Empathy

A healthy relationship requires many qualities in order to blossom and grow. Probably the single most important skill that you can have to keep your relationship healthy is empathy. In short – the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

One study shows that the perception of feeling understood, or being shown empathy, is a key component of satisfaction in romantic partnerships. Researchers propose that having someone understanding our feelings allows us to better acknowledge these emotions and enables us to ultimately live more satisfying lives (Cramer & Jowett, 2010).

I would love to share with you a brief Youtube video about empathy. This video shares some thoughts of Brene Brown. It’s one of my favorites. I think she provides some wonderful insight on empathy. Heads up:

Four qualities:

- perspective taking

- staying out of judgment

- recognizing emotion in other people

- communicating that recognition of emotion