day one hundred and forty-nine - the problem with empathy

Don’t get me wrong. Empathy is imperative. It’s what holds us together. But it’s not without its drawbacks.

As I sit here, still largely in isolation, I’ve been able to reflect upon the year to date, the position we all find ourselves in, mental health, and the ever growing list of things that I haven’t yet fulfilled (and I’m not just talking about the 5000 piece essential jigsaw that was supposed to see me through the lockdown).

Quite some time ago, it dawned on me that the biggest cause of depression and mental health overall, is the problems that we all face as a society and culture. If the world was a better place, the chemical imbalance in my brain probably wouldn’t be affected so badly - wouldn’t be triggered by so many things that are happening around us.

Without empathy, one is able to be selfish, to focus only upon the things that directly affect oneself. Inequality? Racism? Injustice? If you’re not at the pointy end of those, why would it matter? It even gives one the ability to perpetrate those things upon others without it seeming to make a difference.

But with empathy? Everything matters. All the emotions, all the pain, suffering, the good and bad; you filter it all. You feel it as though it were happening to you.

I wouldn’t ever consider not being empathetic (I couldn’t even if I tried), but I do so very dearly wish that the world was a better place and we could somehow all treat each other so much better. For me, that would be better for my mental health than anything that could be distilled into a pill.

Kilt of the day - Campbell of Argyle

Soundtrack of the day - Everybody Hurts - R.E.M.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rOiW_xY-kc