Is Anyone Out There An "empath"?

[AngelKeeperJ]

I ignore myself, and empathise deeply with others. Others' needs are always put above my own.

This was me until recently, when I realized that I MUST put my needs first, in order to care for the people in my life that need me. Mother, friends, surrogate daughters, and my son, though he is 3 hours away!

We struggle to find our path..and ourselves...the key...refusing to give up!:)

 

[MissKB]

OMG! That is soooo me! I have been this way since jr. high. I can't believe how many people are relating to this. I always say I'm going to die of a broken heart (literally). My best friend in HS got pregnant and decided to have an abortion. I went through the whole thing with her. I ended up missing a week of school because it made me so sick and depressed. I felt sooo sorry for her and could feel what she was having to go through and all the moral questions. She only missed 2 days. I was surprised how much it helped her for me to be there for her. But it was like she saw me take on the pain and it took it away from her and she was ok. I have always been that kind of friend. It's like tell me your problems and I will take them on and feel the pain. I want to be that kind of friend. Talking about it now though seems like such a bad habit to have.???!!! I'm mixed. My friends know that I am a die hard friend and will be there for anything. I just had a realization: You know I think I'm that kind of friend because maybe that's the kind of friend I always wanted and needed. Someone to have taken on all the abuse and trauma, so I wouldn't have to had live it and feel it and keep it.

 

[The Albatross]

Relate about the abortion thing. I could support my friend and also accidentally a coworker who was there the same day and time to terminate a pregnancy... but I was the one who ended up calling the suicide hotline. Looking back I hit overload and I still didn't know where the "off" button was. There is one peeps, I assure you. Find it and start setting boundaries.

 

[The Albatross]

Reading back I am now sorry I posted. This is a very mixed up thread.

 

[Hope4Now]

@The Albatross I'm not sorry you posted. What you said makes sense to me.

 

[Hope4Now]

@precious-things I am an INFP with a high IQ as well (although I don't know what the Mensa requirements are, and I was tested with the old WISC. It is a soup from Hell. Are you familiar with the enneagram? I just took it in December (the full version). It is like Myers-Briggs exponentially expanded. Eerily accurate, and far more comprehensive in many ways.

 

[The Albatross]

I think there is a boatload of confusion about Empath, empathy, IQ, and the Myers-Briggs Personality Type. I withdraw.

 

[precious-things]

@precious-things I am an INFP with a high IQ as well (although I don't know what the Mensa requirements are, and I was tested with the old WISC. It is a soup from Hell. Are you familiar with the enneagram? I just took it in December (the full version). It is like Myers-Briggs exponentially expanded. Eerily accurate, and far more comprehensive in many ways.

Yeah, I took the test, but I didn't fit into what I got at all, and nothing I read about really fit me in terms of enneagram. Odd.

 

[precious-things]

I think there is a boatload of confusion about Empath, empathy, IQ, and the Myers-Briggs Personality Type. I withdraw.

In what way?

 

[Hope4Now]

@The Albatross I'm sorry. We did get a bit off topic, though the N (intuitive) part of the Myers Briggs has some significant overlap with being an "Empath."

Perhaps "empath" is just another label that reflects an extreme end of a psychophysiological continuum of being? Thoughts?

 

[precious-things]

NF types, especially, tend to be very empathetic in general. Even more so the INFP and INFJ, because introverts tend to be better at reading people. These types are typically the sort who cry when they see someone else crying and become utterly enraged when reading an article about human rights issues.

 

[Valentino]

Karla McLaren explaining 'How Sadness Works':