Why being in survival mode blocks empathy

Are you finding it hard to empathize with others?

This could be because you are in "survival mode" and preoccupied with managing your fears and triggers. This can make it difficult for us to tune into people's cues and expressions, especially if being in survival mode is all we have known in our entire life.

It is impossible to empathize heart to heart when we are busy and preoccupied managing ourselves, pushing down our fears. And for some of us this is something that we have had to do since we were born because our caregivers were not available for us. This mode becomes “wired in'“ us for safety and protection, but it also more often than not creates problems for us in our relaitonships.

Are you busy merely surviving? Is it hard for you to have safe relationships with others as a result?

In Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy we help people work through their emotional blocks, make sense of those survival mechanisms that are stuck in time, and empower them to live a joyful meaningful life.