Jamil Zaki: The War for Kindness
Selected Excerpts
“Distress is one flavor of emotional empathy: feeling as someone else does by vicariously taking on their pain. Concern instead entails feeling for someone and wanting to improve their well-being.”
“Distress motivates people to escape others’ suffering, but caregivers can’t do that without abandoning their post… In fact, of the different kinds of empathy, only distress tracks burnout among doctors, nurses, and social workers.”
Discussion Questions
What part(s) of this passage resonated with you most?
Where do you think you fall on the spectrum of “empathic concern” versus “empathic distress” for your patients and/or loved ones? Do you feel this has shifted over time? Why or why not?
What has been most effective for you in striking a balance between empathizing with your patients and protecting yourself from burnout?
Reflections from #MedHumChat
“What resonated with me most was how "unexamined emotions" pop up in harmful ways, and how physicians who ignore their feelings make less accurate diagnoses and are more likely to take their frustrations out on patients. It made me think about unconscious biases.” —@OdyO11
“I often tend to shift btwn distress & concern. I know that when everything else in life is overwhelming, I find myself feeling more empathic distress than concern. Perhaps when I feel generally less in control, I feel less capable of caring for someone.” —@LanceShaver
“I think what's important is to remember the necessity for granularity, or as Dr. Ron Epstein refers to in his book, 'Attending', creating an awareness, paying attention.” —@LReedsbooks
About this #MedHumChat
The War for Kindness was paired with “That Dragon, Cancer” for a #MedHumChat on October 21, 2020 on Calibrating Empathy.
The pieces for this chat as well as the discussion questions were curated by Matthew Tyler (@PalliDad).
About the Author
Jamil Zaki is a professor of psychology at Stanford University and the director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab.