Empathy
The ability to understand another person's experience without merging with it.
How it shows up
Empathy isn’t feeling the same. If you collapse in the face of someone else’s distress, you aren’t available to them. Real empathy preserves the difference between you and them — and that is exactly what settles the other person.
What we do with it in therapy
In people placed early into a caretaking role, empathy is often excessive and exhausting. The work goes towards drawing boundaries, not towards more compassion.
See also
Acceptance and commitment therapy
An approach that, instead of fighting unpleasant thoughts, practises acting on your values despite them.
Postnatal distress
A range from mild low mood after birth to postnatal depression and anxiety, which need treatment.
Burnout
A state of exhaustion, cynicism and a sense of ineffectiveness, arising from prolonged strain without recovery.
