Autism and Empathy⎥Autistic woman discusses what empathy is really like on the spectrum

Hi Friends! In this requested video, we dig into the topic of autism and empathy. Is it true that those with autism don't experience empathy or is this a deeper topic blanketed in misunderstandings? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! 💕

[Catlily]

I feel a lot of empathy. It is overwhelming. My feelings in general are overwhelming.

[ryn]

I'm on the hyperempathic side of the empathy spectrum for sure. It's probably one of the main reasons for my clinical depression. I just can't stop caring about all of the awful shit that's happening in the world.

[sophiekerr]

For me, as an example, if I saw someone getting hurt, I'd feel empathy for them but if I talked to them in person I'd have trouble expressing it. Like a couple of weeks ago I was watching a rugby match on TV and one of the players badly hurt his knee. I felt empathy to the extent that I felt genuinely sick, but I know that if I ever met him I wouldn't be able to talk to him about it. I have trouble expressing it, but I can feel it.

[abbyapplebee]

Empathy is another very misunderstood component of the autism spectrum. Good video 👍 the more awareness the better.

[rachelk]

Totally agree. And I heard about an article about empathy and autism from one of my old coworkers told me about the article. That when we ASD peeps seem to have cold expressions when experiencing those strong emotions from others, it's seen as not being empathetic. However they found in the article that cold expressions is a self preservation tactic autistic people use, because we feel emotions so strongly. I sometimes wonder if it also connected to the fact that we feel sensory things stronger than others. Just a thought hehe.

[danischi]

I am hyperempathetic to the point where I can’t watch action films or even just slightly exciting films without skipping ahead. I feel the anxiety and stress and all the other emotions of every single character as if they were my own. Like, my heart and veins actually hurt when someone loses a person in the film or gets broken up with, as if I were in the situation myself. And that happens with real life people, too. It sucks. It’s so overwhelming and stressful and I want nothing more than to feel less empathy.

[emilyraye]

Thank you so much for posting this video. I just got dismissed by my psychiatrist because he believes Autistic people don't have empathy or the capacity to learn how to pick up on social cues (something I was able to do recently). As someone who is also in the mental health field (getting licensed as a professional counselor soon), I'm just so hurt by that statement because I identify so strongly (more than I have with anything other than ADHD) with all of the symptoms. I'm so frustrated.

[debbiestaneland]

I have ridiculous amounts of empathy. I have a hard time dealing with it quite often.

[catherinedesrochers]

Short and sweet, straight to the point and well explained 👏👌

[clarkworkable]

Your video is the first one I saw -- short and sweet! Perfect.

I searched for this topic because I'm at a point of frustration, feeling like hyper-empathy is one of the things that sets me apart from more typically presenting autistic people I see in online spaces. Along with, similarly, being over expressive and at times unusually perceptive. I'm supposed to be clueless or lack a theory of mind. Trouble is, I've often got thirteen different theories, and maybe eight of them strictly relate to this dimension. I get tripped up on what to say and how to respond because I'm following all the possible tracks that I can see simultaneously -- kind of like EEAAO.

[barefootbrazencurations]

I recently went through a diagnosis process where I was diagnosed with ADHD and social anxiety disorder and even though I scored incredibly high for masking I was told that I was “too empathetic” and emotionally astute on our one on one interview to even need to be tested for ASD. I’ve never related to anything more than the stories of Autistic women here on YouTube. From hand flapping as a child - learning to manage but still needing to stim daily - to even experiencing what I now know thanks to you tube is called selective mutism on a handful of occasions. I’m out thousands of dollars and feel like I’m still missing this puzzle piece :( to understand and identify myself as a whole.

[willowisp]

nice video 💕
feeling deeply, a strong sense of justice and not doing well accepting authorities are my favorite autistic traits.
almost all neurodiverse people I know are vegans, also we make great activists.

[thejoycatcher]

I’m confused as well both my brother and I have empathy and we aren’t on the same on the spectrum and I’m better at expressing myself but we feel! I feel so much it’s an overload! On one hand it’s exhausting to take so much in but I’m very good at reading people and knowing what others need. I pay attention to others. I like to see their whole body when I do this and it helps when I know the person, but either way, it’s protected me many times! I know peoples motives as well! You have said so many things in a way I couldn’t! This is new for me but my brother was diagnosed as a baby. I’m 47 and began this journey trying to help my older brother only to find myself in a way as well! Very empowering and as if a huge weight has been lifted off me! Thank you for sharing! A beautiful woman inside and out it seems! 🤗❤️👏🏻👍🏻👌🏻

[lugaruna]

Yea this might be one of the reasons i don't like watching things like war documentary's or war movies. I just get realy scared and anxious:/. I also have that alot of people come to me for advice and with their problems and alot of the times i can help them. Unfortunatly when it comes to my own emotions it's a bit of a struggle, mentaly i know why i react the way i know alot about emotions but when im feeling the exact same emtions as others in the same situation i can't understand it:p.

[annikajohansson]

I gave up social media besides youtube because i dont have a social appropriateness compass, yet i feel when im being judged and feel the humiliation to an intense, almost lethal degree. I tell it like it is, and its hard to filter it.

Ive always felt way too much and have been told that i seem way too sensitive for this world.

[delilahhart]

Empathy is kind of tricky for me. If I know that a person or animal is suffering, I feel bad for them. However, I also often lack a theory of mind, so I have sometimes done things that hurt other people without knowing beforehand how it would make them feel.

[christopherlemarchand]

For me I have always said I'm an empath not a spiritual empath as I'm not really a believer of all that but recent revelations after 39 years of saying I suffer with depression and anxiety but recently I've been doing research into audhd as what I've been researching (videos and research papers) has given me a different perspective on what I might have. Anyway I digress for me it's my (possible) audhd and my hyper fixation on not wanting others to feel the darkness I've always felt that gives me this ability I understand body language speech tone etc to a degree that's it's like what muscle memory is to others I can't tell you how I can get people to open up without knowing them or feel there emotions before they have even said anything but it's because I know instinctively especially the pain emotion and how it shows in people and I'm drawn to it because I hate that feeling so don't want others feeling it

[anjachan]

from how I understand it: Autistic people have a hard time identify what a person is feeling, if they are sad or angry. But they still have empathy when they see a person getting hurt etc.

[artisttjan]

I believe the issue is that in my case I feel empathy but I express it cognitively because I'm not sure how to express it without explaining it. I can't explain how I feel but I can explain all the things going on in that situation that makes me feel hat way.

[MamaEvaUSA]

I’m empathic. I also have alexithymia. I want to live in the woods far from people 🤪