Empathic concern is a type of empathy, which is often referred to as "emotional intelligence" Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. Empathic concern is a specific form of empathy that involves feeling concern and compassion for another person’s suffering instead of just feeling sorry for them. It consists of both a cognitive and affective response to the suffering of another person, meaning that when feeling empathic concern we not only understand the emotions the other person is experiencing, but we also feel a genuine, caring attitude towards them.
Examples of empathy concern include:
1. Being genuinely compassionate towards someone when they are facing difficult times and offering them emotional support.
2. Being willing to sacrifice your time and energy to better understand someone’s situation and in turn help them, even if it means taking a step away from your own agenda.
3. Taking steps to ensure that the person you are trying to empathize with feels taken care of.
4. Acknowledging someone’s feelings and showing understanding by listening and offering advice and support when necessary.
5. Seeing a situation through someone else’s eyes and offering them a non-judgmental opinion or advice.