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MentalIllnessObsessed
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04 Oct 2016, 6:57 am

Greetings. I feel like this is an ASD thing. Whenever someone is depressed or stressed, I can "feel" their emotions. The person has to be in the room with me and they must be "acting" depressed or stressed (physical symptoms or mental symptoms that can be noticed) or else I won't notice this. But if they are acting it, I can feel their emotions and will get really stressed too. It gets worse if the other person is crying, then I want to cry too. Now that I'm typing it, it sounds more like a HSP thing. But does anyone else experience this? Thanks.


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Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 148 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 60 of 200
You are very likely neurodiverse (Aspie)

Dx Autism Spectrum Disorder - Level 1, learning disability - memory and fine motor skills, generalized and social anxiety disorder
Unsure if diagnosed with OCD and/or depression, but were talked about with my old/former pdoc and doctor.

Criteria for my learning disability is found at this link:
http://www.ldao.ca/wp-content/uploads/LDAO-Recommended-Practices-for-Assessment-Diagnosis-Documentation-of-LDs1.pdf


MissAlgernon
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04 Oct 2016, 7:05 am

It's empathy. Almost everyone experiences this. Only very insensitive persons, people like psychopaths and sociopaths and a few severe mental disorders don't. But I'd say, in general, the more sensitive you are, the more empathetic you are.



TwilightPrincess
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04 Oct 2016, 7:12 am

I'm highly sensitive and deal with this a lot. I think it's more an HSP thing. It's tough being this empathetic! Autism seems to come in though in having difficulty comforting the person your empathizing deeply with. I really have trouble with knowing how to express the sympathy I feel.


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SaveFerris
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04 Oct 2016, 7:22 am

I do feel like people's emotions can affect me more than they should , it's almost like the emotion is infectous (not always). I usually get internally angry or confused for letting it affect me. At other times emotions don't affect me at all and I wonder why I such a heartless git ( damned if I do , damned if I don't ). I haven't been diagnosed so it could be a HSP thing.


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JakeASD
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04 Oct 2016, 9:29 am

This is something I cannot identify with at all.
However, my mother, who is quirky but does not have an ASD diagnosis, strongly feels others' emotions.

Whenever I am in the same room with someone who is distressed or upset about something, I seldom feel a damn thing.


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HelloSweetie
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04 Oct 2016, 9:37 am

For anyone interested in the difference between sympathy and empathy, I really enjoyed this video



davidmcg
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04 Oct 2016, 9:38 am

I feel this quite often, however I constantly read people wrong so the emotions I think are experienced by the other person hence feeling myself are completely wrong and are not felt by the other person. The other person might actually be quite happy, but to me they may look depressed hence I feel depressed. People can be a blank slate to me...frustrating as hell..



AnonymouslyAutistic
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04 Oct 2016, 10:10 am

I''ve got "Mirror-Touch Synesthesia" and alexithymia talk about a paradox.

I don't know how I am feeling until I feel an intense emotion and other people's emotions and energy unknowingly influence me greatly (if I am not cautious and pay attention).

I also struggle with cognitive empathy - but feel empathy in my own way VERY deeply. More deeply than most people, I would guess. :heart:


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Greenleaf
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04 Oct 2016, 10:25 am

There must be different brain systems involved in feeling others' different emotions, depending upon the emotion... (I had found a study that seemed to confirm this but now can't find it again. Ugh.) I do experience certain emotions as if I were feeling what others are; distress, fear, anger, strong happiness, much as you describe. Other mammals experience those, it could make sense that older brain systems come into play, and maybe some folks' ASC has that one intact but not the "reading the mind in the eyes" one.

I have a lot of trouble with the "subtle" emotions, the "eye reading" test stuff (though I can learn things and improved after a few run-throughs on an online one). The eyes alone weren't enough for me to work with. So I don't immediately know, though I can with people I know well. Oddly enough I find I get to know new people slowly. 8O

It's much harder or impossible in a strange context, with few clues as to what the emotions might be available. It's sort of like decoding a puzzle with subtle shapes on the faces, I used to be clueless but am a lot more comfortable in groups now that I can somewhat do that. I can still get scared/anxious if I suddenly feel I'm way off base, it's a horrible, lost-in-space feeling.



Last edited by Greenleaf on 04 Oct 2016, 10:35 am, edited 1 time in total.

Joe90
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04 Oct 2016, 10:30 am

I feel other people's emotions, to the point where it affects my life. I think I feel too much empathy too much of the time, and I'm unable to block it out. I feel other people's emotions, and worry about them too. If somebody has a problem, it becomes my problem too. If someone is in an embarrassing situation, I feel embarrassed too. If someone is crying, I cry too.


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