btbnnyr wrote:
Most people's reports of too much empathy seem like emotional dysregulation, and usually seem focused on own emotions, not so much understanding others.
I can understand where you are coming from.
I also have alot of empathy. If someone feels sad, i usually feel just as sad. However, there are also alot of times where there is a slight delay in feeling what others are feeling and connect to them. For example, if they tell me about something that happened which made them feel sad without telling much of the details, i keep asking questions, sometimes too many questions, to get a complete oversight over the situation. Then i place myself in that person as if i were standing in that person's shoes and imagine what i would feel like.
This 'delayed' empathy happens mostly with people i dont really know.. but for people really close to me, i have no problem connection to them and feel what they feel just by looking at them. Sometimes i am overwhelmed by this too. A good explanation for this might be that i just know people who are close to me better than the average joe walking down the street, after so many years of having them in my life, i no longer need to ask stupid questions to get a better insight before i can connect. I already know what is going on in their lifes so connecting is very easy.
I too have observed NT's shrugging off emotions and then pretending they no longer care by suddenly switching subjects. That is just impossible for me.. and for some reason i find myself in an infinite loop trying to get back to previous subject because i am still experiencing all these emotions.