Supporting Empaths in your Community

By Holly Madden

Written by a vulnerable empath, this document and affirming poem at the end are designed to provide a perspective on how to support empaths in your community, whether that be a faith gathering, a workplace, or a friend group.

*Check out this Presentation Resource on Empathy!

Trauma Training Takeaways: Empathy is incredibly unique because some people are wired for empathy and this shows early on in childhood, and others much work hard to learn empathy and observe it being modeled. Even when it comes easy to some, empathy is a skill that needs to be practiced. Childhood trauma survivors may have increased empathy skills due to the survival instinct (often the fawn response(1)), due to being so attuned to the emotions of others in order to avoid conflict and often traumatic reactions. While this is NOT the case for every empath, it is a common skill in trauma survivors that has roots in surviving.

(1) The fawn response can be defined as, “The fawn response involves accommodating others to seek approval and avoid conflict. Fawning generally involves prioritising, or being seen to prioritise, the needs of others over their own to establish connections and prevent confrontation or escalation.

The fawn response is often linked to relational or complex trauma and stems from adapting to abusive environments, prioritising others’ needs for survival. Recognising and addressing the roots of this unintentional adaptive behaviour is important for overcoming post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the various effects of trauma.”

Araminta. “Exploring the Stress Responses: Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn.” Khiron Clinics, January 5, 2024. https://khironclinics.com/blog/exploring-the-stress-responses/.