Can empathy be learned in adulthood?

Question

Are there any special methods or exercises to learn and practise empathy as an adult? I feel I have very little empathy compared to others and I want to change.

Answer 1

The Empath...

Have you you ever seen Star Trek NG? Deanna Troy was depicted as an Empath. She was allegedly able to cousel other by having the ability to sence their thoughts and feelings.

I have always thought that everyone had this ability because "Empathic" is derived from "Empathy". Being empathic is having the ability to feel empathy.

The road to being Empathic is to understand how everything feels to you.

Example: If you have ever hit your thumb with a hammer and you see someone hit their thumb with a hammer, isn't your first thought about how it felt when you hit your thumb? You cringe at the thought of hitting your thumb.

Well, understanding that the other person feels the same thing you felt when that person hit their thumb is having empathy for the other person. Now, with practice and increased sensitivity, you can actually feel that pain in the other person by drawing from your own experiences. That would develop in to being empathic.

When you increase sensitivity you must also increase you objectivity. Increase you objectivity by looking at the pain from the third person. Once you hit your thumb, step back in your mind and analyse the pain you are feeling. Understanding the feeling of the pain will increase your sensitivity to the feeling of the pain in someone else.

Although, I am not saying that one should hurt themselves to feel the pain in someone else. What I am saying is to look at your own experiences to understand what others feel when in the same experience. Although each experience is to some degree different, there is enough with in each experience to share the likensses of the experience. It doesn't even matter what language each of you speak. Feelings are the same. When your mate leaves you for another person... No matter what language you speak, the feel of the loss remains the same.

Living your life as an example to you as to what it feels like to be living, will lead you to how it feels to others to be living as long as you retain that view from the third person as an outsider looking in rather than an insider looking out.

Answer 2

Its good that you want to change. All you can really do is to be patient and to consciously stop yourself from being too quick to judge without trying to see a situation from someone elses eyes. Make sure you pass what you learn on to your children as well. If everyone in the world had a little more empathy this would be a much better place. Good luck my friend.

Answer 3

I believe it can. Hopefully, it won't take an earth shattering, life changing personal experience to do that. Personally, I am an overly empathetic person. In any situation, I try to put myself in the other person's place to see where they are coming from. I have this strange gift of feeling others emotions, even when they are trying to conceal them. I can walk in a room and "feel" turmoil. I'm on the other end of your spectrum, but there is a happy middle ground. Think before you speak; feel before you judge; be tolerant and compassionate. If more people could do this, the world would be a happier place. The fact that you asked this question shows you're on the right track. Good luck.

Answer 4

There is only if you believe in yourself and do the following;

1) Empathy is a way of 'being with' a person

2) It is a Communicative skill

3) It is a psychological attending --- listen and understand others

4) It is a pyshical attendance --- attentive ear and good body language.


Learn well the above and you'll be an empathic to build good well relationships, stimulate self-exploration, check understanding, lubriacte communication, focus attention, restrain the helper and paves the way for stronger interventions.

Answer 5

Empathy is an emotion,which can't be taught,it's something inside of us.The only way empathy can be taught sometimes unfortunately through hard lessons of life.What we can learnt is the skills to enhance the empathy that we pocess in inside us.

Answer 6

Try to get more in tune with others emotions by asking them how they feel, and why. Listening will help you understand them and you'll build empathy over time. Then some day you wont have to ask them how they feel...you'll just know.

Answer 7

Sure it can.

All you have to do is start using your imagination and ask the magic question. " If I could feel what other feel how would I?"

And just imagine what it would be like to be in someone Else's body. Feel what they feel. See what they see and hear what they are saying to themselves. Make it up at first.. but you will be surprised at what you will pick up.

Use this in the mall, or someplace with lots of people.

It works.

Alex

Answer 8

Fortunately, any behavior is learned. You've heard the saying "Put yourself in their shoes" right? Well that's a start, put that into play the next time you're confronted by something that you would normally brush off. But don't throw yourself into it if you don't feel it. It takes time.

Answer 9

I am doing my best to, too.

Go well.