Are we born with empathy or is it a skill that can be taught? Dr. Orloff tells us that choosing empathy can transform some of our most difficult interactions. Also, studies have shown that an act of empathy can have a positive effect on our immune response. Orloff suggests that empathy is a bedrock of healing in difficult situations and needs to be a daily priority to become a habit, not just a fleeting desire. She also has cautions and advice for us, including can we have too much empathy and how to work with those who, on the empathy spectrum, have an empathy deficient disorder such as narcissists. Empathy will lead us in expressing our most authentic, fierce, and compassionate self and she says “we must have empathy for our survival personally, and our happiness, and our intimacy, and our connections to others, and also for the earth and the world.
