Every human being needs to get around satisfactory human relations. It is both in the family and other areas. Your emotional well-being will depend largely on the capacity you have to achieve this objective.
Understanding the feelings of others apart from being in touch with our own feelings, capacities and limitations is the key for a satisfactory coexistence among human beings. Unfortunately, this understanding is not born spontaneously. But from what we call empathy. So what is empathy? Empathy is the effort to recognize and understand the feelings and attitudes of people, as well as the circumstances that affect them at any given time.
We are certainly that, when we put ourselves in somebody else’s shoes we become together because we are being empathic.
Gandhi it reminded us when he said:
“three-fourths of the miseries and bad in the world would end if we learn to resolve misunderstandings by putting ourselves in the shoes of opponents and understanding their point of view”.
Wouldn’t we better if we understand the joys and concerns of our family and friends and we could provide more encouragement and help?
It is true, too, that we can get out of our selfishness we enjoy a greater happiness and we are healthier.
It is desirable and almost seems natural that there were no problems between family members. Not true. The closer the relationship the easier it is to trigger a button in the other person. Why is so when we find that we have the feeling of poor relationship with a family member, dizzines is stronger; even us may affect
health.
John Cacioppo, Professor of Psychology at University of Chicago states:
“Our most important relationships and the people that we live daily are the ones with the highest incidence on our overall health.”
So let’s try to practice an empathic attitude. It will give you peace and harmony and of course a better and healthier self.
Not sure how long ago this message was left and hope you are around to receive this answer… Empathy is about putting yourself in the other person’s shoes… If someone is telling me something and it’s painful, but I have never been through it, I remember something that made me feel a similar way… Empathy is about listening… not just hearing… It helps to have eye contact, even if they are not looking at you, still look in their direction. If its a person who is close to u, hold their hand, have open body language… most off all LOOK interested and don’t have answers unless they ask you for them, don’t try to fix it… most people feel better after just talking…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empathy#The_development_of_empathy
Obstacles: Personality disorders such as narcisism or borderline…
