The relationship between empathy and compassion has received a lot of attention recently as it has become clear that they are related but not the same.\u00a0 Empathy is the ability to understand another person\u2019s experience and to pay attention and respond to his or her emotions.\u00a0 Empathy is necessary for optimal interpersonal relationships as it allows us to feel connected to others. A key component of empathy is self-awareness. \u00a0An empathic response involves a partial identification of the observer with the other. \u00a0When we sit with someone who is experiencing a difficulty we can notice our own emotional responses, and by paying attention to them respond appropriately and authentically.\u00a0 Even though we may have never been through exactly the same situation or faced the identical challenge, being open to our own experience allows us to \u201ctouch in\u201d to our own emotions, knowing that what arises in us is likely related to what is arising in the person we are with. Knowing this can allow us to respond in ways that increase our connectedness and improve our relationships.<\/p>\n
However, when dealing with others who are experiencing difficult emotions or suffering, since we feel some of the same emotions, over time this can lead to feeling overwhelmed ourselves and result in what has been called \u201cempathic distress\u201d.\u00a0 Thus, when faced with strong or repeated negative emotions in others, especially if they are close to us, we may find we close off these emotional connections because they are too painful and experience a loss of empathy.\u00a0 This is one aspect of professional burnout that is often referred to as depersonalization.<\/p>\n
Compassion is somewhat different than empathy, and involves bringing kind attention and understanding to the suffering of another along with the desire to alleviate it.\u00a0 Mindfulness, non-judgmental present moment awareness, can be central to the development and maintenance of compassionate relationships by allowing us to be more aware of the sources of suffering and our potential responses to it.\u00a0 We can feel overwhelmed by the number of emotions that can arise in dealing with others who are suffering, especially if we feel that we have to fix what is causing their difficulties.\u00a0 Often we can\u2019t fix it, such as when someone has experienced a great loss.\u00a0 However, we can still be present, recognizing the emotions, acknowledging them along with our desire to help in a skillful way.\u00a0 And being present may be enough.\u00a0 Mindful awareness can help us recognize when the urge to fix others and make painful emotions go away arises, and perhaps to let the urge go, focusing instead on what is within our sphere of influence, our own intentions and responses.<\/p>\n
Compassion has been described as feeling for<\/strong> another person, while empathy is feeling with<\/strong> them.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Empathy for someone who is suffering, especially if we are not paying attention to the where the suffering is arising, can result in self-related emotions and negative feelings that can lead to empathic distress and withdrawal.\u00a0 On the other hand, compassion is often associated with other-related emotions and positive feelings, and leads to a desire to approach another and not withdraw. \u00a0(for more about this, see Singer and Klimecki, Current Biology 201;24:pR875-R878)<\/p>\n