Psychiatric/Neurologists please answer: Is there such a thing as hyper-empathy as many believe? Humans, please answer: Are your responses to life within conventional ideals or outside. If so, why? Everyone: Do you think emotional empathy can be learned? #empathy #humpday #ThxU

Mar 11, 2020 路 4:38 PM UTC

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Replying to @mholzschlag
I hope I'm responding to your question: I don't believe I have ever allowed anyone outside of myself to dictate how I emote, or to specify the norms within which I should emote. "Calm down" as a suggestion to me, usually has the opposite effect.
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hah! ME TOO!
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Replying to @mholzschlag
Don't know about (1) and (2) but a big yes to learning emotional empathy. I used to be rubbish at it; better now, though by no means perfect.
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Thank you. Did you have specific methods to accomplish that? I am an emotional empathy disaster. TEACH ME! :D
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Replying to @mholzschlag
I think emotional empathy is a builtin. Chimpanzes get upset if experimenters give different rewards for the same tasks. A jaguar has been filmed taking care of a little monkey after eating its mother
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Yes, I believe most folks have the capacity. I am asking about a disorder not the act of empathy. Hyper-empathy is paralysis in the face of anything, even killing your own mother and having a Jaguar nurse you back. That's nature. That's not about empathy IMO.
Replying to @mholzschlag
Maybe one thing is to step back and observe your emotions instead of acting on them. Just feel and think about it, but delay action. That's one technique that has helped me to disassociate from some of my more destructive feelings and figure out how to channel them better.
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Very wise advice actually it applies because for me there is almost no impulse control which means if a thought appears in my head the action will very quickly follow without that stepping back and examination. It's been a gift and a blessing as it goes. Thank you. This helps XOM
Replying to @mholzschlag
I recommend the work on moral psychology made by Jonathan Haidt to everyone vaguelybinterested in the subject. There is a TED talk, I think, and an MSNBC interview, before you buy The Righteous Mind
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