Author:
Emotional contagion refers to the automatic and unconscious process by which people ‘catch’ the emotions of others around them. For instance, when someone is sad, and their sadness makes you feel a bit down. Another personal example. Thursday May 23rd was my birthday and I mentioned to a few classmates who unconsciously echoed happy birthday, Yogita and Ahlem gave me hugs, took pictures and seemed happier than I the celebrant. This process is considered a basic form of emotional connection, as it helps people feel and mirror others’ emotions without conscious effort.
Singer and Klimecki (2014) mean that emotional contagion, which is when you naturally pick up and feel the emotions of people around you, comes before empathy. Using the example stated earlier, if you feel happy because your friend is happy or vice versa, that’s emotional contagion. In order words, it is like the first step that helps us get to the deeper understanding and caring that empathy involves.
Emotional distress is when you feel overwhelmed and stressed by someone’s suffering. Compassion on the hand is when you feel concern for someone suffering and want to help them, but without getting overwhelmed yourself.
Singer and Klimecki (2014) suggest several strategies to reduce empathic distress and cultivate compassion such as:
Mindfulness meditation: This practice has taught in class by professor helps individuals become more aware of their thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations. This practice helps me in particular stay calm and centered.
Motivating non-judgmental acceptance: Mindfulness meditation promotes the acceptance of thoughts and emotions without judgement, including those that arise in response to others’ suffering. For example, if a student expresses frustration about an assignment or presentation, a mindful response might involve validating their feelings and offering support rather than criticizing or dismissing their fears.
Nurturing loving-kindness and positivity: This practice can foster positive emotions like warmth, kindness, and gratitude. These emotions can help counterbalance empathic distress and promote compassionate behaviors.
In summation, by regularly practicing these techniques, it can help reduce empathic distress and cultivate compassion.
Reference.
Singer, T., & Klimecki, O. M. (2014). Empathy and compassion. Current Biology, 24(18),
R875-R878. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.06.054
Goetz, J. L, Keltner, D., & Simon-Thomas, E. (2010). Compassion: An evolutionary analysis and empirical review. Psychological Bulletin, 136(3) 351-374. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018807
The discussion of emotional contagion and distress in your article has deeply resonated with me. As an intern counselor, I faced a visitor whose derogatory comments about women triggered emotional contagion, igniting my anger and impacting my professional interactions. By adopting mindfulness meditation, I aim to maintain emotional balance and manage such situations more professionally. By practicing non-judgmental acceptance, I expect to engage more effectively, allowing visitors to express themselves more fully. Furthermore, cultivating loving-kindness will enhance my empathic connections, alleviate emotional distress, and promote a supportive counseling environment. These strategies promise to not only improve my emotional management but also enhance my effectiveness as a counselor, leading to safer and more productive interactions. Thank you for your insightful contribution.
COMMENTS ON EMOTIONAL CONTAGION
I relate to your post on emotional contagion and distress at a personal level. During a previous social gathering, a friend I had attended the event with decided to share their testimony about their experience growing up in an economically challenging background in a rural village. For a moment, I ‘caught’ their emotions as they were narrating the experience. I had wet eyes, and so was my friend. Emotional connection happens without conscious effort as you mention. Therefore strategies such as mindful meditation, practising non-judgemental acceptance and fostering positivity and loving-kindness nurture our emotional awareness. Your post has been insightful, especially as I work on improving my capacity to understand and articulate my feelings and those of others.
Excellent discussion of emotional contagion which can have both positive and negative effects. When one resonates with another, you “feel” what the other person is feeling; you resonate with them. This can happen with both positive and negative emotions. When resonating with another, one must keep vigilant about one’s own emotions and its internal effects. We can experience burnout when we do not take care of our emotions when listening to the pain of others. Through self-compassion practices, we can maintain a balance between one’s own and others’ emotions.