Empathy vs Sympathy

Empathy vs Sympathy

My favorite line from Brené’s TED talk?

“Rarely can a response make something better, what makes something better is connection.”

What is the difference between Empathy and Sympathy?

First, we need to know that Empathy and sympathy are two related but distinct concepts.

Empathy:

It simply means " The ability to sense other people's emotions with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling"

Having empathy doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll want to help someone in need, though it’s often a vital first step toward compassionate action.

Empathy is also defined as one of the most interpersonal skills one can have as it helps you connect with people easily. Empathy is the ability to understand and feel what someone else is feeling, as his feeling touches something inside of you.

Sympathy:

It means recognizing and understanding other people's feeling but not necessarily feeling the same. It's about a feeling of sorrow or pity for someone else's misfortune, but not deeply sharing the same feeling of a person.

To Summarize:

Empathy refers to the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. It involves putting oneself in someone else's shoes, imagining what they might be feeling, and having a deep understanding of their emotional state. Empathy requires a level of emotional intelligence and the ability to see things from someone else's perspective.

Sympathy, on the other hand, refers to feelings of compassion and concern for someone who is experiencing difficulties or hardship. Sympathy is often expressed through comforting words or gestures and may involve feelings of pity or sorrow for the person's situation. Unlike empathy, sympathy does not necessarily require an understanding of the other person's feelings, but rather a general feeling of compassion for their situation.

So, empathy is about understanding the emotions of others, while sympathy is about feeling compassion for them.

References:

Empathy Definition | What Is Empathy. (2021). Retrieved from https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/empathy/definition