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Being compassionate means to make an effort to understand the feelings and emotional states of another person. It also involves understanding your own emotional state.  Showing compassion has a big impact on a person’s mental wellbeing.

Compassion is similar to empathy, which is the ability to imagine yourself in someone else’s shoes. However, compassion goes beyond empathy to have a deeper understanding of someone’s emotions while also feeling the desire to help them.

How Showing Compassion Helps You

Feeling and showing compassion is beneficial for both you and other people. Firstly, being compassionate helps you to feel good. When you carry out compassionate acts, whether it’s giving money to charity or helping out a friend, it activates pleasure circuits in your brain. It also releases oxytocin, which makes you feel good. Being kind and compassionate to others can boost your wellbeing.  A study has shown that spending money on others can have a bigger impact on feelings of happiness than if you were to spend it on yourself.

Being compassionate can also put you in a more positive mindset. When you make an effort to be compassionate, you most likely will notice more positive things around you. Some people choose to make a conscious effort to think more positively and compassionately, perhaps using meditation or mindfulness to achieve this. Being compassionate can also be contagious. If you’re compassionate to others, people who see it and experience it will be moved to be more compassionate too.

It’s also important to show compassion towards yourself; taking your own feelings seriously and to be kind to yourself like you would be towards a friend. This can make you more optimistic, decrease stress, and boost your overall well-being. When you have a better understanding of your own feelings, you are better able to support other people.

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How Being Compassionate Helps Others

When you choose to be compassionate, it helps all those around you. Showing compassion to someone simply  communicates that you understand them, that you’re willing to listen, and that you take their feelings seriously. Showing compassion to others can involve a variety of acts, such as doing a favor for someone when they are in most need of help.

When you act compassionately, you can show others not only that you are making an effort to understand them but also that you will help them if you can. Compassion can involve providing non-judgemental understanding and support to people so that they know they have someone to turn to if they need help. Even just letting someone know that you’re available to talk can have a positive impact on their mental health.

Being compassionate to others is good for both you and them and helps to improve mental health in a number of ways.