Wondering if I am capable of empathy.

Post Reply New Topic

Every time I tried to express empathy for others when I was growing up, I got the message that I had no right to because I did not know what I was talking about. People around me expressed the fact that they felt personally humiliated whenever I tried anything like that.

Maybe nobody wanted to associate themselves with me. Or maybe I really am incapable of empathy. I find that I spend a lot of time posting about my problems, but I also find that it is difficult for me to reach out to others in need, even though I really do wish I knew what to say to help bolster them up.

Not sure what else to add to this.

Well, your not the only one. Even when I do manage to figure out what other people are feeling I generally have no idea how to properly respond.

Rational answers are likely to get you punched in the face, but, of course, the first irrational answer you come up with will get you punched even harder.

I will admit it. I crave admiration and empathy. Or maybe that is an emotional overreaction to just want to be treated like a normal human for a change. How do I cope as a peer, when I consider the people around me to be superior, shall I be superior myself?

Does that even make sense?

My nature is to truly care about people who are hurting, and I want to help them. But I've come to accept that I'm just not good at it, and my attempts to say something kind and encouraging often completely miss the mark. I've come to realize that I'm not being helpful at all, so I just keep quiet and try not to make them feel worse.

Better off without empathy.

I don't believe that for one second.

Without empathy, we would have a planet full of sociopaths. Without empathy, the human race would have killed itself off a very long time ago.

The issue I am feeling is that I think there is a glass barrier between me and most NTs. I see what they are going through, but the barrier keeps me from being able to properly do the right thing, for I usually do not have a clue what the right thing to do actually is.

Does that make sense?

In the partial sense he does have a point but only just because people tend to run themselves into the ground caring what other people think of them. Then again it depends on whether he speaks of both types of empathy being attentive and cognitive empathy or if he just means one xD

We already have a planet full and run by sociopaths.

Constantly feeling the pan of their victims isn't fun I can tell you

We live in a planet where the vast majority of sociopaths beat their chests the loudest.

The common man can compose himself despite that.

It is not an over-reaction. Your perception of yourself compared to others seems pretty skewed against you.


It's hard, it depends on the person and the situation. Some people like solutions. Some people want to feel loved and cared for and that itself can fix a lot. Other people just want to be heard but don't want any advice. Other people you will never be able to help no matter what you do because you're just not the right person or their head isn't in the right space. Other people you will feel like a broken record with advice or points of view but every time you offer that opinion it still helps.