Medication That Springs from Our Soul: 'Compassion' Can it be Taught

Abstract

The word mercy is stated to be derived from the words "pity, affection". 3 According to the definition of Turkish Language Institution (TDK), compassion is "the sadness and pity that one feels in the face of the unfavorable conditions that a person or another living thing experiences". 4 According to the Oxford English Dictionary, on the other hand, the word "compassion" originates from the Latin word "compati", which means "suffering". 2 The meaning and definition of compassion, how it can be measured, and whether it can be taught has been discussed by scientists since Aristotle, and it is still being discussed. 5-7 This is not surprising because compassion exists at the core of all major religions and in the moral and philosophical traditions of the world, doctrines, and humanist approaches. 7,8 Nietzsche states that compassion is a virtue that leads man to true morality, and a path that extends to both human love and justice. 9

Investigation of the Relationship Between the Compassion and Depression Levels of Primary Caregivers of Individuals with Chronic Disease: Descriptive Study

“…31,32 There is a consensus about the fact that compassion is teachable. 9 Jazaeri et al reported that a group receiving compassion training had an increased level of compassion at the end of the training, which also had positive effects on psychology and well-being. 33 Despite all these positive opinions, Schulz et al stated that compassion plays a role in establishing a good relationship between the caregiver and the care receivers, however, a high level of compassion may have disadvantages for the caregiver.…”

“…Compassion Scale (CS) was developed by Pommier and the validity and reliability analysis of the Turkish version was performed by Akdeniz and Deniz. 14,15 It contains 24 items presented in a 5-point Likert scale format and has six sub-scales including kindness (6,8,16,24), indifference (2,12,14,18), common humanity (11,15,17,20), separation (3,5,10,22), mindfulness (4,9,13,21) and disengagement (1,7,19,23). Items in the indifference, separation and disengagement subscales are reverse-coded.…”

“…8 Compassion has many positive effects on the patient as well as the individuals who approach them with compassion. 9 The studies showed that compassion contributes to improvement of self-respect, having a positive mental attitude, establishing good social relationships as well as subjective well-being, thus acting with compassion might reduce stress and depressive symptom. 10 Although there are many studies on the concept of compassion fatigue and selfcompassion in caregivers and the effects of compassionate care on nurses but there are a limited number of studies about the relationship between compassion level and depression in caregivers.…”