Do you ever cry when watching TV/a film? Is this empathy?

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Do you ever cry when watching TV/a film?

I've heard that a lot of people on the ASD don't react to TV/films in an emotional way, as this would be empathy. Is this true for you?

For example, if you were watching a TV programme and a boy was taken away from his mother, how would you feel? Would you feel anything? If you do feel something, is this empathy?

"as this would be empathy"

Are you implying that we are incapable of experiencing empathy?
I've cried in films, not many and they have usually always been about animals rather than people.
I tend to avoid those kinds of films now, so can't remember the last time I've cried during one.

I am very conscious of the fact that movies are fictional, and I have watched so much behind the scenes footage to know how certain things are set up, I can't help watching a scene and imagining the entire crew out of view which makes it a bit difficult to fully immerse myself in the film.

Animation is much different, I love seeing characters brought to life from paper. They feel much more real since you don't see Bugs Bunny playing different roles in various movies.

It's sympathy really, not empathy. We do have some empathy, sometimes it depends on whether we've been in the film situation before. I have emotional dysregulation which means I can be sobbing at films as well.

There's a difference between cognitive and affective empathy. Generally autism entails a weakness in cognitive empathy (not absence, but weakness) while affective empathy is largely the same as neurotypicals. This means, we do pick up on and care about the emotions of others, we just don't always have the capacity to swiftly process and react to them appropriately.

Films and TV shows are safely removed from a requirement to actively interact with the characters, and the information in them is easier for us to process. So, it's not out of the ordinary for an aspie to have an emotional reaction to a media presentation. The production reduces the reliance on cognitive empathy and is suited to a normal amount of affective empathy.

I get teary-eyed once in a while when watching movies or TV shows.

I try not to get caught up on what "empathy" is, how it relates to sympathy, etc... because what it means, exactly, seems to depend on who you ask. So I put it this way: I care a lot about people, but I'm not very good at effectively demonstrating it. It just doesn't come naturally to me.

Thank you to everyone that has replied. I hope I didn't offend anyone.

The reason I asked this is because I am confused as to whether I feel empathy/sympathy. I know the textbook definitions, but for some reason, no matter how much I read people's explanations, I can't seem to work out whether it applies to me or not. I really don't understand why. This is one of the reasons why I doubted having AS.

I decided to seek a diagnosis, although I am 20 and in the UK, so I'm not expecting a diagnosis. The question of "Do I have AS?" has been going through my mind for years, so I thought that I have to give it a try. I know that if I do get to go through the process, I will find out whether I have AS or not, and they'll probably tell me if I experience empathy/sympathy, but I wanted to try and work it out myself.

For example, I have a bond/emotional link with vulnerable people/people with special needs etc, so if I was to see a person with Down Syndrome being bullied, that would make me really upset. If I was to see a mainstream person in the same situation, I probably wouldn't feel anything. I know that I should feel sad/upset, but I don't. This isn't a conscious decision, I wish that I could feel something for everyone at times as it would make me feel less weird, but then I know that it could be overwhelming so it's not all bad. What is that?

On the other hand, if I saw someone getting run over, and the parents crying, I could understand how they're feeling through logic, but I don't feel anything myself. What does this mean?

When I was younger I attempted suicide, and I watched a TV soap the other day, which involved the character attempting suicide. I burst into tears, but I think it was because I remembered how I felt, so that doesn't have anything to do with the character.

Even when I realise that someone's upset, I have no idea what to do. I was volunteering in a school and this child started crying, so I asked her what's wrong, and she just continued to cry. So I went to a teache and said "sorry, this girl's crying, can you deal with her please and I don't know what to do?" What does this mean?

Sorry for the long post, and I appreciate you taking the time to read it, but I just want to try and understand myself more, but I haven't been able to do this alone.

Number 1 No need to apologize no one was offended [I hope ]

Number 2 the things you have spoken of in your last post can be common behavior But id talk to a therapist about this

Number 3 be prapared to realize you may not get Diagnosed with AS/HFA there are many Neurological Disorders out there so be open to the fact that it could be outside the Spectrum

Number 4 Hogwash I know someone who is 50 when they Got Diagnosed with Aspergers/Higher functioning Autism age matters not in getting a Diagnosis heck it may be easier the Older you are to get a concrete diagnosis

I only cried during a movie, once. It was Bridge to Terabithia. I tend to feel rather emotionless when watching a movie or TV.

Yes, I've cried before, but not often.

i cried at some seriously rubbish movies, even soaps lol

I have cried at movies before. I have cried at Titanic when Jack died, when this girl died in Bridge to Terabithia, when Simba's father died, when everyone turned against Edward Scissorshands.

It has to be something that I can personally relate to, and it has to be convincing -- i.e., it must have good acting, good writing, characters I care about and a theme I can understand. Then it can hit me very hard. But due to my very high and esoteric standards, it doesn't happen often. Most of the time it just comes off as mawkish and ineffective.

As I've stated in an earlier post, I find it difficult to cry over anything lately. It's actually very stressful.

When it does happen, rather than specific emotional content, it's most often a result of a certain connection I have with the film or program in question, because it's affected or shaped me strongly at some point.

I cried when I was researching autism and realized that it explained my entire life. What's that called?