I feel sad when you re sad?

Have you ever heard the phrase “misery loves company”? If so, then congratulations! You are human. Unfortunately, this age-old saying is not only true for some but taken quite literally by others.

Empathy? More like E.M.O.T.H.Y

Scientists have discovered that when someone is in emotional pain, we actually feel it too. This notion of feeling another’s feelings has a name and that name can be best described as empathy (or E.M.O.T.H.Y if your emails SPAM filter has been over protective.)

Empathy takes us one step beyond sympathy – where we acknowledge someone else’s suffering – to share their emotions with them. The roots of this process extend deep into our evolutionary past: social animals depend on close relationships for survival such as warthogs flocking together to ward off predators or meerkats keeping watch while others eat insects. For humans, empathizing with each other helped us build communal bonds which gave us a much better chance at surviving compared to fighting alone against mammoths.

Sadness Olympics

While empathy may play an important role in human relationships and bonding, it can also turn into a senseless game of “Sadness Olympics” (which by coincidence was almost included during last year’s Winter Games) . To put it simply: just because someone feels worse than you doesn’t mean they expect you to fix everything or even help them (gasp!). Feeling down or depressed isn’t the same as being helpless, after all.

One should never underestimate how transformative having someone who cares about you can be; there’s something exceptional about knowing someone wants what happens next in your life journey (even if unicorns aren’t real). However, nothing rings truer than the fact that friendship truly shines through when people don’t always have something helpful to say but show up regardless (whether physically or emotionally). In essence, friendships show their value when people just. are. there (which by extension means that online friends can achieve the same results too).

Taking Care of Yourself

Feeling sad when someone else is hurting isn’t always bad! But it’s equally vital to take care of one’s self while being there for others in emotional pain; otherwise called self-care (well done for coming this far without me prompting you @reader).

Self-care practices might include some of the following:
-Engage in light exercise such as walking or yoga (even if secretly you’d prefer to Netflix binge)
-Avoid unhealthy foods (despite offering peace offerings such as ice cream and cookies)
-Talk with friends about how one feels (banter also allowed)

Regardless of which self-help methods resonate with an individual, giving yourself permission to do things that make you feel good is a powerful step towards shaping your conscious experience around positivity instead of negativity. Dare we say … getting up and out (gasp) could start their journey forward again!

Avoiding Burnout

Empathy comes at a cost: taking on other people’s emotions can be physically and mentally exhausting (particularly after lunchtime naps!). Ever felt exhausted after spending time with someone who was emotionally drained? That was empathy fatigue speaking, where acute feelings from another have rubbed off onto oneself over time like ink through parchment paper.

To avoid burnout, here are some tips:
-Schedule “me” days ahead—some personal time goes a long way! (After all, what better excuse than treating oneself?)
-Create boundaries so don’t anyone doesn’t accidentally cross them because they may not even know they have!–(emails from colleagues excluded we’re unfortunately stuck with these))
-Find professional help before feeling overwhelmed.

Ensuring healthy treatment puts everyone on track -no one wants two miserable basket cases sobbing together under the bridge, unless that’s your thing.

Conclusion

We all want to love and be loved in return! But being there for those we care about goes beyond just hearing what they say or seeing what they post on social media–it requires empathy to provide validation that someone’s experience matters. Still, even if sharing each other’s emotional experiences is necessary for healthy relationships, it can lead to burnout and sadness Olympics so remember: not only should you take are of them but also yourself!

In summary:
-Empathy helps us bond with others;
-It opens the door for experiencing their feelings as one’s own (E.M.O.T.H.Y);
And all common humant emotions bring individuals together.

So no, I won’t let anyone tell me otherwise—sincere support gives instills hope during tough times (even if used with a dash of humor)

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