If you are an empathic person, surely you have ever felt exhausted. Putting yourself in another’s place is an incredible gift, but in many cases it can also hurt you, especially if we anchor ourselves in the other’s place. That is to say: if we cling to the anguish of others.
In this sense, the ekpathy is a much-needed addition to the empathy. It is the process by which we can compensate for the sensations generated by the empathy; always remembering that we can empathize with others but we must never lose ourselves in the process.
Don’t forget yourself
The ekpathy is a new concept that Psychiatry JL González de Rivera defines as: “complementary to empathywhich allows the appropriate management of emotional contagion and induced feelings”.
It is important to note that the ekpathy, according to this definition, is voluntary. That is, it is the conscious effort not to lose sight of our own desires, needs and emotions when relating to others.
Therefore, the ekpathy it is an exercise, and it has nothing to do with putting a brake on empathy, or cool relationships with others. Instead, it is a self-defense mechanism, as extremely empathetic people sometimes make the worst mistake: forgetting about themselves.
The complicated process of balance
Let’s think about extreme situations, such as caring for someone sick or collaborating in humanitarian causes. Surely, those who do it are empathetic people who want to collaborate with these causes because they can put themselves in the place of the other.
However, if they let themselves be flooded by all the feelings and emotions that these situations generate, they would possibly end up blocked by pain, unable to do anything. The ekpathy it also allows discerning and getting away from manipulative people, or even from situations of collective hysteria.
Therefore, the ideal is to find the right balance, to be able to put ourselves in the other’s place without forgetting ourselves along the way.
Sources:
psychoactive
The mind is wonderful