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Farhead_Assassjaha t1_j25lax1 wrote

Reply to comment by hidden-in-plainsight in [image] Empathy without boundaries by _Cautious_Memory

I use a little cognitive therapy. I have to keep reminding myself, “Just because you are aware of other people’s suffering and you choose not to help, doesn’t mean you are a bad person. The feeling of guilt is just a natural consequence of having that awareness, nothing more”. Take practice but it starts to help a little.

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hidden-in-plainsight t1_j25lfj1 wrote

Thanks!!!

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Farhead_Assassjaha t1_j25lo0f wrote

Yeah good luck. I take it you’re a empath too? Fucked me up as a kid, cause I could tell when adults were not ok but I had no idea what to do or how to turn it off. I can offer more advice if you’re interested.

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hidden-in-plainsight t1_j25ltzi wrote

Yeah, quite bad too. It's why I always try and help people, because I always know when something is wrong.

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Farhead_Assassjaha t1_j25m0w3 wrote

Me too. My career is in the helping professions, so I made that work for me, but even so, you need tools to turn it on and off, and you need to practice them to make them sharp.

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hidden-in-plainsight t1_j25mb1c wrote

I'm also an introvert... so it's extra draining.

Being an introvert sort of honed my senses as I spent a lot, or rather still spend a lot of time observing.

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Farhead_Assassjaha t1_j25mucv wrote

I know that feeling. Being a youngest sibling taught me to wait and watch, so I learned patience but not how to initiate socialization. I’ve learned some social skills so it’s not debilitating but I’ll never be the most outgoing person. It’s just not my personality.

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