Empathy vs Sympathy and Compassion

When a friend is challenged by a physical problem, like a health issue, or an emotional problem, like a breakup from a beloved person, romantic partner or animal, we want stand by them - being able to support her or him in a way that is both helpful and supportive. Whether they are suffering from some misfortune, loss, or challenging experience, how do we respond in a way that spread and share warmth and understanding? Do we offer sympathy or empathy? And what is the difference - and both has its time and can be beneficial or not that good.

Sympathy and empathy are similar, BUT sympathy or empathy are different in how they can or will make the other who is suffering feel.
Empathy is a sense that you can understand and share the feelings of another. As User Experience Designer as person with a few experience in my life - I firmly believe that this "shared" experience can generate a profound understanding because you attempt to know what it’s like to “walk in their shoes.” We are born with empathy but some lost it perhaps - but it is still in everyone.

Sympathy is a feeling of pity or sorrow for someone else's misfortune. Sympathy may not be received as well as empathy, but sorrowful sympathy can offer some warmth and support in the face of someone else’s misfortune - if administered with sensitivity and sincerity.

On the other hand, if you give sympathy by feeling pity, it may generate feelings of alienation or cause other not welcome side-effects in others. Of course, try to be as authentic as possible in responding to others. But also try to be sensitive to the needs, desires, and emotions of the person who is hurting. Even just being there silently for him or her can often be helpful.

And there is another term and ability compassion - compassion can be viewed as a distinct emotional state, which can be differentiated from distress, sadness, and love - and compassion is again different to pity and mercy.

Compassion is more of an attitude, a way of thinking — it's a intention to care for others and humanity, even from a distance. Compassion may reach further than a single individual potentially to masses of people with a particular ailment, experience, or hardship.
Although compassion is generally good for us and others, health workers, nurses, and other service personnel can sometimes suffer compassion fatigue because caring for others, emotionally or physically, can be exhausting - especially when it goes on the other side of pity and mercy. And this can hurt helpers' well-being.

To sum it up ...

Empathy is a one-on-one connection because of a deep understanding that comes from sharing an emotional experience. Sympathy is a feeling of sadness or pity felt for another person. And compassion is a broader sense of care for the world at large.

And here a short video of about less than 3 minutes ...