is this empathy?

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On two seperate occassions this week, I have started crying at the sight of someone elses emotions.

could be, What were the circumstances?

Well, I was watching the telly and it was about a woman who met her mother for the first time in 30 years. She was overcome with emotions and I found myself in tears, there was snot and everything.

The second time it was a lady crying because her baby was very sick. I was so sorry for her and I was crying then as well.

I'll have to stop watching Jeremy Kyle.

snot is definitely a sure sign of empathy.

Yes, it is. It's sympathy we lack, not empathy, as far as I'm concerned.

And empathy is better :p

I tend to have empathy issues. As in, none at all or way too much. In a large group I am an empath; I take it all on as my own. In regular life I know what to say, but I usually feel nothing and resort to problem solving. In reality you may have been experiencing sympathy; you felt bad for them rather than relating or understanding what it's like to be them and responding appropriately. I think more than anything you confirmed you have a conscience, and therefore you are not a sociopath. Just my thoughts, feel free to disagree.

Oh, and keep in mind, most of us have cognitive empathy issues, which has nothing to do with what your posting. What happens to you happens to me maybe once every couple years, and every time I'm like "WTF, what is happening? Am I about to cry? " The way I felt about these emotions is enough to tell me there are issues there.

In reality, working on the cognitive stuff will be most beneficial. A simple "are you ok" or "oh I'm so sorry" or whatever is all the NT mind needs to think you care. That part is easy, but even then I'll find myself not reacting to the plight of others. Oh well; work in progress. The day to day cognitive stuff is much more complicated Unfortunately.

Yes. I think with me, I get really happy for people and I also get really sad for people.

Both states can bring me to tears.

It doesn't happen all the time though because in real life, a lot of things escape my attention.

No, that is not Empathy. That is SYMPATHY. The filmmaker and actors were telling you what emotions were occurring and you resonated with those emotions.

EMPATHY is being able to read another person's nonverbal signals, understand what they may be thinking or feeling without them telling you and knowing how to appropriately respond.

EMPATHY is an interpersonal social skill.

SYMPATHY is recognizing another's emotional state and resonating in tune with that emotion. Seeing someone weeping does not require any subtle social skill to recognize or interpret.

Yeh, that is empathy.

I cry at a lot of films or television programmes. I even cry at happy endings.

I also cry when a friend or relative of mine cries too. I say this is having too much empathy, because not every single NT cries every time they see another person cry.

Does anyone watch Supernanny? Usually when Jo Frost sits down with the parents alone and talks about how they are bringing the kids up, it's usually the mother who gets emotional. It is rare that the father does, and no it's not just because he's on television. I do hate when people with AS makes excuses as if to say ''no Aspie has empathy, all NTs have empathy, end of''. That is so inaccurate.

Thanks Willard.

That explains why I'm out of tune with people a lot of the time then. I think I lack empathy.

Does that make me a bad person?

No that does not make you a bad person. It makes you autistic.

No that does not make you a bad person. It makes you autistic.

^^Thanks.

BABYBIRD FELT SOMEBODY ELSES PAIN, THAT IS AFFECTIVE EMPATHY.