Empathy and compassion: definitions and differences

Beyond Sympathy. Understanding Empathy

Empathy is one of the most sophisticated and crucial skills of emotional intelligence.

It is often confused with sympathy, but they are fundamentally different.

Sympathy is feeling for someone; It is a feeling of pity or sorrow at another person's suffering, but maintaining an emotional distance.

That is to say "poor you."

Empathy, on the other hand, is the ability to feel with someone.

It involves going beyond observation and trying to understand and share the other person's emotional experience from their own frame of reference.

It is the ability to "put ourselves in another's shoes," to see the world through their eyes and feel an echo of their emotions in our own being.

Empathy is the bridge that allows us to cross the abyss that separates one individual from another, creating a genuine and deep human connection.

Compassion. The Heart in Motion

If empathy is the bridge, compassion is the act of crossing it to offer help.

Compassion is the natural evolution of empathy; It is empathy in action.

It doesn't stop at understanding and sharing, but moves us to act to alleviate another's suffering.

A compassionate person not only understands someone's pain.

They are motivated to do something about it, whether it's offering a comforting word, a shoulder to cry on, or practical help.

Compassion transforms the "I feel how you feel" of empathy into "I'm here for you."

It is an active commitment to the well-being of others, born of a deep empathic connection.

The Forgotten Pillar. Self-Compassion

Often, in our eagerness to be empathetic and compassionate toward others, we forget to direct that same kindness toward ourselves.

Self-empathy and self-compassion are fundamental.

Self-empathy is the ability to recognize and validate our own difficult emotions without judgment.

Self-compassion is treating ourselves with the same warmth, care, and understanding we would offer a good friend who is suffering.

It means accepting our imperfect humanity, forgiving ourselves for our mistakes, and offering comfort in times of failure or pain.

It is impossible to offer genuine and sustainable compassion to others if our own inner well is dry.

Cultivating self-compassion is not an act of selfishness,but a necessary condition for having the resilience and emotional energy to be truly present for others.