💛 Want to connect deeper and heal with support? Visit https://www.debsheppard.com

Hi, it’s Deb 💛

This week on Spirited Straight Talk, Dana and I dive into something I’ve been feeling deeply lately—the rising lack of empathy in our world. From politics and religion to schools and personal relationships, empathy seems to be disappearing from the conversation. But without it, how do we truly connect, heal, and grow?

We talk about:
✨ What empathy actually looks like (and what it’s NOT)
✨ Why some people hijack your emotions and can’t hold space for you
✨ How to recognize “empathy imposters”
✨ Why grief, trauma, and even self-growth require empathy
✨ And how to hold compassion without enabling chaos

This is a heartfelt, honest conversation about empathy at every level—from our relationships and healing journeys to what it means for society as a whole. If you’ve ever felt unheard, dismissed, or burned out from caring too much… this episode is for you.

With compassion and clarity,
Deb 💛

0:00 – Welcome to Spirited Straight Talk
1:27 – Shocking: empathy being removed from religion and schools
7:58 – Can someone pretend to have empathy? (Spoiler: yes)
14:39 – Left brain vs. right brain: where empathy lives
19:45 – Fixing vs. listening: the empathy trap
28:23 – When people cause suffering because they’re suffering

✅ How to spot “empathy hijacking” in conversations
✅ Why we struggle to give ourselves empathy and grace
✅ What happens when people use empathy as a manipulation tool
✅ How to create healthy emotional boundaries without shutting down
✅ And how to raise emotionally intelligent kids in an empathy-starved world

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