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Mirror-Touch Synesthesia

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HeroOfHyrule
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25 Mar 2022, 4:01 pm

Does anyone else deal with this?

I experience this when I see other people or animals get touched or hurt, which can sometimes be difficult to deal with due to my own sensory issues. I used to get picked on a lot for it as a kid because people thought I was lying and overreacting, as apparently other people don't experience this, which I've always found odd since I've felt this my whole life.

It's also always been hard to explain what it feels like to experience this, since the sensations vary depending on the body part that is being touched/injured, and also depends on what state I'm in, like them often being more intense and common when I'm already experiencing sensory overload, am tired, etc.

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Mirror-touch synesthesia is a rare condition which causes individuals to experience a similar sensation in the same part or opposite part of the body (such as touch) that another person feels. For example, if someone with this condition were to observe someone touching their cheek, they would feel the same sensation on their own cheek.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror- ... ynesthesia



Joe90
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25 Mar 2022, 4:49 pm

Isn't this empathy, like yawning when someone else yawns? :?

If someone's voice suddenly goes croaky, I start clearing my throat because I can feel it, even though my throat is fine.


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HeroOfHyrule
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25 Mar 2022, 4:57 pm

Joe90 wrote:
Isn't this empathy, like yawning when someone else yawns? :?

If someone's voice suddenly goes croaky, I start clearing my throat because I can feel it, even though my throat is fine.

Apparently people with this have higher levels of affective empathy, but no, the sensations people with mirror-touch synesthesia feel aren't just attributable to normal empathy. Though over active mirror neurons (the ones that make you yawn when someone else yawns) are apparently figured to be a cause of it.