I used to think compassion meant feeling everything everyone else felt.

If a patient cried, I had tears in my eyes.
If a friend was angry, I got angry on their behalf.
If a colleague was anxious, I carried their worry home like an extra bag I didn’t remember packing.

It felt like caring. Until I couldn’t anymore.

The day I realized I was in trouble wasn’t dramatic. I just noticed that when someone began telling me their story, a part of me silently thought, "I can’t take on one more thing."

That was the moment I learned there’s a difference between empathy and heartfulness—and that only one of them is sustainable.

Empathy is the ability to feel what someone else feels. In moderation, it can create deep understanding and trust. But when overused—especially in caregiving,

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