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Reindeer
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25 Jun 2011, 5:26 pm

Why don't I feel empathy for real people but only fictional characters, like in books, animes and cartoons?
Feels pretty weird to me.


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pree10shun
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25 Jun 2011, 5:28 pm

IRL people don't tell you they are in pain you've to understand what they are going through

In books the author generally describes it to us



Reindeer
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25 Jun 2011, 5:31 pm

Well even not when I see a person cry I only pretend to have empathy for the person to not stand out like I'm a cold-hearted person


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pree10shun
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25 Jun 2011, 5:45 pm

Reindeer wrote:
Well even not when I see a person cry I only pretend to have empathy for the person to not stand out like I'm a cold-hearted person


I dont feel empathy for people who cry because I cannot feel their pain... I try consoling them but never know what to say so I just say I am sorry they had to go through the misfortune..

But in a novel the author describes the consequences of the persons misfortune and I start feeling sad.. even though you don't know this person... as we read a novel there is a one sided relationship going on b/w us and the characters...

Even in a novel if a character does not grow on me I feel nothing for them



Last edited by pree10shun on 25 Jun 2011, 6:27 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Reindeer
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25 Jun 2011, 6:21 pm

Thank you :D
Helped me alot! :)


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pree10shun
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25 Jun 2011, 6:27 pm

Reindeer wrote:
Thank you :D
Helped me alot! :)


You're welcome :)



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25 Jun 2011, 8:09 pm

Maybe this is why I grew up reading endless fiction and watching a lot of films.
I too find I can empathise a lot more with these characters than real people...in fact, I get more sad for animals and sometimes even game characters, than I do for people. I do tend to want to do something if I see someone crying but I tend to not feel that much, more a sort of panic than anything at not knowing what to do. So, I don't think you're alone.



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25 Jun 2011, 8:10 pm

I'm an Aspie, I have a difficult time feeling emotion at all. Except with Fictional characters, like: House, Master Chief, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Neal Caffrey, Niko Bellic, Det. Robert "Bobby" Goren & Kevin Flynn (I was depressed when he died). I am way attached to those characters. I also fake sympathy for real people but sometimes I don't know when to express concern so my siblings half joke, half criticize that I am cold.



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05 Aug 2011, 9:07 am

This is me, too. I feel far more emotion watching a TV show than if the same thing happens in real life.



astaut
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05 Aug 2011, 7:28 pm

I don't have NO empathy for people in my life, but I feel like I definitely have more for fictional characters. I can be brought to tears by certain books or movies...I can't remember that ever happening in real life, just being so moved by someone's story.


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05 Aug 2011, 7:42 pm

I seem to empathize for people who have went through the same thing I have or people I like and have gone through the same thing I have. I guess I can kinda see myself in them and know what they have to go through everyday and still manage to keep a smile on their face and not give up.



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12 Jan 2012, 8:36 am

I think that in IRL, you'll find a lot of people and situations that 'don't make sense'. I think characters in literature are different from people in RL because authors research people and their motives before writing a character, and IRL, people can be whimsy, irrational, irresponsible, emotionless etc., they give you no reason to like them, and you wouldn't know what their redeeming features are or what propels them to do such things because you wouldn't have any insights into their minds.


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19 Mar 2012, 9:48 pm

I feel empathy for animals, but not so much for humans. This cant be because any author told me how they feel, cause its my real pets. So I would assume its because their only language is their facialexpressions, some noise and body language. Which means they cant polute my impression of them with irrational words.

But still, I find it weird that I can only feel empathy with animals in the real world. And small children aswell btw, sometimes. I guess its easier to feel their pain when its mostly physical.

I got 7 of 80 points on an empathy quotient test btw.


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20 Mar 2012, 5:42 am

Blownmind wrote:
I feel empathy for animals, but not so much for humans. This cant be because any author told me how they feel, cause its my real pets. So I would assume its because their only language is their facialexpressions, some noise and body language. Which means they cant polute my impression of them with irrational words.

But still, I find it weird that I can only feel empathy with animals in the real world. And small children aswell btw, sometimes. I guess its easier to feel their pain when its mostly physical.

I got 7 of 80 points on an empathy quotient test btw.


I think pets and babies are much easier to read than adults. Pets and babies have no agenda - they feel what they feel. Adult humans hide their emotions, even from themselves. They complicate them with language and stories. They use their emotions to manipulate and control. It is rare for even NTs to get true empathy of each other - it is more of a 'projected empathy'' where one person assumes the other is feeling the way the first person is feeling.



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22 Mar 2012, 6:00 pm

I empathize with fictional characters so much that I've taken on my favorites as imaginary friends. My mom told me that I do this because fictional characters can't hurt me the way real people can. I think it's also an issue of control since I find that I become frustrated when the people in my life don't act the way I expect them to.



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22 Mar 2012, 9:12 pm

^ I'm similar with characters I make up, though it's more like the character becomes a part of me...


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