if I get it right, Empathy is when you can recognize what the other person is feeling, AND you also take on some of those emotions, like, if someone is sad, you become said, when someone is happy, you become happy, etc.
Compassion is specifically for when you learn someone is in a negative situation, and you feel concern and sadness about the fact itself.
Thus, if someone has low empathy, they don’t just have a harder time recognizing what the other feels, but also have a harder time taking on those emotions, is that correct?
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A friend is depressed and either tells me or I recognise it. I’m also depressed so I can understand from personal experience what they’re going through so I offer my support from a place of understanding. It makes me sad that they’re sad. That’s empathy.
A friend is depressed and either tells me or I recognise it. I’m not depressed nor have I ever been but I care about them and want to help them if I can. It might make me sad that they’re depressed but ultimately I have no personal experience with what they’re feeling. That’s compassion.
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