Here’s how to tell if you’re an empathetic listener and how your empathy skills affect your daily life and relationships.
An empathetic person places the needs of people—even animals—over his or her own. “Empathic people are often people pleasers who put other people first,” says Judith Orloff, MD, author of Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself From Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA with a private psychotherapy practice specializing in empathy. “They want to help others and have large hearts, but they often give too much away and end up exhausted.” Since you’re so giving and concerned about others, you dislike people who always put themselves first.
by STACEY FEINTUCH
