What’s The Difference Between Sympathy and Empathy?

The suffix ‘pathy’ comes from the Greek word for suffering, pathos. The western medical system is built around pathology, which simply means diagnosing suffering and treating disease. However social connections are critically important to the ways that people cope with and overcome suffering, grief, and trauma. Words like sympathy, empathy, and even apathy describe the nuanced differences between the very complex social connections and reactions humans display when they are suffering or when we witness others in pain.

While subtle