Acute psychosocial stress leads to increased empathy and prosocial behavior. An international team of researchers investigated the effects of stress on neural mechanisms and tested the relationship between empathy and prosocial behavior in a new experiment.
MRI scans of the brain: stress-induced brain activation during viewing pictures of other people in painful situations. The results show that the neural empathy network in people under stress was more sensitive to the pain of others.
Claus Lamm (2016) Published by Oxford University Press
Acute psychosocial stress leads to increased empathy and prosocial behavior. An international team of researchers investigated the effects of stress on neural mechanisms and tested the relationship between empathy and prosocial behavior in a new experiment.
MRI scans of the brain: stress-induced brain activation during viewing pictures of other people in painful situations. The results show that the neural empathy network in people under stress was more sensitive to the pain of others.
Claus Lamm (2016) Published by Oxford University Press
Please see the following links
http://scholarworks.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2080&context=etd
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_is_the_relationship_between_stress_and_empathy
Article The relationships between empathy, stress and social support...
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170411104758.htm
Best Regards Catia Cillóniz
Moral stress or distress as well as contact with a certain phenomenon may lead to increased empathy:
There is though eustress and distress. We need a certain amount of the first type of stress to function well but too much of the latter makes as feel bad, may lead to exhaustio (burn out) and then the capacity to feel empathy is limited.
In my knowledge under stress conditions the capacity of mentalization ( Fonagy et al ) is impaired. Probably under stress you look for sharing your difficulties and it can look like an empaty attitude but I dont agree with the statement that stress improve empaty .
According to my opinion and clinical experience, a certain amount of stress is very necessary for empathy or - vica versa - true empathy also leads to stress in a person who empathizes - that's why empathy is so exhausting. It is not decisive whether it is eustres or distress, but whether it is the right emotional resonance. During the process of empathy the level of cortisol is elevated.
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