What is Somatic Empathy?
“Somatic Empathy = experiencing what other people feel while being aware that this vicarious state is produced by someone else.”
Many of us occasionally feel what others are feeling as if it were happening to us; perceiving their headache, hip pain or sadness as if it were our own. It is a relatively common experience but scientists are only now beginning to unpack how and why this happens.
Known as somatic counter-transference by psychotherapists, interpersonal physiology by social neuroscientists, and afferent empathy by cognitive scientists, this phenomenon turns out to be an essential aspect of social intelligence which we share with non-human animals. Because it happens to everyone (mostly beneath conscious awareness) it influences the health and well-being of us all yet is poorly understood.
RESOURCES
My fascination with somatic empathy led me to develop a range of informational resources:
a 300-page book Another Self detailing what science has uncovered so far about these experiences. Contains 200 academic references neatly tucked away at the back [£20].
an online course consisting of short downloadable reading with longer videos of me teaching. Includes an online discussion forum and a one to one zoom chat with me [£49].
a downloadable 48-page ebook in my store that is a simplified overview of somatic empathy [£7].
numerous free articles on my blog page, in the online magazine Medium, and my bi-monthly blog for Psychology Today.
face2face workshops [see ‘events’ page]
NEW Book | ANOTHER SELF: How Your Body Helps You Understand Others
ISBN 9781-80049-280-6
Why does your nervous system register other people's pain and distress as your own? Why might your dentist make more mistakes when you are fearful? How does your dog know when you are unwell? Why does your heart rate synchronise with the person you are listening to?
Another Self explains why we sometimes take on the physical, emotional, and even mental states of others. In this book—the first overview of somatic empathy—Dr Cindy Engel brings together research into social perception and interpersonal physiology to explain how and why our thoughts and feelings are not always entirely our own.
New evidence reveals that this tendency to 'catch' others' emotional and physiological condition is not merely a quirk of sensitive individuals but a fundamental aspect of human intelligence: feeling with others is an ancient strategy reaching back into our evolutionary past enabling us to predict their intentions.
Understanding how somatic empathy works and that it affects us without our knowing, enables us to sidestep the perils of taking on another self (vicarious harm, overwhelm, and burnout) while optimising our comprehension of ourselves and others.
Be prepared to reassess your sense of self, your relationships, your occupation, and your choice of entertainment.
cover image of book ‘Another Self’
A few take aways from Another Self:
· It is normal to share others’ emotions, physiological arousal, aches and pains, even thought processes.
· Somatic empathy is an ancient pre-verbal intelligence, a means of understanding others by experiencing what we perceive about them.
· Physiological synchrony and brain coupling between mothers and their infants seem to facilitate self-regulation later in life.
· Trauma can pass from person to person via somatic empathy.
· Neurodiversity and hypersensitivity often reflect greater reliance on somatic rather than cognitive empathy.
· Somatic empathy is an effective means of interspecies communication.
· Attention-grabbing media deliberately triggers somatic empathy, and this can cause long-term harm.
· Once we understand how somatic empathy works, we can learn to modulate our responses so that we can avoid taking on negative states from others but maintain our sensitivity to our world.
image of video trailer
click on image for video trailer
On-Line Course | Somatic Empathy Explained (for therapists)
I have produced a detailed course explaining the psychobiology of somatic empathy with therapists in mind. It is self-paced and tutor-supported. Only £49 for lifetime access and one to one support. More details with no obligation to purchase can be found here.
Illustrated ebooklet | Somatic Empathy: An Overview
Somatic Empathy: An Overview
Download £7.00 via my store.