Empathy’s Dark Side: A Link with Depression – How to Combat It
Empathy’s Dark Side. Is empathy linked to depression? We’re used to thinking of empathy as a positive quality, but some kinds of empathy may also come with a cost. Different kinds of empathy can be more or less beneficial. Emotional or affective empathy is about feeling another person’s experience. Cognitive empathy is about understanding it intellectually. Both can help us feel closer to others, but which kinds of empathy are most helpful and which ones put us more at risk?
Data Shows Correlation – Sometimes
So while it’s not clear that empathy in the aggregate and depression are linked, data does indicate that how we empathize makes the difference. Some kinds of empathy may be a risk factor for depression. Emotional empathy does have a positive correlation with depression, while cognitive empathy does not. Read the abstract of a meta-analysis here.
Those of us who naturally tend toward emotional empathy feel what’s happening to others and around us. We may know it too, but the experience is what generally causes problems. This deep and broad scope of feelings can be a liability. It often comes from outside ourselves or from our reactions to something that is not our own.
Adjusting Energetic Boundaries is Key
The results of the meta-analysis and other studies about depression and empathy align with studies I used in creating the audio program Shining Bright Without Burning Out. When we operate from healthy compassion rather than absorptive empathy, we are better able to stay present in our bodies, help our fellow beings, and avoid the overwhelm that can lead to feelings of depression, anxiousness, overwhelm, etc. To do that, we need the ability to adjust our energetic boundaries.
With my clients, I see the results of people being wide open and porous without having some control and discernment over their energetic bodies and boundaries. I experience it myself. I feel so much better when I use the practices that help me retain the strengthening aspects of empathy without letting the draining ones dominate.
Unchecked Emotional Empathy=Problems
This issue gets more complicated when burnout is involved. Naturally empathic and compassionate people can lose those qualities as a response to burnout. Learning how to adjust the permeability of our energetic boundaries may help in multiple areas where unchecked emotional empathy makes us vulnerable.
If you can relate to this dynamic, listen to a sample here, or read more about how you can learn to adjust your boundaries with a little practice, shifting what kind of empathy you are using and creating healthier relationships to yourself and others.
Shining Bright Without Burning Out: Spiritual Tools for Creating Healthy Energetic Boundaries in an Overconnected World
©2023 Mara Bishop
