Definition of empathy
According to Hoffman, empathy refers to an emotional state triggered by the emotional state of others or by a situation. You feel what others feel or what they are supposed to feel in a particular context. Being empathetic means experiencing emotional distress for people suffering from poverty, danger or pain, etc., while knowing that it is a response to what others are going through, not you.
Empathy is also the intellectual or cognitive capacity to put oneself in another's shoes, and grasp his or her values, limits and perceptions. For example, if you hate cats and your best friend's beloved cat dies, you will be able to understand his pain and feel sad for him while keeping the necessary distance to be able to lend your support.
Empathy in the workplace creates solidarity and feelings of belongingness in employees, which is good for morale. While it is possible to be too empathetic in certain jobs, hindering work performance, methods exist to control excess empathy.
Empathizing too much
Researchers refer to empathetic distress as negative emotions felt for a suffering person, which one attempts to decrease by attempting to help, where possible. Often, however, these negative emotions are invasive and intense, even traumatizing. Some people will experience empathic over-arousal, in which distress becomes so aversive that they will "forget" and think about something else (Hoffman, 1978). Empathic over-arousal is more likely to occur when one feels unable to help the victim or to keep distress at a tolerable level.
A study showed that new nurses were so hyper-empathetic towards terminal-phase patients that they avoided the patients. With experience, the nurses' attitudes changed and they were then able to improve their patients' quality of life (Williams (1979). Some professions require a lot of involvement with others and are therefore more at risk of experiencing hyper-empathy. For example, helping professionals often suffer intense distress, referred to as vicarious trauma, as a result of their patients' trauma (Figley 1995).
Techniques for overcoming empathetic distress
Faced with these situations, clinicians use strategies such as mental techniques to process information: stepping back by imagining the trauma as unreal, forcing oneself to be an objective observer, taking one's mind off things by thinking of something else, remembering past successes, etc.
Others use breathing or relaxation techniques. Consulting one's coworkers, discussing the situation with loved ones, starting a support group activity, getting involved in community service or working out are all good tactics. What is important is to regain control over anxiety-producing and traumatizing situations and to "digest" them. Traumas and negative emotions are more healthily managed when they are expressed and understood; otherwise they risk being repressed and arising unexpectedly as flashes, which is exhausting and in the long run wears down resistance to stress.
Being empathetic involves balancing empathetic distress with attempts at remaining objective. This is a delicate balance in certain fields, but which can be reached if you are first empathetic. . . towards yourself!
References:
– Figley, C.R. (1995). Coping with secondary traumatic stress disorder in those who treat the traumatized. New York: Brunner/Mazel.
– Hoffman, M.L. (1978). Empathy, its development and prosocial implications. In C.B. Keasey (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation25, 169-218.
– Williams, C. (1989). Empathy and burnout in male and female helping professionals. Research in Nursing and Health12, 169-178.
Nadine Murard, Ph.D.
Training and research: emotions, emotional intelligence, motivation and leadership
nadinemurard@hotmail.com