"Beth's capacity for empathy serves her well with her husband, James, as well as in other relationships. Others experience her as a good listener and often seek her out to share their stress. However, these conversations often leave Beth feeling anxious and distraught, even though she may not recognize the source of her discomfort. At other times, she is able to recognize and admit that her tension is related to feeling overwhelmed by others' suffering."
"Beth's sensitivity to feeling overwhelmed is due to difficulty in differentiating their pain from her own. She has difficulty experiencing empathy without an ability to disengage from it. Additionally, this often contributes to her being unsure of her own emotions. The development of empathy Empathy is developed in childhood and reflects the quality of their early interactions. If parents are sufficiently present and provide safety and validation, children develop the capacity for healthy empathy."
Empathic personal distress involves self-focused anxiety, fear, or discomfort triggered by witnessing others' pain. Individuals with empathic personal distress often struggle to differentiate another person's suffering from their own and have difficulty disengaging from empathic arousal, which can leave them unsure of their own emotions. Empathic capacity originates in childhood and reflects early relational quality. When caregivers provide presence, safety, and validation, children develop healthy empathy characterized by attunement and compassionate concern. Conversely, some children develop empathy motivated by fear to monitor caregivers' moods and avert conflict or harm. Other children may learn empathic behaviors to influence a caregiver's emotional state.
Read at Psychology Today
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