lack of empathy, but also too much empathy?
i seem to have some kind of issue with empathy? like i see someone cry, and i get so emotional i cry just looking at someone struggling, or i see someone cry and i feel 0 empathy and just get overly annoyed and literally want to strangle them. anyone else relate? anyone know if this is like a sign of a mental illness or something idk??
I don’t get what you mean, honestly
If you mean like mood swings, it’s fairly common depending on the context.
If you mean like mood swings, it’s fairly common depending on the context.
(edited 3 years ago)
Original post by Anonymous
i seem to have some kind of issue with empathy? like i see someone cry, and i get so emotional i cry just looking at someone struggling, or i see someone cry and i feel 0 empathy and just get overly annoyed and literally want to strangle them. anyone else relate? anyone know if this is like a sign of a mental illness or something idk??
There's nothing wrong with feeling empathy for someone. I personally hate injustice and bullying a lot. In 1980, when I was 17, I went to East Berlin on a trip and saw the Berlin wall. I felt so sorry for the people, I had dreams of storming into their parliament, making a grand speech about how awful it was, and that they would stop what they were doing, listen to what I was saying and totally go and tear down the wall!
Naive, perhaps, but someone actually did that (Mikhail Gorbatcheov, the Russian leader at the time).
Now I wouldn't recommend strangling people, but if you see a passer by struggling, and you feel you could help, why not offer?
Many people have empathy (think of how many people cry at sad films) but they do not act upon it.
Maybe you could volunteer at a local charity when the pandemic fades, or stand up for your beliefs in another way.
I am very angry at inequality in education, so I am doing a lot on TSR to help state school students get into Oxford and Cambridge. I have even written a book called Oxford Demystified, which is available on here for free...
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6100480
There are a lot of state school TSRians who PM me, to say that without me, they would never have thought of applying, and now they have an offer!
You are not mentally ill, and I wish there were more people like you, who are filled with empathy.
