High degree of empathy. What is empathy or the ability to empathize with another person and how to develop it? Types and levels of empathy

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. Most people believe that empathy is human capacity for empathy, but, in fact, everything is not so simple. And how can you understand who is more prone to this feeling: you or, for example, your friend?

And does empathy always carry only positive traits or it may also lead to negative consequences in a relationship? If you find it difficult to accurately answer these questions, then let's study this topic in a little more detail.

Empathy - what is it?

The appearance of this term in psychology is the merit of the American psychologist Edward Titchener, who first introduced this concept into use. If we try to literally translate this word, we get “ feel" If we talk in simple words, then this is a “response”.

That is, empathy is a person's response to the feelings and state of another. An empath clearly sees and understands what exactly is happening to the interlocutor in this moment(V emotionally). At the same time, he compares his own actions, thoughts and emotions with the state of this person.

This state is activated in a person when someone nearby is experiencing negative emotions: the person has tears, he will experience fear, sadness, melancholy, aggression. An empath senses when another person is needed, and like most people, feels the desire to understand and help whenever possible.

When people jump for joy, this does not attract the attention of the empath, since this feeling is more understandable and does not cause the need for a life preserver (which he considers himself to be).

Showing empathy is possible not only in real world. For example, when we read a book or watch a film, we willy-nilly try to enter the role of the main character, to be in his place (we empathize with him) - this is also a manifestation of this feeling inherent in us by nature.

There are people who are more prone to "emotional response" due to innate abilities or their diligent development. They are called empaths.

Such individuals who are sensitive to other people often choose pedagogy as their path, lead clubs, work as educators or psychologists, since in these areas of activity it is very important to be able to subtly sense the state of other people. Melancholic people most closely correspond to these characteristics.

Where does it come from?

Neuroscientists blame empathy mirror neurons. These are nerve cells that interpret information received from the world around us.

For example, if there is a person standing opposite us who is sad, then the visual and auditory analyzers receive the appropriate information about this and transmit it to these neurons. Mirror neurons make their owner feel the same, but to a lesser extent.

It is the mirror cells in monkeys that force their relatives to repeat the same actions one after another (monkeying). For the same reason, we like to watch programs about luxurious life (flip through magazines about the “hard life” of celebrities).

This simply makes it possible to feel at least a moment’s joy in life, as if we were in the place of a celebrity (a given celebrity).

It is noteworthy that the development of empathy starts from birth when the baby perceives the world only on an emotional level. If his mother smiles at him, he will unconsciously smile back at her (acting like an ape).

When parents explain to an older child that they are now sad or happy for such and such a reason, this also helps the child understand how feelings work and how they can be “read” by faces, movements, words, and facial expressions.

Autism is an extremely low level of empathy in a person

By the way, one of the reasons is a violation in the structure or number of mirror neurons. Therefore, autists (people with almost zero level empathy) it's very difficult to understand how people around you feel and how to interact with them.

As a result of this, the child finds it difficult to communicate with peers in the yard, at school, or with a salesperson in a store.

Therefore, from a very early age, such children need to be given Special attention in respect of emotional development. They need to be told what is happening inside other people in terms of emotions and how it can all be “read” (by facial expressions, by gestures, by gaze).

It is also necessary to constantly ask the child how he feels; describe how it usually manifests itself externally on other people so that he can compare and contrast. Analyzing the main characters of books and films also has a beneficial effect on accelerating the path from autistic to empath.

Active listening is something that can also help develop “emotional sensitivity.” The point is that the listener asks clarifying questions to the person who is telling something. Thus, he learns more about the interlocutor, and he, in turn, opens up more. You can also switch places with your children in this “word game.”

Types of empathy

Depending on how deeply a person has learned to understand the feelings of other people, 3 types of “insight skills” can be distinguished:

Empathy = sympathy?

Very often people use the word “empathy” as an inappropriate synonym – “sympathy”. But these are different concepts (although sometimes overlapping) and they carry within themselves different reasons and motivation.

For example, an altruist or philanthropist feels a desire to help another. They want everything to work out for him, everything to be fine, and they will try together with him (or instead of him) to solve his problems and cheer him up. This is a sincere show of caring. They are just that way by nature and help everyone.

Or pity. For a moment, you suddenly feel sorry for the unfamiliar beggars in the passage who are trying to collect money for food. They tossed a couple of coins and moved on. You didn’t immerse yourself in their “ inner world”, did not “penetrate the soul” and did not feel the whole bouquet of emotions overwhelming them.

Empathy is not sympathy or regret, but a gift given from above or developed independently. immerse yourself in the state of another, understand his emotions.

At the same time, the empath may not have the desire to help and show care at all. It all depends on the person. For example, we all “see” a beggar, but not everyone will hand him a coin. As you can see, these are completely different concepts.

Example. did you see full man and realized that he urgently needed to lose weight, otherwise he might soon have problems. But you won’t run to him with this and lead him by the hand to a nutritionist. You may simply not care what happens to him (he may also be a sensitive empath).

Empathy is the ability (ability) to feel the state of other people, but it does not at all mean that this will lead to some actions aimed at the benefit of the person in whose shoes you have climbed. Maybe even the opposite. , for example, they use their understanding of people exclusively for their own selfish purposes.

It is simply the ability to lift the veil over the feelings of other people, to understand their emotional state. Whether you sympathize with them or not depends on the individual.

Negative side

It would seem, what could be negative about understanding and feeling other people? It's like a third eye! But psychologists say that it is empaths who often turn to them for help, since they tend to often delve into and immerse themselves in the feelings of others, and this creates a strong emotional burden.

In addition, the very conscientious of them believe that they are responsible for the condition of those around them, since they are able to understand them well (unlike others). It would be nice if this only manifested itself in relation to loved ones, but they often try to help people they don’t know at all, which takes a lot of their energy and time.

In addition, many empaths therefore focus more on the problems of other people and forget about their personal experiences. As a result, they remain unheard and cannot turn to others for help. They are left with someone else’s and their own negativity inside. They neglect themselves.

Also appear problems at work, if empaths occupy some kind of leadership position. It is difficult for them to give harsh instructions or negative assessments of the work of subordinates, because they know how negatively it is perceived by them (in fact, they will flog themselves in this way). Therefore, such bosses can make concessions, knowing the specifics of a particular person.

Empathic thinking forces you to pay a lot of attention to the context (emotional background) of the conversation, and not just its essence. Such people always try to understand (get to the bottom of) what a person really wanted to say or do. This develops a trait of suspicion and leads to waste. large quantity time to think about unimportant details.

To sympathetic empaths It is extremely difficult to watch the news on TV and on the Internet, because they pass everything through themselves and take it to heart. The same can be said about relationships: friendly and loving. They are too sympathetic, and not every heart can withstand universal sadness.

How not to “burn out” in empathy?

In order not to let empathy ruin your life, you should be aware of YOUR goals, values, feelings, thoughts, motives. So that when communicating with another person don't dissolve in it and remember your own importance.

When a tragic situation occurs that cannot be changed, you need to try to distance yourself from it for a while in order to realize what is happening, comprehend it and not be under the constant pressure of current reality.

If, as a result of immersion in another person, compassion awakens in you, you need to set adequate goals for helping the person and take on only an adequate measure of responsibility. For example, not to give away your last money, but simply to help a person find a job.

It is not empathy itself (response to the feelings of other people) that causes problems, but the inability to use it correctly and regulate it. The main thing is to learn take part in other people's problems without harming yourself and then it will be easier to establish both warm friendships with loved ones and working relationships with colleagues.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

You can watch more videos by going to

You might be interested

Frustration - how to find a way out of hopelessness? What are egoism and egocentrism - what is the difference between them A social phobe is a person who loves solitude or a sick person suffering from social phobia
Altruism - what is it and is it profitable to be an altruist?

– a relatively new concept in psychological science, which is characterized by significant features that allow us to assert its existence. What is empathy? Empathy is understood, first of all, as a feeling of internal sympathy for another person who at a given moment in time needs consolation. When we perceive our opponent's feelings as our own, we can truly 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, you will find this article interesting. Remember that indifference destroys any relationship. If you only care about satisfaction own interests

, then there can be no talk of any empathy.. This is quite easy to do at first glance. It is enough to simply begin to imagine what is expensive and significant for a particular individual, and try to understand him. The method itself is not at all complicated to implement, but quite effective. You need to mentally feel like a different person. Try to determine what he is thinking about, what feelings he is experiencing, what his main pain is today. The good thing about the empathy method is that it allows you to develop personally and develop a sincere ability to empathize. True self-discovery is only possible when we are completely focused on helping the other person. Selfless dedication increases the likelihood that people around us will trust us just as unconditionally. The method of empathic penetration into the soul of another person contributes to the development best qualities

character.

Levels of empathy

Leading experts in the field of psychology identify three main levels of empathy. All these levels of empathy are interconnected and can transform one into another. A low level of empathy is characterized by an undeveloped sense of empathy.

Such a person is more selfish, capable of caring only about satisfying his daily needs. A low level of empathy does not mean that a person will forever remain focused 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 helpful listener. In this case, the person is concerned, 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 the person is ready to right moment show sympathy for the person who needs it, but at the same time does not strive to be completely imbued with his condition. We are all mentally capable of feeling sorry for the person with whom failure happened. However, not everyone is ready to really take a serious part in fate

stranger . Even if the person is familiar to us, this does not mean that you would prefer to put aside all your urgent matters and immerse yourself in solving someone else's problem. who is nearby.

People cannot always appreciate the care of loved ones or 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 show care and express his feelings. He will never remain indifferent to those around him. Developed empathy always manifests itself in the fact that a person gains integrity and becomes more open and sociable.

The empathy method is quite common nowadays. There are types of empathy that allow you to create a holistic picture of what is happening. All types of empathy are closely related.

Emotional empathy This type of empathy involves connecting emotionally to your opponent's feelings. An empathetic person often finds that he soon ceases to share his own feelings and emotions of the person with whom he is talking. Such a complete picture

deep understanding by one person of another. The method of empathic listening itself assumes that a person is completely immersed in the thoughts and feelings of his opponent and begins to perceive them as his own. With this approach, the problem often resolves itself as if by itself. This happens because the opponent begins to feel that they are showing genuine concern and attentive attitude towards him.

Cognitive empathy This type of empathy consists in the ability to analyze the feelings and actions of an 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 internal resources

and personal capabilities. Cognitive empathy suggests that the helping party must first understand the negative attitudes of the person that led him to an upset state. The activities of psychologists and psychotherapists are entirely based on this method.

Predicative empathy This type of empathy assumes that a person over time gains the ability to predict the feelings and moods of his opponent. This happens

full immersion

Many people who want to provide support to others wonder: 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, to really empathize with him; ostentatious sympathy will not lead to anything good. The following methods help to bring empathy to high level.

Listening skills

You must, first of all, learn to listen and hear your opponent. Don’t try to talk too much, give him the opportunity to speak out and express himself more often. The indicated point of view already makes the task easier and adds confidence to the person in his abilities. The ability to listen is perhaps the most important quality that a person with highly developed empathy should have. If you truly learn to listen to your interlocutor without interrupting, you will be able to achieve unprecedented heights in helping other people later. Deep listening involves a complete rejection of criticism, all kinds of negative judgments and attitudes. You should simply immerse yourself in the world that your opponent reveals to you and forget about what is happening around you for a while.

People watching

This step will give you the opportunity to draw appropriate conclusions in a timely manner. Be flexible, study different personalities of people, look at them from the outside. Observation allows you to learn a lot, including objectively assessing your own actions. You will learn under what circumstances a person is most likely to be nervous and anxious. You will be able to observe the primary reactions of the individual, which are usually hidden from prying eyes. Observing people is a truly valuable tool that sets you up for proper, effective work.

Conversation with strangers

Reading books

Studying fiction definitely brings benefits. Firstly, reading helps broaden your horizons. You will learn a lot more than you knew before today. Study specialized literature on personal growth and self-improvement. This is the only way to reach a high level of understanding of other people. By applying the described methods in life, the chances of becoming truly useful to others increase significantly. You will learn to see the situation from the inside, underneath different angles. Secondly, carefully analyze what you read. You should strive to draw appropriate conclusions from books. When you encounter a similar situation in life, you will no longer think for a long time, but will boldly begin to take active steps.

Analyzing your feelings

It is necessary in order to learn to better understand your opponent. All people, being in equal conditions, experience approximately the same emotions. They either agree with what is happening, or with all the strength of 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. You can mostly 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 occurs.

Empathic listening is a sacred gift, but it can be cultivated through special exercises. Empathy

- a rare ability that consists in an unusually subtle comprehension of the feelings and emotions of another person, usually the interlocutor. Also, this concept includes many additional aspects: the ability to put oneself in someone else’s place, the tendency to empathize, and the ability to feel someone else’s mood. It's probably mostly a personality trait. human character

rather than a psychological characteristic. Psychological works and treatises on this topic have been written for decades. In development this issue

Almost all eminent psychologists and psychotherapists took part, including the well-known Sigmund Freud. He argued that having empathy includes not only a subjective understanding of someone else's world, but also the ability to feel all emotions (both positive and negative) from the point of view of another person.

Level of empathy.

Empathic abilities are rarely innate. Most often, individuals acquire them with ever-increasing experience. Most often, empathy evokes several responses at once. A person who has this gift can simultaneously sympathize, empathize and experience irresistible sympathy for the individual with whom he now has an emotional connection. Levels of empathy - enough relative concept . However, the Internet is replete with tests offering to find out the presence of this characteristic online. Most often, website creators suggest determining at what level emotional intelligence

• you are and empaths are divided into 5 groups:
• the second group is aware of what they are capable of, but does not fully understand their capabilities and the nature of this skill;
• the third group quite clearly uses their abilities, tuning in to any person whose inner world is of interest.
• the fourth group knows how to control all possible emotions and gradually learns to control their “victims” in this way;
• and the fifth group mastered empathic abilities to the fullest, learning not only to share their feelings with the emotions of other people, but also gaining control over other individuals.

At the moment, empathy is divided into several types:

1. Emotional (it is based on imitation of the motor reactions of another person).
2. Cognitive (based on intellectual processes).
3. Predicative (manifests itself as the ability to predict the reactions of another).

More-less empathy is subject to each of us, to say the least: necessary. It is needed by people whose professions are directly related to communication: psychologists, executives, managers and many others.

Developing empathy.

Quite a few people are willing to give a lot in order to develop empathic abilities. Experts say that this is quite possible and recommend a number of game exercises:

1. Active listening. Learn (or teach) to listen to your interlocutor and ask questions that would help him more fully reveal the topic being put forward. Also, a useful skill will be the ability to share your impressions of what you heard (for example: “It was very painful for me to hear your story”).
2. Exercise "Shelter". To perform it, you need to sit in a chair, relax as much as possible (close your eyes and take a comfortable position) and imagine your ideal refuge. Its forms can vary dramatically. For some, this is the house in which he was born and raised, and for others, a hut in the forest where no one will find him. Such fantasies will significantly relieve emotional stress and allow you to “shed” excess burden.
3. Pronunciation. The ability to praise others is an important component of all trainings. You need to start with at least a few flattering compliments a day, because soon enough it will become a habit, and you will begin to find real reasons to be proud of your surroundings.
4. Analysis of your behavior. Some consider this a meaningless reflection, while others consider it a productive analysis of completed actions. To do this, you can keep a diary or simply set aside a few minutes every day to straight Talk With myself.

It is worth considering that the older a person is, the more difficult it is for him to develop empathy, since the lived experience does not always allow one to objectively evaluate others.

Also, remember that the acquired ability to empathize can easily be destroyed by fear alone. It is reliably known that empaths They try to avoid conflict situations, protecting themselves and others from quarrels and disputes. However, if this fails, sensitive people begin to suffer from panic attacks and look for ways to correct their thinking, which fundamentally destroys all their abilities.

How to empathize with people without destroying yourself? Is it actually possible to learn compassion? Tatyana Karyagina - candidate of psychological sciences, senior Researcher Laboratory of Consultative Psychology and Psychotherapy of the Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education, tells everything about empathy - about its light and dark sides.

Tatiana Karyagina

Tatiana Karyagina,Candidate of Psychological Sciences, Senior Researcher at the Laboratory of Consultative Psychology and Psychotherapy of the Psychological Institute Russian Academy education, member of the Association for Understanding Psychotherapy.

What is empathy

The word “empathy” is a little over a hundred years old - the American psychologist, one of the leaders of psychology of that time, Edward Titchener, specially constructed it by analogy with “sympathy” in order to translate it into English german word Einfühlung (literally “feeling” in Russian). So what is empathy? Empathy is our response to the state and feelings of another person. This response includes both an understanding of what is happening to him and our responsive feelings, thoughts and actions. Empathy is most easily triggered when we observe another person experiencing strong emotions. But this is by no means the only mechanism for its occurrence. For example, when we empathize with the characters of a book or documentary film, we also show empathy - this is our experience, albeit in a fictional world literary hero. We can also empathize not only with a person who is already experiencing a strong feeling, but also with someone who shares their thoughts or problems with us - in such situations we try to understand the speaker’s position, his motives and difficulties.

Most often, we talk about empathy specifically in relation to the person experiencing negative emotions and state - this feeling largely explains our desire to help him. Nevertheless, the ability to share his joy, inspiration and happiness with a loved one is also very important. This is necessary to establish true intimacy. In order to be truly close, to be together.

Empathy is an attempt to put yourself in another person's shoes, an attempt to understand what it is like to be in their state and in their subjective world.

The word “empath” periodically appears on social networks as a designation for a person who experiences empathy, but I don’t like such a label. The fact is that an “empath,” just like a “telepath” or a “psychopath,” hints at the peculiarity and exclusivity of a person, while empathy, on the contrary, is a general human ability which everyone has. But like any ability, different people it is developed differently: some have more, some have less; Some people get used to the state of another person better, while others almost “automatically” sympathize and care about the feelings of others, without trying to delve into the details.

In some situations, involuntary sympathy is quite enough, but in others, on the contrary, you need to undertake a whole empathic “research” - using your imagination, your own knowledge and memories for this.

Now, for example, they write a lot about the fact that with psychopathy people lack empathy. But it is not so. According to recent neuropsychological research, indeed, the functioning of the parts of the brain responsible for the ability to involuntary empathy is impaired in such diseases, but if patients are given instructions on conscious empathy, they will be quite capable of it - however, due to other, intact mechanisms. But apparently, due to congenital problems with involuntary empathy, from childhood, in principle, they do not develop a tendency towards it.

Is it possible to learn empathy?

Like any human ability, empathy has an innate biological basis. Quite a lot of data has now been collected on how animals “worry” about their relatives and how they help them - empathy in in this case has a positive effect on the survival of the species. According to recent studies, in the course of evolution, a neurophysiological mechanism of empathy has developed - when observing a certain state in another person in our nervous system the same ones are activated neural networks, which are excited when we ourselves experience a similar state. Scientists talk about the mirror principle of the brain. The earliest empathic reaction is considered to be a baby's cry in response to the cry of another baby. Moreover, scientists have proven that it differs from crying caused by outside noise or a recording of one’s own crying. This is the most direct, immediate result of the action of mirror networks - the baby in a certain way senses the distress of another child, “expressed” by crying, and expresses empathy in the only way available to him.

So developing empathy is about “mastering” our natural ability. Biological empathy is aimed primarily at “our own people,” those who are similar to us, but in the course of life we ​​learn to empathize with those who are different from us and who are generally unpleasant to us. The immediate reaction is often referred to as “emotional contagion,” which can be difficult to cope with in some situations (for example, fans have difficulty coping with their emotions when their favorite team wins or loses). But human culture has developed norms and rules that help regulate empathy, and we learn to do this as we develop and learn.

Empathy can certainly be developed. For small child First of all, it is important to learn to recognize the feelings of others. That is why it is necessary to talk about feelings, and explain the behavior of people - both in life and in books and movies. However, it is even more important to give your child the opportunity to experience and express feelings such as sadness, grief and anger. Under no circumstances should they be suppressed, much less prohibited. After all, how then will a person learn to understand the misfortune of others and sympathize with him? It is important to help the child understand and safely express his feelings and at the same time teach him to take into account the states and needs of other people (skills help very well here active listening, described, for example, in the book by Yulia Borisovna Gippenreiter “Communicate with a child. How?").

Research shows that empathy is closely related—almost intertwined—with how a person deals with their feelings. The better we understand ourselves, the better we understand others and the more empathetic we are. And vice versa.

Another way to develop empathy is associated with what psychologists call the development of decentering - the ability to take another position or another point of view. Special children's programs are now being actively developed, which include exercises such as “retell the story from the perspective of another character” or “imagine what an old teapot would tell.” Such tasks are aimed not just at developing imagination, but at the ability to step into the shoes of another and see the world through his eyes.

How not to “burn out” from compassion

“Empathetic” problems of adults can most often be expressed by two questions:

• How to express your sympathy in difficult, critical situations for other people?
• How do you combat what is called compassion burnout?

Essentially, both of these issues are related to the regulation of empathy. We inevitably try to “filter” information, and our inability to empathize with everyone and the desire to avoid situations that we feel may become intolerable to us are completely natural. The important thing here is to stay in touch with your feelings, be aware of their meaning, understand your motives, and at the same time not lose the other or others out of sight. Let me give you the example of a volunteer who, after some time working in a department for terminally ill children, realized that he was “burning out.” Realizing this, he did not leave completely, but temporarily switched to organizing administrative and financial assistance

hospital, so that later he could return to direct work with children. In situations of disasters and mass tragedies, as well as in situations where our loved ones experience grief, we have many strong feelings of our own. Fear of death, anxiety about one's own health, panic. It is no coincidence that every culture has developed detailed rituals of farewell to the dead and expressions of condolences, allowing a person to cope with pain and calm internal chaos by shifting the focus to others. Now new, time-appropriate rituals are emerging - for example, changing your profile photo on social networks, laying flowers and lighting candles at the embassy of the country in which the tragedy occurred.. A similar approach - “together, but separately” - in relation to loved ones may sometimes seem inappropriate, even a betrayal, but this way we can be truly needed, and our help can be truly effective. Stepping aside a little, switching gears, but at the same time realizing why and why you are doing this can be a way out of a difficult situation.

Empathy is conscious empathy for another person in his or her emotional state. Therefore, an empath is a person who has a developed ability to empathize. The development of empathy plays a significant role in the development of emotional intelligence. It helps to understand a person’s emotional states, 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 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. Fear is destructive to conscious empathy.

Empaths do not feel comfortable in a conflict situation; they do not tend to compete or defend 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 of correction. of this state. In the absence of the ability to cope with fear, it can accompany a person throughout his life, which will provoke panic attacks in the future.

Empathy and sympathy are interconnected. We are drawn to people who understand us well, and push away those who are unable to understand us. Every person purposefully wants to see those people around him who will understand and accept him for who he is.

Developing 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 by starting to feel everything. This requires sufficient time to change beliefs and develop conscious empathy.

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

Developing empathy involves several levels. The first level is marked by the ability to highlight emotional gestures and notes. The tone of the voice can tell you what state a person is in and what he is feeling. This level shows the ability to accurately focus on a person’s emotional state.

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

The second level of training includes mastery of certain skills. This level is more difficult; it is important for students to transfer onto themselves the habits, sensations, body movements, and timbre of voice of the object that you need to feel. For easier integration into the image, a strong emotional reaction is required. It is important to carefully observe the person and imagine that you are him. Having merged with him completely, you can predict in advance what he will do. 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 him: love, pain, disappointment. This is difficult to learn, but possible. An empath eventually perceives the other person's feelings as their own. And these feelings are different.

The third level of training allows you to turn into a true empath. Empaths are able to not only feel other people's experiences, they know how to manage this state. The first possibility is the ability to quickly remove yourself from a negative state. The second comes down to the ability to bring your interlocutor out of a negative state. An empath has the ability to influence emotions.

Developing 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, but on the other hand, he turns into a more sensitive person who is difficult to resist in conflict situations to the 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 awkward in a large unfamiliar company. The emotional manifestations of such people seem incomprehensible and also devoid of meaning. With a low level of empathy, people prefer solitary activities, bypassing group work. Representatives low level empathy supporters of precise formulations, as well as rational decisions. Such people have few friends, and those they have are distinguished by their clear minds and business qualities rather than sensitivity and responsiveness. People respond to such people in kind. 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 be the first to speak and keeps himself apart among colleagues. Often it is very difficult for him to have contact with 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, and is very fond of thrills and art. He tolerates criticism painfully, 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. People around them do not call them thick-skinned, but they do not consider them particularly sensitive either. Such people are not alien to manifestations of emotions, but in most cases they keep everything under control. In communication, they are often attentive, try to understand a lot, but sometimes lose patience. More often they prefer to remain discreetly silent because they are not sure that they will be understood. While reading works of art, as well as watching films, they are interested in the actions, and not the experiences of the characters. Such people are not characterized by relaxed feelings, which interferes with the full perception of people.

The third level of empathy is the highest. People with this level of empathy are quite rare. These people tend to understand strangers better than themselves. They make true loyal friends. Such people are sensitive to the problems and needs of others, very generous, and able to forgive a lot. They always treat people with interest. Such people are emotionally responsive, quickly establish contact, and very sociable. Colleagues and others appreciate such sincerity. People with the third level of empathy do not allow conflicts and always find compromise solutions and tolerate criticism with dignity. When assessing a situation, they trust their feelings and intuition more. They prefer to work with a team rather than alone. People with level three always desire social approval for their actions. However, such people are not always careful when performing precise and painstaking work. They are quite easy to throw off balance.

Types of empathy

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

Non-empaths have completely closed their sensory abilities. Perhaps the expression of empathy has atrophied because 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 heaviness of the world, other people's problems, fears due to emotional overload. Often, weak empaths quickly become physically exhausted and experience headaches.

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

Professional empaths easily recognize any emotions, even the most complex ones, hidden in the depths of the soul. Professional empaths are good at managing others' emotions. There are very few such people. They have the ability to relieve pain and lift your spirits.

Diagnosis of empathy

Diagnosis of empathy helps determine which qualities of an empath predominate in a person. This test is important when selecting personnel whose professional activity connected with communication with people. To study empathy, you can use the “Emotional Response Scale” technique. The test was developed by psychology professor A. Mehrabyan.

The “Emotional Response Scale” technique makes it possible to analyze general features empathy in the test taker. For example, the ability to empathize with another person.

Empathy in children

Through empathy, children gain experience learning about themselves and others 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 above-mentioned feelings, then their children will have normal expressions of empathy. It develops well in the child who received love and warmth from his parents. Children, thanks to their parents, can have well-developed altruism, because the formation of altruism begins in the family.

Compassion and empathy are not only the spiritual development of a child, but also a method for 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 parents.

Empathy in teenagers

Parents and family have a huge influence on human development from the moment of birth. Family is an important component in the development of a person's life. Communication between children and parents plays a huge role in the development of empathy. A teenager cannot learn to empathize on his own due to lack of experience. He is still new to the feeling of pain. The development of empathy in adolescents is manifested in the lives of those children who were able to receive love, care, attention, and warmth in their family.

Empathy in adolescents is possible when parents understood the feelings and emotions of their children. Violation of contact with parents traumatizes the teenager’s psyche and negatively manifests itself in his development. Have emotional empathy means to perceive the world of another person, his pain and happiness. A family that is based on feelings of trust is aimed at harmonious development teenagers' personalities. Therefore, it is worth considering that family relationships should always remain friendly.