When EMPATH Becomes an Insult
Are They Love Junkies Who Don’t Really Exist?
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Do unicorns exist? Do aliens exist? Do empaths exist?
Most people who claim to be highly sensitive or intuitive to the emotions of others and feel what others feel would say, “Absolutely!”
Now scientific studies are being done to demonstrate that empaths actually do exist, however, they provide mostly indirect evidence. This includes research showing the existence of mirror neurons in the brain, which are said to enable us to read and understand each other’s emotions by filtering them through our own (Iacobani, 2008).
Don’t shoot the messenger.
It is not my intention to be the harbinger of bad news, nor do I seek to invalidate those who have already been unseen and summarily erased from the chronicles of history by their impaired narcissist. Double ouch.
I simply hope to convey the idea that the word itself may not be one that you cling to fiercely or defend vehemently. Those of us who have survived this trip to hell with the narcissist know all too well that we must construct a new identity and get up off the ground to find our strength and seize our power.
But there is a weak connotation attached to the word, empath. It signals a figure who will take a beating and come back for more. It often characterizes a person who is addicted to the narcissist provisional dopamine rush to the brain and body, someone who will push their own mother in front of the bus in order to hold on to that glorious source of ecstasy. They must have it. They must cling to it. They must not lose it no matter what.
The inimitable Sophia Bell recently said,
After the dust settles, they’re the ones left unscathed, not you. They go on their merry way while you get left behind to pick up the pieces that once formed you. The narcissist is fine.
But you wanna sit there half dead, feeling sorry for the damn narcissist.
Yeah, okay.
