Sympathy vs Compassion

 

A friend was mourning a death and I felt bad for her, so I sent her a sympathy Facebook message.

That very morning, I received Mark Manson’s Mindf*ck Monthly Newsletter that contained an article about compassion and sympathy.

I’ve always thought compassion and sympathy meant the same thing, but they are different.

Definitions:

Go on the internet and you’ll find tons of dictionary and biblical definitions for compassion and sympathy.

What they all boil down to is that sympathy is nothing more than emotionally acknowledging an individual’s suffering, while compassion is doing something to help ease another’s suffering.

Sympathy vs Compassion

Sympathy and compassion start with you feeling bad for someone. The differences are how you act to what is going on.

Sympathy is sending social media post stating how you feel to a friend who is mourning a death. Compassion is driving to their house to find out if they need something or just being a friend to talk to.

Sympathy is seeing a dog tied to a post during a rainstorm and feeling bad for it. Compassion is stopping and getting the owner to take it inside.

Sympathy is changing your profile picture on social media to show support for whatever the new media uproar is. Compassion is giving time or money to victims, listening to their stories, helping them through times of need.

Sympathy is a good thing, but it’s focused on the feeling rather than the person. “I hope they feel better.”

Compassion is about the person. Compassion takes more effort—both mental and emotional. "Let me help."

Summary: Sympathy and compassion describe our reactions to the troubles of others. The key difference between these emotions is that when you feel sympathy, you understand and are concerned for what another person is going through. You will freely show your support for them. When you feel compassion, you understand their suffering and you are willing to take actions. This could be through active support or helping to bring about changes that will alleviate their suffering.

No matter if you feel sympathy or compassion, make world a better place and extend kindness to anyone – friend, foe, stranger or creature.