I find that the deeper I delve into the wellspring of empathy for others who have it worse than I do – the more I focus on awareness, compassion, and empathy for others who endure far worse pain and lifelong abuse and suffering in this very same moment – the more effortlessly my focus shifts away from my own transient physical state of discomfort. In some ways, ironically, this focus frees me. In this shared moment of pain and discomfort, I connect deeply to these billions of innocent, scared, abused, and hurting non-human animals, and I am instantly humbled. I see my pain for what it really is. For me, this realization is deeply healing and profoundly transformational.
You may also like
People tend to stereotype psychological phenomena. It’s tempting to think that stress is always bad, resilience is always good, and so forth. Like other stereotypes, these beliefs help us neaten the world and extract signal from noise…
The more I thought about it, the more this idea really hit home. Empathy stands in direct opposition to ego. Empathy is a focus on the present moment. Empathy allows us to be available, responsive, and open to the process, rather than obsessing over th…
Empathic skills are the key to solving this problem. Empathy involves understanding another person’s situation from their perspective. As such, you must be able to place yourself in someone else’s shoes and feel what they are feeling and without judgin…
While programs and protocols may be developed, the responsibility to train residents in empathy rests primarily with neurosurgeons as mentors. Residents must be educated to educate patients as people, creating a culture of humanism, professionalism and…