'Rather than taking
anti-depressants, people suffering from
depression have an inexpensive way out -
practising acts of kindness and
compassion, new research claims.
Acts of kindness or compassion might serve
as an effective treatment for depressed
people, say researchers from the
University of California, Riverside, and
the Duke University Medical Centre. '
Not surprisingly, people who
suffer from depression often have difficult
romantic relationships -- when they have
them at all.
researchers also found that higher levels of
depressive symptoms in women predicted
partners’ lower empathic accuracy regarding
the women’s negative moods and relationship
feelings.
As the researchers note, the data suggest
that a woman’s depression affects not just
herself, but also her partner. Depressed
women’s relationships are likely to suffer
doubly as well — not only is her empathy
accuracy lowered by her depression, but her
partner’s empathic accuracy is also lowered.
She can’t read her partner as well, and he
is unable to accurately read her mood or
relationship feelings either.
"And it turns out that this fear of having compassion
for yourself is strongly correlated with fear of having compassion for
others, and a lack of willingness to extend compassion to others. Self
compassion is not letting ourselves off the hook and being self
indulgent, it's about choosing to use our own happiness and our own
desire for meaning and connection with others as our primary
motivation, as opposed to using guilt shame and fear as our primary
motivation."
The director says, "A persons values have a huge impact in their
happiness, So if someone values things likeower, fame and good looks,
social status - people who becomes successful at those goals o money pr
not, tend to be less happy then people who value things like
compassion, empathy and cooperation, wanting to make the world a
better place.
The core of human nature, I think, is based on empathy
and compassion. It's extremely rare to find someone that does not
empathize in some way or form naturally. The Dali Lama said it best,
it's not a religious thing, it's not a political idea, this is the way
we are born, this is in our blood.
Empathy, compassion, living by the golden rule, all of those things
are so critical to, not only to your own personal happiness, but to
the sustainability of our societies and of the human race. So empathy
is, I think, one of the core ingredients, not only for a happy life,
but of a happy world.
2008-02-02 PBS Interview 2nd
of 2
How do we learn the attributes of empathy
What I found in my research is that the opposite of experiencing shame
is experiencing empathy. Shame cannot survive empathy. I think empathy
is tough, I think we have some natural tendencies to care for our
fellow humans, but we kind of unlearn empathy, as a way to survive
almost. So being empathic is about connecting with your
experience,.... If I can dig deep and connect to what it is your
feeling, and express that back... so you know your not alone. Empathy
is hugely important, as an added plus it's highly coordinated with
everything from leadership skills, family functioning, good parenting,
- it's just the essential emotion...
