I'm not sure how to explain this, but I think people I've had so many experiences where other people misinterpret me and misinterpret what I'm feeling and what I want, I am less likely to try to empathize with others because I don't want to put anyone else through that same kind of discomfort.
As one example...so many times throughout my life I really just wanted to be left alone because I felt tired or overwhelmed, or was trying to concentrate on something, or just wanted to be quiet and stop talking, or felt a migraine coming on, or just any reason, whatever. It doesn't even matter what the reason is, what matters is that is what I want and need. I would try to disengage the situation politely, and if I was pressured I might have even said directly, PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE. But some annoying busybody would misinterpret that as me needing company or reassurance or a hug, which would be really invasive.
So because of things like that, I began to infer that other people might say they want to be left alone, or go off by themselves or whatever, when they don't really want to be left alone. How utterly mind boggling is that? How in the world are you supposed to know the difference?! I can't tell, and so I have misinterpreted things that way myself a few times, with absolutely horrifying results. So now I firmly believe that when people say or demonstrate that they want to be left alone, by all means, leave them alone.
And if I am not sure what a person wants, I think it is better to err on the side of caution and just leave them alone anyway, than to risk upsetting them worse.