Do You Suffer From Hyper-empathy Syndrome?

Being empathetic is a quality that enriches our personal relationships. As a result, we can not only – at least partially – put ourselves in the shoes of another person, but also perceive and understand their feelings. However, always being extremely compassionate can also result in us developing hyper-empathy syndrome. This term was coined by the psychologist Charles Figley.

According to a study on the subject, empathy can be dangerous and extremely exhausting if we don’t use it properly. If we are unable to address exhaustion due to excessive empathy in a timely manner, secondary trauma or symptoms of burnout syndrome can occur.

Typically, hyperempathy syndrome affects people who have professional dealings with patients or clients who are suffering, are ill, or are in great pain. We are talking about nurses, social workers and doctors, among others. Being empathic is an important part of their job. But without the right tools to adequately handle the emotional burden, empathy will one day become your greatest enemy.

The emotional suffering of others

Although hyper-empathy syndrome mainly affects those groups of people who pursue one of the occupations mentioned above, we ourselves can also suffer from it without doing such high-risk jobs. One reason for this may be that we are extremely empathetic and the emotional pain of other people is very close to us.

But it is one thing to understand the pain of our fellow human beings and another to feel it. The latter happens to very compassionate people. It’s just like they’re internalizing the pain of others. If they are then exposed to such suffering for a long time, or in a very intense way, it can lead to hyper-empathy syndrome. We are talking about emotional exhaustion, often followed by a feeling of wanting to isolate and being confused. These people also tend to suppress their feelings.

Fortunately, as we mentioned earlier, there are certain tools that can be used to combat and, even better, prevent this syndrome. Knowing these is an important aspect in order to avoid adopting other people’s feelings as our own, in order to maintain a certain psychological distance, in order to protect our own well-being and to be able to regulate our state of mind.

“Somehow I echo what another person is feeling. And when the emotions a person is exposed to are marked by deep suffering, it hits me very hard. “

Bermejo

Tools in the fight against hyper-empathy syndrome

Below we would like to take a look at a few of these tools that we can use in practice when we have a job where we inevitably come into contact with people who need help. Or, if we are extremely empathetic and therefore suffer from aggravated thoughts, a loss of energy, a growing fear, a somatization of feelings or apathy. A study by the Faculty of Psychology of the University of the Republic of Uruguay suggests that we:

• Meeting with friends: Friends greatly ease our emotional burden. In addition, we can exchange opinions with them, which can be of great help in complicated situations or cases.
• Family support: The family is an important part of our life. We can talk to family members, talk to them for relief, and let them distract us from problems in the workplace or on a personal level.

• Leisure activities: By doing sports or pursuing a hobby such as gardening or model making, we take care of ourselves and give ourselves time.
• Psychotherapy: Psychotherapy is not only important in order to get to know these types of tools, but also in order to realize exercises during the therapy sessions that can be helpful in the fight against the hyper-empathy syndrome.

The aforementioned study adds, as additional tools, the importance of being able to be on your own from time to time, as well as being able to inform yourself and acquire techniques in order to be able to deal with this syndrome. None of this means that we should give up our ability to be empathetic. We are only supposed to use certain strategies to ensure our well-being.

“I don’t ask an injured person how they are feeling. I myself become this injured person. “

Walt Whitman

Hyperempathy Syndrome can make us feel guilty: We are so psychologically exhausted that we think we have lost our ability to be empathetic. However, this is only a consequence of being compassionate without being able to regulate this compassion and protect ourselves adequately.

We hope that the tools presented in this article will help you not only address hyper-empathy syndrome, but other issues you may be struggling with. Ultimately, these tools are nothing more than recommendations that we should apply more often in practice in order to feel better and enjoy greater well-being.

If you think you have this syndrome, you should definitely seek professional help. A psychologist should accompany you on your way so that you can find the right tools for you. This way, you can continue to be an empathetic person, but you will then be able to fall back on strategies to ensure your own well-being.