Empathy and Mental Health

Gas Station Purchase Scenario

• Students are presented with a scenario: They have $3 to spend at a gas station.
• Images show a gas station store with various items (e.g., candy, drinks, etc.)
• Images also show money – including $1 and $10 bills.

Empathy

• Empathy is the ability to understand and share someone else's feelings.
• It's about taking another person's perspective.

Empathy and Mental Health

• The importance of empathy is highlighted in discussions of mental health.
• There's a possible correlation between empathy and mental well-being.

Sympathy vs. Empathy

• Sympathy is feeling pity for someone.
• Empathy is putting yourself in another person's position to experience their feelings.

Qualities of Empathy

• Perspective Taking: Trying to see things from another's point of view.
• Staying Out of Judgment: Avoiding judgmental thoughts.
• Recognizing and Understanding Emotions: Identifying and comprehending other's feelings.
• Communication: Sharing what you understand, avoiding misinterpretations or misunderstandings.

Empathy Survey

• A survey is presented to gauge individual empathy levels.
• The survey spans scenarios of assisting others in need to understanding various perspectives.
• Possible answers range from "not at all" to "almost all of the time".

Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover

• This is a quote emphasizing the importance of not making assumptions or judgments about others based on outward appearances.
• People should consider a deeper understanding of individuals.

Blind Spots

• The idea of recognizing personal blind spots is introduced to improve empathy and understanding.

Meet Auggie

• Students are asked to consider their feelings and experiences, and how understanding situations that differ from their own can help develop empathy towards individuals dealing with various issues.
• The quote "Don't judge a book by its cover" prompts reflection on judging others.

The Sad Reality

• We often assume that people who act differently than us are inferior.
• This leads to stereotyping and possibly hurtful judgments.
• This image shows that different means “weird”.

Icebergs and People

• Both people and icebergs have much more depth and complexity than what is visible on the surface.

Problem with Stereotypes

• People often stereotype groups.
• These stereotypes can be harmful because they do not provide accurate views of people.
• Stereotyping often leads to prejudice.
• Prejudice results in negative opinions about people in certain groups.
• Prejudice causes discriminatory behavior against people in specific groups. This lowers empathy levels.

Our Words Have Power

• Words have the power to hurt or inspire.
• The way people speak to others has a meaningful impact.
• The impact of words can be very impactful long-term and detrimental for some individuals.

Hurtful Words

• Students are encouraged to reflect on times they have said hurtful things, and potentially hurtful actions they have seen.

Stereotyping Leads to

• Prejudice: A negative and unreasonable opinion or attitude toward a group of people, without adequate justification.
• Discrimination: Negative actions against people in a specific group due to prejudice.

The Importance of Taking Account of All Perspectives

• Understanding the multifaceted realities of those around us can improve our interactions with them.
• This involves trying to understand both sides of a situation before making judgments.
• Empathy includes consideration for others’ perspectives.

Closing Thoughts

• Encourage students to refrain from judging people too quickly before understanding them or considering what they may have experienced.
• The focus is on adopting empathy toward others.