_OneSoul_
@_OneSoul_@lemmy.world
- Comment on Is it normal to "like" or at least not care seeing people suffer? 10 hours ago:
It’s not aligned to what most humans expect from others, as most humans expect other people have bare minimum of empathy for the suffering of others. This is pretty universally seen as virtuous. Your behavior goes against what vast majority of people consider virtuous and which most people naturally do. So, it’s not considered normal.
Good news is that you don’t actually have to have empathy (which is a difference of neurobiology), but if you want to live a decent life in a world where most people expect a level of mutual care, you can cultivate compassion:
greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/…/definition#what-…Compassion doesn’t require you to feel empathy. Though the link there defines it as “suffering together” (and is slightly awkward in general about separating feeling with and feeling for), the actual behavior it invites is orienting towards wishing other people wellness and happiness, and taking action based on that wish. Actually, literally feeling what other people feel is not needed (and research is beginning to see this as preferable to just empathy, which is often limited by our in-tribe biases etc.).
It’s worth noting that Buddhist Loving-Kindness meditation is becoming increasingly popular among care providers. Western neuroimaging now measurably shows that this specific practice protects against the exhaustion of empathy while cultivating the mental resilience needed to keep showing up for others.
Also worth checking out:
psychologytoday.com/…/the-empathy-compassion-gap