The power of empathy

There’s no denying that over the past two years, we’ve collectively experienced a lot of trauma, grief, uncertainty, and change. Not only has our ability to connect been disrupted, our individual relationships with ourselves, one another, and our environments, as well as our overall health and mental wellbeing, have also been impacted. This is where empathy comes in. 

Empathy is the ability to see the world from the perspective of others and share in their feelings and experiences with understanding and compassion. It is also the theme of this year’s National Mental Health Week, a campaign led by Toronto Metropolitan University’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Committee in partnership with Workplace Wellbeing Services and Student Wellbeing. 

“The act of practicing empathy is associated with improved emotional regulation, connection with others and feeling less isolated,” says Erica McDiarmid, the university’s mental health lead. 

“As we are shifting into a ‘new normal,’ adjusting to new routines and stressors, it is important to demonstrate empathy and kindness towards ourselves and others. Mental Health Week creates space to explore how our mental health is influenced, both positively and negatively, in our day to day lives within our communities and environments.” 

Toronto Metropolitan’s programming is unique to the university’s community, with workshops facilitated by Joanne Dallaire, elder (Ke Shay Hayo) and senior advisor, Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, as well as Workplace Wellbeing Services. Dallaire’s session will focus on reflection and discussion surrounding the continuing impact of the pandemic on our lives. 

Workplace Wellbeing Services will conduct a workshop on the Notice, Engage, Refer + Debrief (NER+D) training program,designed to help university community members respond to mental health related distress. 

Meditation sessions focused on empathy will also be available to the community. More information regarding events can be found on the National Mental Health Week website. 

Importance of empathy

Given that structural inequities are pervasive in our communities, those of which have only been made more apparent during the pandemic, it is important to consider the relationship between empathy and supremacy as we enter National Mental Health Week. 

“When we are socialized into a world that places individuals and communities within hierarchies of worth, it greatly affects our individual and collective relationship with empathy,” she says. “As empathy requires us to look at the world from the perspective of others, those in positions of relative power and influence may experience different levels of empathy in relation to those who face inequities within dominant society as it relates to race, gender, ability, sexuality, religion, age, and so on.”

For example, the racial empathy gap is a reality highlighted by the war in Ukraine. White people and white-majority nations typically respond more quickly and compassionately to a crisis involving those they perceive to be the same race, a proven social construct, than to conflicts elsewhere in the world.

“As we consider the impact of empathy in relation to mental health and well-being, it is vital that we address how one's relationship with empathy is shaped by the value dominant society places on certain individuals and communities over others,” says McDiarmid. 

To learn more about what the programming and events offered during National Mental Health Week, visit the university’s Mental Health and Wellbeing website.