~ (almost) every married man
OK, that’s a joke. Most men are quite empathic. Yes, there are also many men who lack empathy, meaning they cannot put themselves in another person’s shoes. They’re probably not reading this website though. The cool thing about the mindfulness and guided imagery techniques I have developed is they help people who are already empathic become even more so.
Some of the most empathic, wonderful, people in the world are family members who take care of loved ones with a chronic illness. Caregivers and care partners. They do so without recompense, without expecting anything in return, simply because it is the right thing to do. Unfortunately, these caregivers also often have a high level of stress, depression and anxiety.
In our research trials, my lab has studied caregivers of family members with dementia precisely because these caregivers are at the highest risk of depression. One of their sources of stress is the challenge of empathy for the person living with dementia. Family members have difficulty understanding or seeing into the mind of the person with dementia and knowing why they act the way they do. This is also called difficulty “mentalizing”.
Frequently in our research studies, we hear caregivers who learn our techniques say that they finally understand why the person with dementia is repeating themselves, or having difficulty doing something, or getting angry. This can be life transforming. It reduces caregivers’ stress because they better know how to do things. Symptoms of depression and anxiety improve dramatically.
The other cool thing: you can access and try these techniques out freely. Just hop over to Fern Hill Center, an online place dedicated to providing these techniques.
