Brené Brown on Sympathy and Empathy
Joy S. Rosenthal
Compassionate Attorney, Divorce Mediator & Educator. I help people face divorce with confidence & clarity through so they can save $ and time for themselves & their families.
Have you ever tried to tell a friend about something difficult and they responded by wanting to fix it for you? You know that they mean well, but it's just not what you are looking for. Instead of feeling more connected and feeling better understood, you may actually feel more alone.
“I don’t want you to fix it!” you might say. “I just want you to listen to me!”
I wanted to share a wonderful (and short) video by author and storyteller, Brené Brown, about the difference between sympathy and empathy. In the end, you’ll see that she talks about just the situation I described above.
When I've been in periods of grief, I've noticed that some friends stay away because they don't know what to say. But it is the mere act of reaching out that makes the difference. I love the idea that the best thing we can do to show love is just simply to be there.
Psychotherapist for High Performers
4 个月I love this post. It can be difficult for people to communicate under intense situations. Thanks for the reminder.
Decoding Gratitude, Kindness, Risk Management and Leadership||Associate Director UBS (CCR, LER, BCBS, Data Governance & Change Management Specialist)||Support Women Empowerment|| Opinions and Views reflect my judgments
5 个月Truly amazing!!
Divorce and Family Mediator, Private Practice at Jennifer Safian, Divorce & Family Mediation
5 个月So true
Family Mediator & Collaborative Attorney at BRODY LAW & MEDIATION, LLC
5 个月Love Brené Brown and this lesson in just listening and “sitting with.” Have you see. Her “blame” video? That one is great too. Thanks for sharing Joy!
Attorney Mediator at Minovi Law & Mediation and Adjunct Law Professor, Mediation Clinic
5 个月Hi Joy, I love your post and the Brown video. There's a lot of truth to this. Especially about the connection component. Because I'm curious and love digging into this king of thing, what you think about this article https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/28/opinion/sympathy-empathy.html ? You give me so much food for thought! Keep posting!!