Empathy is, obviously, a crucial characteristic of effectively caring for senior parents. The ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes allows you to better meet their needs. However, there is one particular form of empathy that you need to understand as a caregiver in order to guard your own health and wellness: emotional empathy.
Emotional empathy takes caring to another level. Rather than merely understanding how another individual is feeling, emotional empathy involves actually experiencing their feelings. For instance, if you are strongly emotionally empathetic, sitting beside somebody who is crying will bring tears to your own eyes. If they’re in pain, you’ll also feel distress. You’re the type of person who will spring into action when someone has an immediate need.
Is Emotional Empathy Harmful for Caregivers?
Emotional empathy in and of itself isn’t a bad thing. Yet for a family caregiver of an older loved one, it may bring about mental health problems if not carefully managed. The potential risks are increased if the person in your care has Alzheimer’s or other cognitive problems.
Too much emotional empathy can be overwhelming and draining. It could bring about emotional burnout, which in turn could cause you to shut down emotionally. If it’s too agonizing to care so much, you may find yourself pulling away from your loved one.
If you believe you are dealing with heightened emotional empathy, these guidelines can help:
- Talk to a mental health professional in order to help identify whether your reaction to your family member’s condition is reason for concern.
- Attempt to separate your own personal feelings from those of the person in your care. Your individual life experiences might be coloring how you’re responding to the other person’s situation.
- Devote more time to listening than formulating your own response when your family member is talking to you. This means shutting out your own thoughts so you can focus exclusively on what they are saying. It can help you avoid making assumptions or missing important bits of information they would like to share.
- Think from a perspective of curiosity. Ask the senior questions about their experience to better understand what they are feeling and thinking. In the process, remind yourself not to attempt to “fix” anything.
Independence-4-Seniors Home Care is here to help you better care for yourself, so in turn you can better care for the individual you love, through customized services such as:
- Light housekeeping, meal prep, and laundry
- Companionship for conversations and enjoyable activities
- Assistance with personal hygiene needs like showers, baths, and getting dressed
- Transportation and accompaniment to appointments and fun outings
- Grocery shopping and other errands
- And much more
Contact us at (630) 323-4665 to request a free in-home consultation to learn more about how home care can help both you and someone you love.