I think this word 'sympathy' has many social and cultural perceptions that direct how we relate to it. Perhaps, we see sympathy as a weakness? Sympathy implies that someone is soft stroking you, you know the, 'their, their' attitude 'you will be Okay' or ' you poor thing' attititude or even, 'please give me sympathy because I am weak'?

Perhaps, sympathy is hard to swallow when it comes to PTSD and the trauma(s) that have caused it? Perhaps, having sympathy over being physically, sexually and verbally abused for example makes us feel uncomfortable because of the nature of the trauma(s).

I guess to sympathise as it sounds better, it takes the onus away from the person who is feeling terrible and places it onto others in order for them to try to understand rather than the injured party feeling pitied?

Just my ideas.

I think it is very interesting how some words are acceptable in terms of what they facilitate and some are not becuase of the social and cultural labels we are conditioned to think of them in. Words can create our reality.

Spirit x