"Empath" means "self-obsessed woo-accredited fool" ...

[SuziQuatrosFatNan]

... doesn't it?

I'm sensitive and sensitive to others but I'd be a complete tit to describe myself as an empath. Its up there with foodie. I know there was a whole thread with many posters falling over themselves to talk about their superior food preferences but nah mate.. still wanky.

People who describe themselves as "empaths" are self absorbed individuals who make someone else's feelings and emotions all about them.

I guess there are people who describe themselves as empaths that fit your description. But being an empath means you are influenced/pulled by other peoples energies, good and bad. You feel sad because they are sad, you feel edgy when someone is anxious. It’s actually quite exhausting. If you think that’s a bunch of woo hoo, then I guess you think that’s garbage, but that’s how I understand what an empath is

@MilkTwoSugarsThanks

People who describe themselves as "empaths" are self absorbed individuals who make someone else's feelings and emotions all about them.

Absolutely this - in the same way that those who use '#bekind' tend to be jaw-droppingly vile human beings in real life.

To me, an empath is someone who takes another persons problems and makes it all about them and how upset they are for the other person.

I know someone who actually cries when people tell her mildly sad things about what they're going through and yet she can be the biggest bitch going

I translate empath as neurotic, into Bach flower remedies and radically self absorbed. Oh they’re also on various ‘spectrums’ because they did an online quiz.

Buuuuuuuuut I heard an argument that it’s a sign of trauma. Empathy are on a heightened look out for what other people are feeling which is a fear response (say if you were raised by an unpredictable adult or were unexpectedly assaulted you might be constantly assessing the feelings those around you).

Mirror neurones: we’re all empaths, that’s literally how the brain works!

To be honest empathy isn't something I see a lot of outside work or my closest friends, whether people call themselves an empath or not.

For some people being more empathetic than is maybe the average (however you'd measure that) helps them perform better in their job, like nursing,councelling, or care work, where reading body language, facial expressions and tone of voice are as important as spoken words when caring for/treating someone.
It's pretty much a required skill for the job.
So as I'm in one of those jobs, and good at it, I am pretty empathetic.
Not really sure I fit the description above of empath. I think it's one of those things where the term has been coined to mean something else than it originally did.
An empathetic person is someone who I'd think was emotionally intelligent, takes all forms of communication on board, listens and picks up subtle clues towards emotional states of others and responds accordingly to assist or at least to not add to the issues.
An empath should really just be a short term for that, but it's evolved to describe a particular type of person (self defined) that is probably actually quite self absorbed and makes everything about them.
I do think it's quite sad that's happened and that empathy now seems to be seen as a selfish and negative skill because of that rather than a useful one that can help people.
I'm not sure anyone would want to be looked after, when they're in a vulnerable state, by someone without empathy,or who considered it to be a bit 🙄

@PissTestRightNowDaniella

I know some people who describe themselves as empaths but are utterly self absorbed cunts without an empathetic bone in their body.

UANBU

Yes. This!

My boss told me that I’m not allowed to talk about my daughter’s health issues at work because she’s an empath and “feels my pain” too deeply

In other words, she’s a self obsessed, self absorbed, selfish pain in the arse who is only interested in talking about herself

My daughter’s health issues were only mentioned at work because I needed to book a couple of hours off to take DD to a hospital appointment and my boss was being difficult about it - we’d been on a waiting list for a long time and was offered a last minute appointment due to a cancellation so I couldn’t give the months notice she required

Had a chuckle at this. My SIL, who I adore, describes herself this way. She's not a fool by any means but definitely woo-obsessed!

Yeah, it’s someone who makes other people feelings all about themselves. And then moans about how exhausting it is for them...

Oh god. The self-proclaimed empath.

An individual completely caught up in their own feelings about a situation to the detriment of the people actually going through it.

In my experience anyway.

@roguetomato

It's kind of sad that people who feels empathy for others are called a fool, tbh.

Isn't feeling empathy just part of being human?

I have a deep suspicion of anyone that labels themselves anything. It’s not for you to decide - others will look at your behaviour and will draw their own conclusions as to whether you are an empathetic person or not.

Like a quiet very low key friend of my parents who once described herself as “bubbly” 😁. Err no love!

In my experience the self-diagnosed empaths posting shit about it on social media tend to be more deaf to other people's actual feelings than your average person.

@PrelovedWithValue

Oh god. The self-proclaimed empath.

An individual completely caught up in their own feelings about a situation to the detriment of the people actually going through it.

In my experience anyway.

Yes. Yet they (with no sense of irony) insist that they are more empathetic than anyone else.

Tbh, I never come across it in real life. But it's rife on social media.

Describing yourself as having "too much empathy" usually as an excuse for bad behavior can be a slightly less woo way of phrasing it.

I have come across it in real life, unfortunately. Her first words when asked to introduce herself were 'Well. I'm an empath'.

You know how there's often one person on a course that dominates it and makes it all about them? Yeah, that was her.

I really feel other people’s emotions. As in physically react and really strongly. It’s not a special woo gift, it’s the result of a difficult upbringing always being on the alert for other people’s feelings. So I see it as a chore to deal with - learning how to regulate my responses and deal with these overwhelming feelings. That takes a lot of work - not sitting about splattering your responses over everyone else and loftily claiming ‘empath’ status like the woo-gods gifted you.

Also if the empathy ‘talent’ is mixed with a claim about ‘healing’ - run!!! Literally the nastiest most selfish and toxic people i’ve ever met self-describe in that way.

If someone swans about telling all and sundry that they're an empath and wants a pat on the back for being such a star, then yes.

Otherwise no.

People who label themselves empaths are usually emotional vampires in my experience because they never pass on an opportunity to tell everyone how hard it is being them, that they carry the emotional burdens of the world on their super emotional and enlightened shoulders. It's all very me, me, me.

If they had a shred of empathy then they'd read the room and realise nobody cares about their navel-gazing woowoo bollocks.

The person I know who self-describes as an empath has people running for the hills after 5 minutes of conversation.

If you met me I have no doubt you’d describe me as woo, possibly even woo woo! but I don’t know any fellow woo people who call themselves empaths.
I just think Deanna Troi and her mother Lwaxana

Yes. My experience of "empaths" is that they listen to the voices inside their head themselves, rather than the person talking to them.

I suppose there's a big difference between people who are empathic to others and those who describe themselves as empaths.