Posted by kittenkirk 177 days ago (Question)
Could my symptoms be empathy? I notice when I'm around happiness I'm happy. When people are hurting or going through a rough time I can end up with an emotional hang over. This emotional hangover has lasted 3 weeks. I went to the shrink. I told him everything...and then I said "I'm lazy" jokingly. He said, not jokingly, "yes, you're lazy, you don't have mental illness". My t thinks I do have a mental illness, bipolar....which the shrinks first diagnosed...What the heck? Am I just an empathizing people.??? When I was just going to work...and coming home I was doing so good. I decided to go back to AA and listen to them..so I don't go back to drinking and I listen to their sorry state of affairs and my stomach turns and I hate going there...they're all off the hook. I was off the hook but I can't help anyone if I can't let go of their problems...because of my feelings of empathy.....it's sick.

Empathy vs Sympathy

Empathy- intellectual & emotional awareness and understanding of another person�s thoughts, feelings, and behavior even that are distressing
emphasizes understanding
Sympathy- sharing another�s feelings especially in sorrow or trouble through imaginative identification with the other�s situation

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