Help This is the first time i’ve felt something like guilt or empathy or something. This is absolutely terrible, someone please help me get it to stop.

[primadonna_]

For background, I live with sociopathy, meaning I have anti social personality disorder. Guilt is definitely not common for me, and I almost never feel it. Recently, I started feeling this weird tightness in my chest or my stomach and i'm pretty sure this is what it feels like because I got it when I almost ran over a rabbit or I see like depressing videos online. This is terrible, I don't know if this is some affect from me being deprived of the opportunity to be a bitch, or that i'm "getting better," but it's terrible and I NEED it to stop. I'm so confused, and I hate this I literally cannot live with this. I don't even actually feel guilty, just this weird physical sensation is absolutely terrible. Someone PLEASE give me some ideas how to get this to stop, literally anything this is so ass.

 

[NormallyNeurotic]

Unfortunately, getting it to stop completely probably isn't an option.

Do you have a therapist? Because it's a good idea to unpack whether this phantom feeling is more akin to guilt or empathy.

Feeling guilty when watching a sad video isn't really a good thing. It can become unhealthy for some people by leading to moral obsessions and complusions. Feeling empathetic is something that fits both examples you have. I'd assume affective empathy based on your description.

 

[callmeskin]

i also have aspd, sometimes feelings do come which i rarely feel and its overwhelming. Isn't much to do about it except distracting yourself or just accepting that the feeling is natural and it will eventually pass.

 

[primadonna_]

Unfortunately, getting it to stop completely probably isn't an option.

Do you have a therapist? Because it's a good idea to unpack whether this phantom feeling is more akin to guilt or empathy.

Feeling guilty when watching a sad video isn't really a good thing. It can become unhealthy for some people by leading to moral obsessions and complusions. Feeling empathetic is something that fits both examples you have. I'd assume affective empathy based on your description.

this actually sucks how do people live like this. I talked to my therapist and apparently since apparently i'm on the pretty far end of the aspd spectrum, even if I was having physical reactions it wouldn't do anything because it wouldn't affect my behavior since i'm not actually feeling it in my head and it's probably a hormonal thing… thank god, but i would literally do anything to get this to stop indefinitely.

 

[thelostautistic]

This must be really overwhelming for you to experience for the first time. I'm not sure if there's a way to get it to stop completely. But talking about it and time will hopefully help it to subside a little

 

[NormallyNeurotic]

this actually sucks how do people live like this. I talked to my therapist and apparently since apparently i'm on the pretty far end of the aspd spectrum, even if I was having physical reactions it wouldn't do anything because it wouldn't affect my behavior since i'm not actually feeling it in my head and it's probably a hormonal thing… thank god, but i would literally do anything to get this to stop indefinitely.

I honestly don't have that many memories of back when I had affective empathy, but it was rough because I used to be hyper-empathetic. My BPD, I find, is more associated with what little affective empathy I have. I fully believe had some things not happened in my life, I would have ended up just your average borderline instead of a narcissist too.

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