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Says autistics feel

I think it is just erroneous to place a lack of empathy as a trait on being on the spectrum. As I have written before, lacking in empathy is a sign of Anti-Social Personality Disorder. For folks on the spectrum, I truly believe that it is more a lack of being able to communicate the empathy than a lack of feeling it altogether. True sociopaths have no moral compass and don't even feel any. When they express empathy, it's disingenuous and is done in calculating ways. A sociopath is more likely to fake empathy to achieve his or her end goals.
 
If anything my feelings have been more intense and too intense for me to deal with. I needed coping skills to learn to handle my feelings.
 
Our lack of feelings is a common myth when a description of someone with Autism is made. I know in my case I may be a bit overboard sometimes in my feelings.
 
GrownupGirl said:
Autistic people can and do feel empathy. And here's another major news flash: WATER IS WET!!:rolleyes:
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Rudeness is always appropriate. I’m sure you love it when people do that to you. I was posting it because studies are being done on it. This is an important subject to me. Can you just ignore the thread and move on? This happens to be a personal issue for me right now.
 
I thought the information on alexithymia was worth posting. The article states you do not necessarily have alexithymia with autism but frequently do. Two separate conditions, but they used to think that was part of the autism. It is just like any other comorbid condition with autism. And there are many.
 
Also I read a theory once (caution no sources) that sociopaths are addicted to empathy, at least those who go out of their way to hurt people.
 
Maybe a reason for major difficulties with empathy that many have is feeling too much
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You know some tragic story about a person or a pet, many will be overwhelmed.
If it either is totally bad, or you process many of those, you already care less.
At some point people barely care anymore even if it's their responsibility.

Personally I am not sure, but I have a suspicion that my switch to really lowering empathy is actually based on engaging it
 
Graphin said:
Also I read a theory once (caution no sources) that sociopaths are addicted to empathy, at least those who go out of their way to hurt people.
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What does that even mean? One of the characteristics of sociopaths is that they have no empathy.
 
Momster said:
Rudeness is always appropriate. I’m sure you love it when people do that to you. I was posting it because studies are being done on it. This is an important subject to me. Can you just ignore the thread and move on? This happens to be a personal issue for me right now.
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We're not replying to you personally, we're replying to the article and the stupid myth that people with autism don't have empathy.
 
Mattymatt said:
I think it is just erroneous to place a lack of empathy as a trait on being on the spectrum.
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I read that and thought, "I feel plenty of emotion. I just don't know how to express it."

Then I read what you wrote next:

Mattymatt said:
For folks on the spectrum, I truly believe that it is more a lack of being able to communicate the empathy than a lack of feeling it altogether.
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Yeah. You nailed it.
 
I dont know if it is related or not but when I was younger and was around a girl I liked in hight school I was unable to communicate or even feel what she was feeling aswell.

I have no idea if this is related to empathy or not...I could plan stuff , have ideas and feeling before, but in the moment I couldnt realy. And then I was thinking about it a lot.

SunnyDay16 said:
he stupid myth that people with autism don't have empathy.
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It is still good the spread the gospel , I mean as long as this myth exist its better to fight it with real info.
 
Momster said:
Rudeness is always appropriate. I’m sure you love it when people do that to you. I was posting it because studies are being done on it. This is an important subject to me. Can you just ignore the thread and move on? This happens to be a personal issue for me right now.
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I'm sorry that I made you think I was being rude to you. I was just being sarcastic about the links, particularly "A Radical New Autism Theory" to the information about something I've already known for the past two decades but we need "experts" to confirm that it's true. I was directing my sarcasm at them and not you. But it's not unusual for people to say I was rude when I had no idea that I was being that way at all.
 
Momster said:
So the information on alexithymia was not new to y'all?
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For many here, it isn’t. It’s been discussed in quite a few topics. Which isn’t to say it’s not allowed to be news for you. No one starts out an expert on autism, we all have to learn.

For me it was never in question. I’m on the spectrum, I don’t have alexithymia and I’ve been known to be warm and caring to those close to me. I can be clumsy at expressing my empathy though, which is why people have accused me of being uncaring in the past.
 
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