Facing our problems with honestly with sincerity is always the best course of action. The dictionary defines empathy as having the capacity for participating in the feelings or ideas of another. This is opposed to sympathy which is defined as the ability of entering into and sharing the feelings of another. Empathy therefore represents a much closer state to than does sympathy. It is an intimate insight into how another person feels and thinks, it is an emotional identification.
People can develop emphatic qualities because of experiences they have endured during their lives.
Then when they see others in similar circumstances, they go beyond sympathy and start to share the same pain or feelings. That is perhaps why when someone sees a drama in which they witness the chain of events which leads to an emotional climax, the public will often break down crying over the results. But people can also accomplish empathy by using communication and understanding. Sometimes this is hard especially if an individual is distant or refuses to communicate. So opening up the channels, getting them to talk and to share their ideas and feelings is the only way to reach the understanding that is needed to reach the stage where empathy is possible.