#hypo-empathy

chalking up horrible behavior to a lack of empathy is ableist and saneist.

having empathy doesn’t make you a good person. feeling other people’s emotions don’t make you a good person.

not being able to feel empathy doesn’t make you a bad person.

your actions determine your morality. you don’t know need to lack empathy to hurt people. you don’t have to have empathy to be a nice and caring person.

all of this applies to people with npd, aspd, and every other disorders that cause a lack in empathy. autism is another disorder that can cause lack of empathy for some people, by the way, i know you folks love autism until someone actually shows signs of it.

so stop downplaying abusers actions by just saying they lack empathy or calling them a narcissist, sociopath, etc. it’s incredibly discriminatory to disabled people. in other words, it’s mean and reductive. it also downplays the actual abuse taking place by blaming it on a disorder than a person. instead call people what they are: abusers, assholes, etc.

to people who lack empathy: not being able to feel and think something isn’t a crime. you are still a person. you are not comparable to abusers for something you can’t control.

The hyper-empathy phase came first. When I was a child, I was SO much more sensitive than other kids. I would cry hysterically over even thinking about sad things. The other kids and the adults would make fun of me for being so hyper-empathetic.

The hypo-empathy phase is ongoing. I'm way more desensitized than most people and can't bring myself to be sad about things I probably should be sad about, like a death.