Nostr Web Client

Ok, sorry but I have to just go ahead and say it: what's with all of this "empath" stuff?

Healthy human beings experience what some seem to think is an extraordinary marked phenomenon called "empathy". In fact, having empathy is SO typical that if you do NOT show the capacity for empathy towards others that is a diagnostic symptom of several cluster B personality disorders such as BPD, NPD, and sociopathy.

So please explain to me why there are people who walk around thinking that their capacity to have empathy for others, to feel by proxy emotions when intense things are shared with them, to be impacted by it, to "sense" the emotional weight that others carry (this "sense" is called perception and... EMPATHY)... is an extraordinary superpower that makes them unique and fairy-like and requiring a lot of extra-special woo-woo things like "extra self-care" and "spiritual protection"? Is your capacity to feel empathy somehow more glorious than the next person's? Every one of us has these feelings!

Literally, anyone who isn't a sociopath or who does not suffer from severe psychological disorder is an "empath" then - so please... let's reel it in. There ARE a lot of things about you that probably make you unique and special, but the capacity to feel empathy is part of being a typically abled human.

So when and where did this "I am an empath, I have extraordinary feelings and needs" thing come from? What am I missing? It seems silly to me.

Reply to this note

Please Login to reply.

Discussion

Hamlin 2y ago

Agreed and congrats on this rant, really. You made my day.

lord 2y ago

Virtue signaling. It’s the cool thing to do nowadays

Decentony⚡ 2y ago

Just like man kind thought earth was the center of universe and sun was rotating around us; collective self centeredness, empath is individual self-centeredness.

And those emotions are often result of some chemical reactions, hormonal imbalance in their body. So a hormonal check up would be useful for such people.

art assoiants 2y ago

Two things

1. Look at it as a spectrum. Someone who's 0/10 empathic is a sociopath. Someone who's 10/10 has no ego boundaries.

2. When designing product or solutions for the world, the builder needs to "empathize" with their users. Someone who's 0/10 might not build anything except what meets their needs. Techniques like empathy maps can help tho.

🌿☁️ 2y ago

💯

Virtue signaling for sure.

And, people’s attempt to cover up their own insecurities.

vectr 2y ago

I feel your pain