https://drjudithorloff.com/quizzes/empath-self-assessment-test/
Correction, that would be Commander (or Counselor) Deanna Troi. I’m slipping, obviously.
Why are the facts that I hate nature and small towns signs that I am not an empath? I had 2 answers that put me in the empath category. I am not an empath, I am not even particularly empathetic, but I find it bizarre that not liking nature or small towns is a sign of that. If you are House fans - I am House and H is Wilson. I didn’t give H the quiz, but he would score high - he cries, to quote the man himself, at shopping mall openings.
I have strong empathetic tendencies. I am a nurse but I work with a group of medical people who cut themselves off to cope. Very strong personalities. I don’t fit in.
I always wanted to be Commander Troi, half Betazoid
Even so, I scored a 14. I don’t overeat when stressed, and I don’t react to caffeine. I can’t see the reasoning behind some of the questions. I do like nature, yet my beach buddy is an extrovert.
I’ve worked for years to have a less permeable layer between my core and other people’s feelings or problems. My parents taught me that their feelings /were/ my problem and then wondered why I let myself get influenced by others so easily. Unlearning that was grueling. (Hah, more for them than for me.)
I like that line of T.S. Eliot’s, “Teach us to care and not to care.” It evokes a lovely balance of pragmatic compassion.
@busdriver11 – I have definitely seen people describe themselves as “empaths” meaning something close to paranormal–a different level of beingness and something like psychic abilities. I was in a FB group of “empaths” because I consider myself a very empathetic person (empathy i see as truly the most important goal in life), but I realized they weren’t talking about only what I was. So now I don’t use the word “empath” for myself. So I guess it can mean different things.
I think Empath based on Star Trek. In original series, the show focused on a gal from a planet where people could feel people’s physical pain. The Q was, would she risk her own life to save Dr. McCoys? Then in NG, it was the Betazoids who could read others’ thoughts. Call me shallow.
Having psychic abilities is just that