I too experience strong emotions for TV and movie characters than ever in real life. Heck, I was a mess with a YTer I liked died, but wasn't phased by my mom dying. I think I also take on some emotions from shows. Like if people in a show are having relationship troubles, I'll feel like I am. Or if I'm watching a depressing show, I start to feel a dreadful amount of depression
I think many people are uncomfortable to say the least when it comes to "showing" empathy. Or expressing that we care when someone is going through a difficult time. I for one have become SO uncomfortable that I've decided to just start asking people "how can I support you" because I literally dont know what do do with my face or hands or self. lol. Great video as usual much food for thought!
i wish society by large was more open to showing honest emotions and just being open, but I think you’re right that most people struggle with empathy and feelings! I think you’ve found the best thing to do in most situations, I’d certainly appreciate it myself when I’m going through stuff! Thanks so much for leaving so many thoughtful and insightful comments! I’m always so excited when i see your username in my notifications 😂🥰
@@DanaAndersen SAME! Always a joy to see you've posted a new video or commented. No pressure to post or comment but you make such important and meaningful content and I'm always stoked to see more from you. :)
Lol I remember going to see Bambi at the cinema (1994 age 11) and it actually traumatised me to some extent as I still remember how awful I felt. I weeped my heart out for days after watching it. I also seem to have more empathy for animals but I'm not vegan.
You sound a lot like me. I feel huge distress when someone else is badly upset and emotional, but I don't know what to do about it. Unless the person was a family member, or very close friend, I would be unlikely to hug them, as I intensely dislike physical contact with people I do not know well. My standard response would be to dissect the problem causing the distress, and suggest practical remedies. I come across as wooden and uncaring, but in reality I am far from that.
Personally I really appreciate people suggesting practical ways for me to ‘fix’ things when I’m upset or emotional, and I think there’s plenty of others who do too, so I’m sure more people than you’d expect see how much you care by doing that! Someone else pointed out that most people in general don’t really know how to deal with emotional situations, so I’m wondering if we come across better than we think just by actually caring, even if we don’t show it as well as others might!
@@DanaAndersen You are possibly right. I have had friends come to me in preference to others, with major problems. It may also be due to my ability to hold my tongue, if I am told anything in confidence I will absolutely not tell anyone else.
I'm still working on getting diagnosed and I'm 45. I too have always shared a personal story as a way to relate to other people's problems or stories. I had no idea that this was not a normal thing until last year. And the more RUclips videos I watch the more I hear about this from the community. It makes me feel a little good about it to be honest.
Fingers crossed for you to get a diagnosis asap, assuming that’s what you want! I think there’s a lot of people that appreciate having someone open up in return to relate and share issues, but theres a lot of people that really hate it too 😅 I certainly appreciate it when people do it with me, so I think we’re doing okay!
I relate SO HEAVILY with you on this topic so far as I'm about 4 mins into your video!! I'm thinking about starting my own autism RUclips channel like you're doing because I agree that I'd like to add my own perspective to the world in some way so that others who relate to parts of me can feel seen and not alone!!
I’m glad you’re able to relate, and I think creating your own content would be amazing! It’s been amazing for me to find others that are like me and understand me, I totally think everyone considering starting a channel should do it!
I also have extreme empathy for strangers and fictional characters. I wonder if this is because empathy for people in our lives is compared [edit: *complicated] by social expectations... I wonder if I'm guarded all of the time when it comes to people that I might actually interact with, so that in a sense, I'm more distant from the people closer to me. 🤔
Oooh that’s a very good point, it leads me to wonder if it’s perhaps also that those close to us going through something can often affect us and our lives too, it definitely means I need more time to process it than a story on the news or whatever.
You describe exactly what I go through! I feel so disabled when it comes to this type of interaction. I can be completely disconnected and not understand the person and their grief Or I can be absolutely awkward, because I don't know what they need and what's appropriate, especially with people I don't know extremely well Or I can get annoyed, because their emotions are too big and it's really uncomfortable for me. It's not that I don't feel empathy, it's just that I don't know what to do with it. I love when people tell me what they need, sometimes I just ask. This might be weird, but it's better than to sit there awkwardly and get frustrated with myself. And yes!!! Fictional characters are so much easier to empathize with. Doctor Who is one of my favorites too! My favorite Doctor is 10. And I love 11 and 9. Love Amy's story, it's so fun to follow! I think Donna deserved better. Making her forget was so cruel. Did you watch Torchwood? It was the series that introduced me to Doctor Who. I really like Captain Jack Harkness in Torchwood and as a companion. Although him sacrificing his grandson was crossing a line I think. Ok, I'll stop now. Chances are you won't even see this.
I've started recontexualising lately now I know I've got a ND brain how different brain types experience and respond to empathy. I find NT will respond better to what you'd expect them to, listening to them talking because they need to figure out what's in their brain. ND people, when they're upset, it's closer linked to their CNS, so I'll tend to seek to fix that with food or a drink or something environmental, because they need that to get in touch with their emotions from a better processing/executive function space. It's different strokes, for sure. I've always been a "feeder" and now I know why. Omg I'm vegan too 🎉
I too experience strong emotions for TV and movie characters than ever in real life. Heck, I was a mess with a YTer I liked died, but wasn't phased by my mom dying. I think I also take on some emotions from shows. Like if people in a show are having relationship troubles, I'll feel like I am. Or if I'm watching a depressing show, I start to feel a dreadful amount of depression
I think many people are uncomfortable to say the least when it comes to "showing" empathy. Or expressing that we care when someone is going through a difficult time. I for one have become SO uncomfortable that I've decided to just start asking people "how can I support you" because I literally dont know what do do with my face or hands or self. lol. Great video as usual much food for thought!
i wish society by large was more open to showing honest emotions and just being open, but I think you’re right that most people struggle with empathy and feelings! I think you’ve found the best thing to do in most situations, I’d certainly appreciate it myself when I’m going through stuff! Thanks so much for leaving so many thoughtful and insightful comments! I’m always so excited when i see your username in my notifications 😂🥰
@@DanaAndersen SAME! Always a joy to see you've posted a new video or commented. No pressure to post or comment but you make such important and meaningful content and I'm always stoked to see more from you. :)
Lol I remember going to see Bambi at the cinema (1994 age 11) and it actually traumatised me to some extent as I still remember how awful I felt. I weeped my heart out for days after watching it. I also seem to have more empathy for animals but I'm not vegan.
You sound a lot like me. I feel huge distress when someone else is badly upset and emotional, but I don't know what to do about it. Unless the person was a family member, or very close friend, I would be unlikely to hug them, as I intensely dislike physical contact with people I do not know well. My standard response would be to dissect the problem causing the distress, and suggest practical remedies. I come across as wooden and uncaring, but in reality I am far from that.
Personally I really appreciate people suggesting practical ways for me to ‘fix’ things when I’m upset or emotional, and I think there’s plenty of others who do too, so I’m sure more people than you’d expect see how much you care by doing that! Someone else pointed out that most people in general don’t really know how to deal with emotional situations, so I’m wondering if we come across better than we think just by actually caring, even if we don’t show it as well as others might!
@@DanaAndersen You are possibly right. I have had friends come to me in preference to others, with major problems. It may also be due to my ability to hold my tongue, if I am told anything in confidence I will absolutely not tell anyone else.
I'm still working on getting diagnosed and I'm 45. I too have always shared a personal story as a way to relate to other people's problems or stories. I had no idea that this was not a normal thing until last year. And the more RUclips videos I watch the more I hear about this from the community. It makes me feel a little good about it to be honest.
Fingers crossed for you to get a diagnosis asap, assuming that’s what you want!
I think there’s a lot of people that appreciate having someone open up in return to relate and share issues, but theres a lot of people that really hate it too 😅 I certainly appreciate it when people do it with me, so I think we’re doing okay!
I relate SO HEAVILY with you on this topic so far as I'm about 4 mins into your video!!
I'm thinking about starting my own autism RUclips channel like you're doing because I agree that I'd like to add my own perspective to the world in some way so that others who relate to parts of me can feel seen and not alone!!
I’m glad you’re able to relate, and I think creating your own content would be amazing! It’s been amazing for me to find others that are like me and understand me, I totally think everyone considering starting a channel should do it!
I love you for your vegan morals's! Let us crush our enemies and bring order to the Earth realm! Yay :D
I also have extreme empathy for strangers and fictional characters. I wonder if this is because empathy for people in our lives is compared [edit: *complicated] by social expectations... I wonder if I'm guarded all of the time when it comes to people that I might actually interact with, so that in a sense, I'm more distant from the people closer to me. 🤔
Oooh that’s a very good point, it leads me to wonder if it’s perhaps also that those close to us going through something can often affect us and our lives too, it definitely means I need more time to process it than a story on the news or whatever.
You describe exactly what I go through!
I feel so disabled when it comes to this type of interaction.
I can be completely disconnected and not understand the person and their grief
Or
I can be absolutely awkward, because I don't know what they need and what's appropriate, especially with people I don't know extremely well
Or
I can get annoyed, because their emotions are too big and it's really uncomfortable for me.
It's not that I don't feel empathy, it's just that I don't know what to do with it.
I love when people tell me what they need, sometimes I just ask. This might be weird, but it's better than to sit there awkwardly and get frustrated with myself.
And yes!!! Fictional characters are so much easier to empathize with.
Doctor Who is one of my favorites too! My favorite Doctor is 10. And I love 11 and 9.
Love Amy's story, it's so fun to follow!
I think Donna deserved better. Making her forget was so cruel.
Did you watch Torchwood? It was the series that introduced me to Doctor Who.
I really like Captain Jack Harkness in Torchwood and as a companion.
Although him sacrificing his grandson was crossing a line I think.
Ok, I'll stop now. Chances are you won't even see this.
I've started recontexualising lately now I know I've got a ND brain how different brain types experience and respond to empathy.
I find NT will respond better to what you'd expect them to, listening to them talking because they need to figure out what's in their brain.
ND people, when they're upset, it's closer linked to their CNS, so I'll tend to seek to fix that with food or a drink or something environmental, because they need that to get in touch with their emotions from a better processing/executive function space.
It's different strokes, for sure. I've always been a "feeder" and now I know why.
Omg I'm vegan too 🎉