How do you strengthen yourself/build empathy?

[KatieLou]

I am a far better partner to my uBPDH when I am physically and emotionally healthy myself. I would love to hear what other people do to build up their own reserves. My faith is essential to me, so attending church and trying to read liturgy and scripture daily helps. Also exercise, daily if possible, and finding time for things I enjoy (in my case reading, baking, making music). I play tennis with friends and walk for exercise, and while I walk I listen to podcasts, which I have found to be an enormous help in building empathy - it's like I'm exercising my body through the walking and my empathy through the podcasts. A few that I think others here might also enjoy:
*Strangers - its description reads "Each episode is an empathy shot in your arm, featuring true stories about the people we meet, the connections we make, the heartbreaks we suffer, the kindnesses we encounter, and those frightful moments when we discover that WE aren't even who we thought we were."
*Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People - comedian Chris Gerhard takes hour-long calls from anyone who wants to talk about anything; some are silly, some are heartbreaking, most are very interesting
*Mental Illness Happy Hour - if you're needing to know you are not alone in struggling with mental illness and its ramifications this is a great one
*WTF with Marc Maron - Maron is a comedian but often his in-depth conversations with other people in the public eye cut very deep emotionally. Recently heard a surprisingly candid one with Dana Carvey, who grew up in an abusive household.

Anyway, would love to hear what other people do to strengthen themselves and what they enjoy reading or listening to.

Best to all as we work to hold on to joy during what I think is often a challenging time of year for complicated families like ours!

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[livednlearned]

I love your recommendations, and recognize some of them (they work for me too!) The Marc Maron interview with Dana Carvey brought me to tears. I encouraged my son to listen to it (he's not ready... .)

On Being with Krista Tippett has helped me (another podcast). Her interviews about spirituality and psychology are far-ranging and I find many of them are applicable in one way or another.

The guided meditations on the Insight meditation app are also really good, as is mindfulness practice in general.

When I need a super dose of empathy and compassion for dealing with BPD, I turn to BPD memoirs like Buddha and the Borderline, and Beyond Borderline.

It's not quite as easy to have empathy for a person who is endangering your safety. Too much empathy can complicate things, especially if not paired with good communications skills and boundaries. If that were the case in my situation, I would turn to books that manage to focus on safety without maligning the abuser, like I Hate You, Don't Leave Me.