Being completely overwhelmed by empathy is legitimately a symptom of autism and other mental disorders. Most people may have empathy in various degrees; but they’re not debilitated by it like some neurodivergent people are.
Meanwhile my autistic ass is very empathetic but only in very specific cases and not in the ways people expect so I’ve been labeled lacking in empathy.
I’m a lot like that too. An article about a person I never knew dying can leave my heart aching days, weeks or even years later. I see a stranger crying and I start to cry too. And yet other things can leave me feeling nothing. My mum is in severe pain from terminal cancer and there are moments when it gets to me, but other times I feel almost nothing and I can’t tell if it’s because I’m just a heartless cow or I’m doing a really good job blocking it out (schizoid skills ftw).
Being completely overwhelmed by empathy is legitimately a symptom of autism and other mental disorders. Most people may have empathy in various degrees; but they’re not debilitated by it like some neurodivergent people are.
Meanwhile my autistic ass is very empathetic but only in very specific cases and not in the ways people expect so I’ve been labeled lacking in empathy.
I’m a lot like that too. An article about a person I never knew dying can leave my heart aching days, weeks or even years later. I see a stranger crying and I start to cry too. And yet other things can leave me feeling nothing. My mum is in severe pain from terminal cancer and there are moments when it gets to me, but other times I feel almost nothing and I can’t tell if it’s because I’m just a heartless cow or I’m doing a really good job blocking it out (schizoid skills ftw).
I think I have that a little bit, my chest tightens and it feels hard to breathe