is able not to react to it.

The second level of empathy is the most common. Most people are indifferent to the thoughts and feelings of others, and only rarely show empathy. This level is typical for most people. The surrounding people do not call them thick-skinned, however, they are not particularly sensitive either. Such people are not alien to the manifestation of emotions, but in most cases they keep everything under control. In communication, they are often attentive, trying to understand a lot, but sometimes they lose patience. More often they prefer to keep silent delicately, because they are not sure that they will be understood. When reading fiction, as well as watching films, they are interested in the actions, and not the experiences of the characters. Such people are not characterized by looseness of feelings, which interferes with the full perception of people.

The third level of empathy is the highest. There are very few people with this level of empathy. These people tend to understand other people better than themselves. They make true loyal friends. Such people are sensitive to the problems and needs of others, very generous, able to forgive a lot. Always interested in people. Such people are emotionally responsive, quickly establish contact, and are very sociable. Colleagues and others appreciate such sincerity. People with the third level of empathy do not allow conflicts and always find compromise solutions, endure criticism with dignity. When evaluating a situation, they trust their feelings and intuition more. They prefer to work with a team rather than alone. Level 3 people always desire social approval for their actions. However, such people are not always accurate when performing precise as well as painstaking work. They are easy enough to lead out of balance.

Types of empathy

Empaths are classified into the following types: non-empaths, weak empaths, functional empaths, professional empaths.

Non-empaths have completely shut down their sensory abilities. Perhaps the manifestation of empathy has atrophied, since they never used this ability. The feeling of empathy is unfamiliar to such people, and they do not even try to recognize it. They are unable to recognize non-verbal and verbal cues.

Weak empaths are in a state of constant stress, experiencing the severity of the world, other people's problems, fears due to emotional overload. Often, weak empaths are physically exhausted quickly, experiencing headaches.

Functional empaths are the most developed, they easily adapt to emotions, control them without letting them through. This is a rare skill. Externally, functional empaths do not stand out from ordinary people.

Professional empaths can easily recognize any emotions, even the most complex, hidden in the depths of the soul. Professional empaths are good at managing other people's emotions. There are very few such people. They have the ability to relieve pain, cheer up.

Empathy Diagnostics

Empathy diagnostics helps to determine which qualities of an empath a person predominates. This test is important in the selection of personnel whose professional activity associated with people. To study empathy, you can use the "Emotional Response Scale" technique. The test was developed by professor of psychology A. Megrabyan.

The method "Scale of emotional response" makes it possible to analyze the general features of empathy in the tested person. For example, the ability to empathize with another person.

empathy in children

Through empathy, children gain experience in learning about themselves and the people around them. The child gradually accumulates sensory experience.

Empathy in children directly depends on the formation of empathy in parents. If parents have well-formed the above feelings, then their children will have a normal manifestation of empathy. It develops well in the child who received love and warmth from his parents. In children, thanks to their parents, altruism can be well developed, because the formation of altruism originates in the family.

Compassion, sympathy is not only the spiritual development of a child, but also a method of studying relationships between people. Relying on these feelings, children look at the people around them and try to find their own experiences in them. Thus, the education of empathy lies entirely on the shoulders of the parents.

empathy in adolescents

The development of a person from the moment of birth is greatly influenced by parents and family. The family is an important component in the development of human life. Communication between children and parents plays a huge role in the development of empathy. A teenager cannot independently learn to empathize due to lack of experience. He is still unfamiliar with the feeling of pain. The development of empathy in adolescents is manifested in the lives of those children who could be given love, care, attention, and warmth in the family.

Empathy in adolescents is possible when parents understand the feelings and emotions of their children. Violation of contact with parents injures the psyche of a teenager, negatively manifests itself in his development. To have emotional empathy means to perceive the world of another person, his pain and happiness. The family, which is based on trusting feelings, is aimed at the harmonious development of the personality of adolescents. Therefore, it is worth considering that family relations should always remain friendly.