Hello all! This is my first post in this forum and I basically have this thing I want to share on some sort of Psychology forum. This post is going to be long, rambly, and not make much sense, but believe me, that's how I feel. To give you a background, I am a 16 year old high school student who absolutely positively LOVES psychology, personalities, and all that sort of stuff and who wants to possibly study it in college. A lot of my life consists of "online" stuff, since tons of my friends are online and I've met great people here. So a lot of my feeling drift from this, keep in mind.
For as long as I can remember, I have a been a sensitive person. I even fall into the categories of the "overally" sensitive person. I am very emotionally intelligent, especially coming from a bunch of people who aren't at all. I have never been to a counselor, psychologist, or anything of the sort but am a very anxious and observant person. I love analyzing my friend's personalities and where they come from and everything. I know I have a lot of empathy, for something like a baby crying SERIOUSLY upsets me or when my friends are upset. Movies make me anxious because the whole variety of emotions and depths and psychological analysis's of situations and ugh. I literally cannot watch movies because they are so mentally draining and almost scary to me in a sense that my brain goes on overdrive.
Here's the thing I'm wondering. I know I'm empathetic, I get that, but sometimes it's so much... more. Here's where I'm going to get really confusing.
I can feel emotions of other people. I know that sounds like empathy, but I don't feel like it's the same...thing. It's like I can ACTUALLY feel them, touch them, understand where they come from and what they mean to the person. There are things my friends have never told me about themselves in their life but I can understand how it affects them by their personalities and what effect it has on them now. I was able to write my friend's psychology paper about her own childhood and what effect it has on her now. Of course I couldn't pull actual situations out of my butt, but I could pull out specific things her parents did to make her the way she is today. Of course, I know a bit about her, but it's like things her parents pushed on her, and told her, that shapes how she is now. I can just vomit these feelings all on the paper without really thinking and knowing how they got them. It's not like I'm sensing, either, it's like I'm feeling. Like almost a physical touch sensation. I've done this with a majority of my friends (and truthfully, I don't know them ridiculously well) and they all same my random analysis's are accurate.
Another thing, moreso when I talk to different people, more specifically people from my school, I absorb every single word they say and after talking to them I can almost piece a picture together about the variety of emotions I feel. It's so strange to describe, it's like I'm reaching into a bag of their mind, pulling out fragments and pieces of it, and start to get a bigger picture of it. It's like... I can start to feel their mind as a whole. This especially happens with people who don't think like me, and don't have the same values I do. This sounds odd, I know, but believe me this is best way I can describe how I feel.
Going back to movies, this is also another good example. I feel sad when the character feels sad, I feel happy when the character does, but the range of emotions goes to the level where it...scares me. I start figuring out random emotions and random scenarios and why they're like that and can just feel the tone of the movie.
I also am an ~aspiring artist~ as well and I know a lot about our right brained functioned vs left brained function. A lot of my friends are artists too, and but the way they use their strokes, the way the sketch, and the way they color all correlates to the way their brain thinks, what side of brain they mostly use, and even elements of their personality show who they are. Some of these things would probably take years to research and probably can't even be provable but there are things I just...know is right. I can feel it. I can see it. I don't know how in the world to describe it, but I know it.
This has been an extremely rambly post. But basically, I've been learning about Psi in my psychology class. I don't know, sometimes I feel like these feelings could fall into that? I know this sounds silly, but truthfully I'd really love a clarification or just random two cents. This love for psychology has stemmed out of these feelings, and I truly do love it. I have gotten more sensitive as time goes on and keep doing but truly I just want to see. Thanks for reading, haha.
Empathy or something more?
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by BipolarLilac » Tue May 01, 2012 10:37 pm
That makes sense to me.
I find I "absorb peoples negativity" and it affects me greatly.
I am also the on creative side - with bipolar and other related issues - so it is all fun and games.
Being empathetic can be very exhausting.
I also find the more literate you are, the easier it is to explain yourself, but not necessarily the abilty to gain the answers you are looking for......
I also "know" stuff too - like a gut feeling.
All very fascinating, but for me I'd rather not be so sensitive to others if it affects me like it can sometimes.......can't stop it though as that's just me!
I find I "absorb peoples negativity" and it affects me greatly.
I am also the on creative side - with bipolar and other related issues - so it is all fun and games.
Being empathetic can be very exhausting.
I also find the more literate you are, the easier it is to explain yourself, but not necessarily the abilty to gain the answers you are looking for......
I also "know" stuff too - like a gut feeling.
All very fascinating, but for me I'd rather not be so sensitive to others if it affects me like it can sometimes.......can't stop it though as that's just me!
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by Equinox » Sat May 05, 2012 9:57 pm
Nothing to apologize for, brilliant post! This would be my first as well 
It is strange how you, as a whole, manage to get through such visual metaphors of your perception of your OWN feelings. Bags and fragments? Very intriguing - and a very valuable tool. You'd make a fine psychologist, but naming your interest of art would have us both to be on the same boat
Thing is, I wanted to redirect you to another piece of uncommon knowledge, being astrology. Much more complicated than what newspaper-horoscope reading would have it; our whole solar system is as a matter of fact dedicated to each one of us, creating what you'd call a 'natal chart'. Carl Gustav Jung became famed for his founding of 'Analyctical psychology' - of which branches of 'somewhere' to incorporate astrology.
Astrology dating quite a few millenia back - is the sister of psychology, and can be considered as such our oldest means of determining behavioral patterns in humans.
But this is *if* you find the time - what really fascinated me(and made me want to tell) is your vivid mentions of empathy that ignited this sense of familiarity
You put into words as you did on paper as what had become too elusive for me to be objective about. It seems hard for people with a "lesser" empathic nerve to listen to, or take in someone talking about this 'sixth' sense, or so their heightened sensibility. Uncomfortable; depending on the person, it might as well be a feeling of inferiority of their own sensitivity as simple alienation for one not as emotionally inclined.
Taken almost for granted by our fellowship, a sympathetic ear's role would be to listen - and not discourse the wondrous ability it actually is to put up with so much crap. No, I don't watch movies, either.
Getting to the actual point - astrology can, supposedly, point to connections in birth charts that refer to emotional stress points and latent abilities and more. One of these are emotional sensitivity, or hyper-sensitivity. It is not a predicament, or death sentence, and is never absolute - but it can point to dimensions in our minds that harmonize or otherwise, that can be concentrated in specific fields granting us peculiar potentials. That's what it is, potential - and we can choose ourselves what to do with it. Adolf Hitler had major stress contacts in his chart, and hence(if there' is anything to it) turned that dormancy alive inside out to something destructive.
A Norwegian denizen, the unspeakable pain, and the end many of our people met at the hand of one of the worst mass-murders in history spurred me to overview the chart of Anders Behring Breivik. I *am* a novice myself, but I see a lot of air, and aquarius in him, coupled with tense planetary contacts to his personal luminaries. What keyword pops in mind is emotional detachement. The very opposite of 'feeling'.
He has not shown a sliver of remorse under the whole duration of the court's process.
But if you are interested in broaching this astrology, there's a lot to take from. A lot not-so-serious, as well. Don't fork out anything until you're sure and a bit more secure about stuff as a whole. Learning to read a chart is something you never really do, as there is always something new to take in.
But, anyways -
A few usable links would be Astro. com, Cafeastrology. com, and lastly Theinnerwheel. com (recommended beginners' reading falls under all: )
The best!
It is strange how you, as a whole, manage to get through such visual metaphors of your perception of your OWN feelings. Bags and fragments? Very intriguing - and a very valuable tool. You'd make a fine psychologist, but naming your interest of art would have us both to be on the same boat
Thing is, I wanted to redirect you to another piece of uncommon knowledge, being astrology. Much more complicated than what newspaper-horoscope reading would have it; our whole solar system is as a matter of fact dedicated to each one of us, creating what you'd call a 'natal chart'. Carl Gustav Jung became famed for his founding of 'Analyctical psychology' - of which branches of 'somewhere' to incorporate astrology.
Astrology dating quite a few millenia back - is the sister of psychology, and can be considered as such our oldest means of determining behavioral patterns in humans.
But this is *if* you find the time - what really fascinated me(and made me want to tell) is your vivid mentions of empathy that ignited this sense of familiarity
You put into words as you did on paper as what had become too elusive for me to be objective about. It seems hard for people with a "lesser" empathic nerve to listen to, or take in someone talking about this 'sixth' sense, or so their heightened sensibility. Uncomfortable; depending on the person, it might as well be a feeling of inferiority of their own sensitivity as simple alienation for one not as emotionally inclined.
Taken almost for granted by our fellowship, a sympathetic ear's role would be to listen - and not discourse the wondrous ability it actually is to put up with so much crap. No, I don't watch movies, either.
Getting to the actual point - astrology can, supposedly, point to connections in birth charts that refer to emotional stress points and latent abilities and more. One of these are emotional sensitivity, or hyper-sensitivity. It is not a predicament, or death sentence, and is never absolute - but it can point to dimensions in our minds that harmonize or otherwise, that can be concentrated in specific fields granting us peculiar potentials. That's what it is, potential - and we can choose ourselves what to do with it. Adolf Hitler had major stress contacts in his chart, and hence(if there' is anything to it) turned that dormancy alive inside out to something destructive.
A Norwegian denizen, the unspeakable pain, and the end many of our people met at the hand of one of the worst mass-murders in history spurred me to overview the chart of Anders Behring Breivik. I *am* a novice myself, but I see a lot of air, and aquarius in him, coupled with tense planetary contacts to his personal luminaries. What keyword pops in mind is emotional detachement. The very opposite of 'feeling'.
He has not shown a sliver of remorse under the whole duration of the court's process.
But if you are interested in broaching this astrology, there's a lot to take from. A lot not-so-serious, as well. Don't fork out anything until you're sure and a bit more secure about stuff as a whole. Learning to read a chart is something you never really do, as there is always something new to take in.
But, anyways -
A few usable links would be Astro. com, Cafeastrology. com, and lastly Theinnerwheel. com (recommended beginners' reading falls under all: )
The best!
by AaronB » Mon May 14, 2012 1:56 pm
Emotions are a wonderful source of information. Recognizing this information is similar to being willing to listen to an outside source of information, like communicating with another person. My emotional responses to situations and people around me are continually changing. As I learn to become more familiar with what is being expressed, the information moves from external to internal. As it becomes internal it is not felt it is simply seen. An example you could relate to is when something once disturbing is seen more clearly, which causes a big sigh to occur and the emotional tension of feeling releases and is replaced by a sense of relief and spaciousness.
I consider the feeling to be extremely valuable, because it is the doorway for integration to occur. After integration the interpretation of feeling is no longer necessary. It is as if an outside intelligence has now moved inside and can now communicate without needing a phone line.
A fun exercise would be to watch a movie and instead of getting absorbed in the story, see it as a series of emotional expressions. Writing them down is helpful. In each scene notice how each character feels and describe it in a word or a sentence. This same exercise can be done in life as you experience people and situations around you.
The value is a movement from being absorbed within the emotional experience to a clearer space that makes room for other emotional perspectives to exist simultaneously. Identification with an emotional experience temporarily can make it difficult to experience other emotional perspectives. I value being immersed in an emotional experience temporarily, since it allows me to see that perspective more clearly, but before integration can occur I have to be willing to step back out of it.
What makes for a helpful empath is both the ability to step into an emotional experience and the ability to step back out again.
I feel a sense of clarity in reading what you write because I can relate to a lot of what you said. Personally I tend to just fall into the emotional experience naturally and receive the most benefit by learning how to step back out again, even though both really are valuable.
I consider the feeling to be extremely valuable, because it is the doorway for integration to occur. After integration the interpretation of feeling is no longer necessary. It is as if an outside intelligence has now moved inside and can now communicate without needing a phone line.
A fun exercise would be to watch a movie and instead of getting absorbed in the story, see it as a series of emotional expressions. Writing them down is helpful. In each scene notice how each character feels and describe it in a word or a sentence. This same exercise can be done in life as you experience people and situations around you.
The value is a movement from being absorbed within the emotional experience to a clearer space that makes room for other emotional perspectives to exist simultaneously. Identification with an emotional experience temporarily can make it difficult to experience other emotional perspectives. I value being immersed in an emotional experience temporarily, since it allows me to see that perspective more clearly, but before integration can occur I have to be willing to step back out of it.
What makes for a helpful empath is both the ability to step into an emotional experience and the ability to step back out again.
I feel a sense of clarity in reading what you write because I can relate to a lot of what you said. Personally I tend to just fall into the emotional experience naturally and receive the most benefit by learning how to step back out again, even though both really are valuable.
by thebigbigsky » Wed Jun 06, 2012 3:25 pm
Trivial wrote:Hello all! This is my first post in this forum and I basically have this thing I want to share on some sort of Psychology forum. This post is going to be long, rambly, and not make much sense, but believe me, that's how I feel...
Like your own strengths and use it wisely
One of the possible area that you might be doing very well is being a counselor. Good luck - thebigbigsky
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by Toastmasters Scottsdale » Sun Jun 17, 2012 8:13 pm
Wow, that's an amazing post.
Channel your intent and use it to help others.
a
Channel your intent and use it to help others.
a
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by brokenblade » Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:13 pm
What you have is a gift. Like other gifts, it is a great thing when used properly. When it is misused, it will be harmful. I have a similar thing, but I can only sense things though. Sometimes I am accurate.
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by [email protected] » Sun Jul 29, 2012 6:17 am
It is interesting that you tend to feel the vibes of people unlike yourself. Maybe something inside you just dies to know what is different from you. Anyway i see it its very powerful what you've got.
I always felt so much empathy for my best friend from childhood.. I could always sense that he grew up tough so my heart was always right there with his heart. Even though it sounds selfish, I feel i guided him so much of the time and I never crossed his line of weakness which I believed I must shield. Empathy brought me close to people and it really strengthened my bonds. I often felt that THEY THEMSELVES didn't know the pains that I could feel about them. I felt so empowered through my empathetic experiences although I could never physically "touch" anything.
I recommend that if you feel positive about it, you should further explore your talent and make the world a better place because of it. You are very sensitive but i hope you can use that trait to your maximum advantage.
I always felt so much empathy for my best friend from childhood.. I could always sense that he grew up tough so my heart was always right there with his heart. Even though it sounds selfish, I feel i guided him so much of the time and I never crossed his line of weakness which I believed I must shield. Empathy brought me close to people and it really strengthened my bonds. I often felt that THEY THEMSELVES didn't know the pains that I could feel about them. I felt so empowered through my empathetic experiences although I could never physically "touch" anything.
I recommend that if you feel positive about it, you should further explore your talent and make the world a better place because of it. You are very sensitive but i hope you can use that trait to your maximum advantage.
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by Blitzkreger » Sat Sep 15, 2012 9:16 pm
Emotions isnt that rather childish thing to have. I mean how does one make a decision? Is acting on impulsive emotions the right thing to do? Or is using logic and reason a better system in making decisions?
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by SimpleSoul » Tue Sep 18, 2012 7:51 am
Even i am an emotion driven person, who keeps feeling guilty all the time thinking maybe it's me who is the reason behind any troubled situation. Now i'm learning to be logical while responding to others attidtude, previously i tried to behave as nicely as I can even if someone keeps bothering me or hurting me. Now i feel people take advantage of me being emotional, everybody by-passes me and I feel like a loser. caring about everyones emotions starts hurting badly at some point. But switching from emotional to logical attitude is not so easy~
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