vent argh today i keep googling and ruminating about empathy again. i just... don’t know! there’s so many uncertainties involved. one minute i feel like i relate to empaths and highly sensitive people, the next minute it feels like i relate to psychopaths and narcissists. examples of my empathy in daily life: -crying in films (happy or sad) -answering the teacher when nobody else does because they look embarrassed and sad -people pleasing (wanting everyone to feel comfortable and involved) -i enjoy giving gifts -second hand embarrassment -feeling bad for people who are left out or hurt by big groups (though this may be sympathy not empathy) -feeling bad for the underdog or villain (again, this may be sympathy) -feeling stressed when someone in my family is stressed but then here’s my examples of no empathy in my daily life: -feeling irritated when people vent to me -feeling irritated by little problems my friends have (specifically ones that aren’t logical!) -watching films or the news and not being devastated -someone explaining how bad their day is, but i’ll just be indifferent on the whole i feel super guilty about those four examples above. and i try to tell myself that i probably just have average empathy like average people because they balance out. but i’m just scared i lack it. like how can i cry when watching a documentary on poor children, but then also get mad when people vent to me?!! is that even possible?? what kind of person am i. it logically doesn’t make sense. one thing i know for sure is that i love my family but idk if that means anything about empathy, i just know that people with aspd and npd can’t love.