Quotes About Empathy

I have no doubt in my mind that the new generation has a sense of unity and sensitivity that previous generations lacked. We are strong, and we are visionaries beyond just money.

The purpose of inquiring about people's parents isn't to join them in blaming, judging, or criticizing their parents. In fact, it's not about their parents at all. It's solely about understanding how their early experiences inform who they are as adults so that they can separate the past from the present (and not wear psychological clothing that no longer fits).

I wanted John to feel comfortable in therapy but not so comfortable that I wasn't helping him. Above all, I didn't want to fall into the trap that Buddhists call idiot compassion

idiot compassion, you avoid rocking the boat to spare people's feelings, even though the boat needs rocking and your compassion ends up being more harmful than your honesty. People do this with teenagers, spouses, addicts, even themselves. Its opposite is wise compassion, which means caring about the person but also giving him or her a loving truth bomb when needed.

I also know how helpless it feels to watch a friend suffer and do nothing to fix it. Sitting-with-you-in-your-pain is one of the rare experiences that people get in the protected space of a therapy room, but it's very hard to give or get outside of it

they picked up devices and ran away from that feeling. In a state of perpetual distraction, they seemed to be losing the ability to be with others and losing their ability to be with themselves.

Sabe, em relação a esses idiotas, eu tenho uma ideia a respeito. E se as pessoas que estão te deixando louco não estiverem tentando te deixar louco? E se essas pessoas não forem idiotas, mas razoavelmente inteligentes, e só estão fazendo o melhor que podem num determinado dia?

If they can see themselves more clearly through our reflections, we can see ourselves more clearly through theirs. This happens to therapists when we're providing therapy, and it happens to our own therapists too. We are mirrors reflecting mirrors reflecting mirrors, showing one another what we can't yet see.

But sometimes—more often than we tend to realize—those difficult people are us.

to suffer so much. You're not choosing the pain, but you're choosing the suffering." He

Because at the end of the day, love wins.

It's no surprise that as I heal inside, I'm also becoming more adept at healing others.

One woman said to her husband, "You know what three words are even more romantic to me than 'I love you'?" "You look beautiful?" he tried. "No," his wife said. "I understand you.")

There's no hierarchy of pain. Suffering shouldn't be ranked, because pain is not a contest. Spouses often forget this, upping the ante on their suffering—I had the kids all day. My job is more demanding than yours. I'm lonelier than you are. Whose pain wins—or loses? But

and listen so attentively to the details of your day that, like your personal biographer, he'll remember more about your life than you will.

Sitting-with-you-in-your-pain is one of the rare experiences that people get in the protected space of a therapy room, but it's very hard to give or get outside of it—

We all have a deep yearning to understand ourselves and be understood. When I see couples in therapy, often one or the other will complain, not "you don't love me" but "you don't understand me

Are you apologizing because it makes you feel better or because it will make the other person feel better? Are you sorry for what you've done or are you simply trying to placate the other person who believes you should be sorry for the thing you feel completely justified in having done? Who is the apology for?

A therapist will hold up the mirror in the most compassionate way possible, but it's up to the patient to take a good look at that reflection, to stare back at it and say, "Oh, isn't that interesting! Now what?" instead of turning away.

Before diagnosing people with depression, make sure they're not surrounded by assholes"), his

Hell is other people.It´s true - the world is filled with diffucult people...but sometimes - more often - than we tend to realize - those diffucult peopel are us.

I worry about them", she says. "I worry all the time." "Maybe", I say, "instead of worrying about them, you can love them.

In the early sessions, it's always more important for patients to feel heard and understood than it is for them to gain any insight or make any changes.

In this room, I'm going to see you, and you'll try to hide, but I'll still see you, and it's going to be okay when I do.