Posts Tagged ‘Empathy’
I Was the Caregiver, But I Didn’t Know How to Care
“I can’t,” he said, not moving. I held the fork in front of Marvin’s mouth and stopped, hovering. A spasm went down his arm and he knocked his wheelchair’s joystick. The chair shifted and bumped the table. He had been having extra trouble chewing today. I didn’t know what was wrong. I stared in fear.…
What I Learned When My Wife Broke Both Her Wrists
It’s amazing how many things we do with our hands every day that we take for granted. It brings up that old adage that you don’t know what you’ve got until you lose it. Through the grace and fortune of some of the best medical care on the planet, my wife, Elizabeth, will eventually get…
Adventures in Internalized Prejudice
A few months ago, I went to a signing and Q&A at my local comic book store. As soon as I entered the store I saw him, but I pretended that I didn’t. He sat in a power wheelchair, and was talking with friends who stood around him. Maybe he had cerebral palsy? I felt…
When We Mock Trump’s Hands, What do People with Disabilities Hear?
It’s times like these that, as guilty as I feel saying it, I’m glad I have normal, nice hands. I went to the Women’s March, looking for support for myself, just as much as to stand with women against Trump. And at first, I felt the love in the crowd. I felt safer, empowered, and…
You Really Screwed Up AND You Are Lovable
I teach listening and value empathy. A lot. As Carl Rogers says, “[Empathy] just feels damn good.” (If you need a primer on empathy, here is a video that makes it fun and easy to learn about.) I want every human to experience as much good listening and empathy as possible because it is the…
Humanity Needs Empathy Now More Than Ever
What would the world look like without empathy? In a recent LA Times piece, Yale psychologist Paul Bloom opined that empathy is an overrated emotion, one that leads us into all manner of irrational choices and that ultimately leads to burnout. The capacity to put ourselves in each other’s shoes, he argues, is nothing more…
What about Bedside Manner? Empathy in Medical Care
There is a long-standing tension in the physician’s role in clinical care. On the one hand, doctors strive for detachment to treat all patients regardless of their personal feelings. Yet patients want genuine empathy from providers. Medical educators and professional bodies increasingly recognize the importance of empathy, but they define empathy in a special way…
Interview with Kelsey Crowe from Help Each Other Out on Empathy Etiquette
We all have impulses to help people who are hurting but Help Each Other out teaches true empathy etiquette that really helps.
Encouraging Discipline – Discipline that Helps Kids Grow
Left to my own devices, I am terribly afraid of making a mistake. Also, of getting it wrong, not knowing, and having to ask any question. A free-floating fear of punishment used to guide much of my decision-making. In fact, it took a lot of therapy for me to learn to keep those kinds of fears…
F&%k Positive Thinking
Person You: “Man I had a really crappy day. I just learned that my co-worker, whom I can’t stand, got a promotion and I feel mad, jealous, and worried that maybe I suck. I am just really spinning.” Friend 1: “Oh you shouldn’t think that way about yourself. You are fantastic. If you think positively…
Therapist as Wounded Healer
“The most forgiving people I have ever come across are people who have suffered – it is as if suffering has ripped them open into empathy. I am talking about wounded healers”. …