The Benefits Of Reaping The Benefits Of Being Empathetic
Do you think you are empathetic? Have you ever wondered what the benefits are of being empathetic? In this article, we list nine of the benefits of being empathetic, as experts have suggested. The big question is, do you think we are empathetic to make us feel better or to make others feel better?
The advantages we mention here concern the quality of interpersonal relationships, self-esteem and the ability to help and understand others. Maybe it will encourage you to practice and improve your sense of empathy!
What does it mean to be empathetic?
The word empathy comes from the Greek empátheia which means “passion”. Psychology adopted this word from Greek in the early 2000s and expanded its original meaning. Today we know that empathy is one of the most important components of emotional intelligence.
Empathy is the ability to understand the emotional life of others, their thoughts, emotions, feelings, etc. It has always been understood that empathy is the ability to put yourself in the shoes of others. This means that you are able to better understand another person and feel their feelings.
Nine benefits of being empathetic
Empathy is also related to active listening, emotional support and understanding. In psychology, it is considered one of the basic skills that psychologists should have. They need it to be able to understand and consequently help the patients. But what other benefits does it have to be empathetic?
Helps you work on acceptance skills
Fernando Catalan, psychologist and president of the Deontological Commission of Psychology of the Valencian Community, says that the first benefit of being empathetic is that it allows you to work on your acceptance skills. In other words, it helps you better understand and accept people, making it easier to build social relationships.
The benefits of being empathetic: Helps you become more persuasive
Catalan considers this another advantage of being empathetic, although it can be classified as a rather “selfish” advantage. According to Catalan, “If you understand the other person, you can convince them or at least try to convince them of anything” . As he says, although persuasion is the part of empathy that is most to one’s advantage, it is still a fundamental part.
Increases your self-esteem
Psychologist Carmen Solivares believes that being empathetic also strengthens your self-esteem. She explains that “Those who show empathy are collaborative and more successful in their reference groups, which increases their self-esteem”.
The benefits of being empathetic: Improves relationships with others
Psychologist and physiotherapist Laura Cano considers this to be one of the benefits of being empathetic. When you understand others, it is easier for you to build a trusting relationship with them. In fact, we all tend to be drawn to the people we feel most comfortable with.
Helps you help others
Empathy, along with the other emotional intelligence tools, helps you help others with problems or suffering. With empathy, you begin to actively listen and connect with others. Thus, they feel better and less alone.
Helps you establish closer relationships
Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes helps you get in better touch with that person. And this helps you to form closer relationships. In other words, you are not only with the person, but you are trying to understand them in a much deeper way. This therefore promotes close and not superficial conditions.
Helps if you need to give bad news
No one likes having to give bad news. In fact, this action has been linked to a phenomenon called the MUM effect. The MUM effect occurs when you have to give some bad news, but you are reluctant to do so.
This allows you to somehow distort the message. This is because you are afraid of being connected to the bad news yourself, and also because the recipient of the message may subconsciously consider you a “bad” person. Fortunately, learning and communicating bad news is another benefit of being empathetic. Empathy can help you do it in a “better” way, at least in a more tactful way.
Helps you become even more empathetic
Another benefit is that by being empathetic, you develop the ability to become even more empathetic. Although empathy is a trait in itself, you can still develop and improve it. By being empathetic, you can thus further develop this skill.
Helps you get to know people better
As you have seen, empathy helps you connect with others. This in turn gives you the opportunity to become even better acquainted, as they will open up to you and they will be more likely to show their inner self. Knowing people and the contact with them enriches you as a person.
Neuroscience and empathy
Have you heard of mirror neurons? It is the neurons that are responsible for empathy. Giacomo Rizzolatti, an Italian neurobiologist, discovered them in 1996 while experimenting with macaque monkeys.
Rizzolatti observed how these neurons activated when monkeys saw certain expressions and movements in other monkeys. Some time later, these neurons were also discovered in the cerebral cortex of humans. This particular area is our language center, in the left hemisphere.
