As human beings we are wired for connection and one of the strongest ways we can connect is through shared feelings, and empathy. In the last several years, researchers have actually found that our brains have what are called mirror neurons suggesting that there is biological base for empathy.
These mirror neurons allow us to understand others’ actions, intentions, and feelings. They fire when we experience an emotion or when we see others experiencing emotion. Think about a time when you saw someone experiencing sadness. What happens? Many of us would answer that we, feel sadness ourselves, without even thinking about it.
Mirroring someone else's emotions can be very helpful, on occasion, especially when it comes to validating their emotions, but where we get in trouble is when we take mirroring negative emotions too far; when we actually take on another person’s negative emotions, when we internalize them. When this happens, it creates a vicious emotional cycle where everyone ends up feeling lousy.
In this episode I will give you examples what this looks like and what it creates, and then we will discuss how we are responsible TO others and not FOR others when it comes to their own emotions. We will explore what both of these concepts mean and how your relationships will change when you understand your own responsibility when it comes to another person's emotins.
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