Really feeling feelings

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I just got some bad news: my best friend told me he's likely to be diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in the very near future (all his tests have pointed to it, and his GP has told him to prepare for it). I've recently become aware just how much I don't actually feel feelings. I knew I should be sad, and I felt it was a shock (even though we've known it was always a possibility) but when he left and upon reflection, I don't know if I really do feel sad.

Since I got home, I've been feeling sick and keep having to run to the toilet. I don't know if these are physical manifestations of sadness/shock (could well be the burrito I had for lunch yesterday!)

How do you guys know when you're actually feeling an emotion, rather than knowing you should feel it? Do people experience physical feelings of emotions rather than the inside-the-head part? I find this really difficult to distinguish. It's like I'm backwards. I'll sometimes think I feel really sad, but then realise it's because I need to wee. Does anyone else experience this?

Sometimes I feel angry when really I'm just thirsty.

I can force myself to feel sad for things happening on the TV news by telling myself the right sad things, but it's not very productive. Mostly I watch out of curiosity.

OTOH I've started crying in the middle of a talk on civil rights, or upon hearing someone has harmed an animal.. I'm completely inconsistent.

Oh yeah if anything were to happen to my dog I'd cry like a baby.

I know what you mean. It's almost as though you feel a social responsibility to be sad. The same thing happened when my grandad died, I knew I should feel sad, but I just... didn't.

The physical manifestations could have just been the food, but it could be that you are sad, but don't quite know how to feel it, let alone express it. From what I gather, that's quite common for people with AS.

Remember when I found out my mate had cancer, felt dead inside and kept being sick. Have seen the same response in NT's sometimes. I think sometimes the mind just can't process things, knows it cant change whats happening things and the body reacts to the stress.

Definitely agree though these days especially in the UK there is far too much emphasis placed on emotional responses to events (sometimes bordering on collective hysteria) never been sure why I should be sad at somethings on TV, like people dying in Africa, angry yes but sad no.

I think its tied in to personal experience the last time I felt bad was because a young girl drowned in 4ft of water whilst two plastic police (community support officers) hadn't received the necessary training (both could swim) and were performing a health and safety assessment about the rescue. A real police officer arrived went straight in the water but was too late to save her, I get teary and angry just thinking of that even now.

My best friend called me on the phone crying to tell me he had a brain tumor once. I didn't feel anything. I said "Oh. Really?", he told me about it and the upcoming surgery, and that was about it. The same with family members with cancer. I never had any physical manifestations though.

I think I feel things, but I don't actually feel them. Just another of my oddities that I'm happy to have.