Empaths and BPD

I have been wondering for a long time before I wandered onto this site if being an Empath and having BPD go hand-in-hand. I am willing to bet that at least 90% of you on here are empathic.

Haha! I just pulled this off of Wikipedia (I know, it's not the most reliable, but it's the fastest, ok?)...

"Borderline personality disorder is characterized by extensive behavioral and interpersonal difficulties that arise from emotional and cognitive dysfunction.[68] Dysfunctional social and interpersonal behavior has been shown to play a crucial role in the emotionally intense way people with borderline personality disorder react.[69] While individuals with borderline personality disorder may show their emotions too much, several authors have suggested that they might have a compromised ability to reflect upon mental states (impaired cognitive empathy), as well as an impaired theory of mind.[69]
People with borderline personality disorder are very good at recognizing emotions in people's faces, suggesting increased empathic capacities.[70][71] It is, therefore, possible that impaired cognitive empathy (the capacity for understanding another person's experience and perspective) may account for borderline personality disorder individuals' tendency for interpersonal dysfunction, while 'hyper-emotional empathy' (the ability to share the emotional state of another person) may account for the emotional over-reactivity observed in these individuals.[69] One primary study confirmed that patients with borderline personality disorder were significantly impaired in cognitive empathy, yet there was no sign of impairment in affective empathy.[69]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empath

What do you guys think of this? Who wins? The spirit (Empath) or the brain (BPD)?

I believe it. I am an empath. I feel others emotions without them having to tell me.

This is interesting. I may read more about that.

littlearcher wrote:when i am triggered, i don't really have access to that and so i guess in those times, the bpd is overpowering.the goal is to be in touch with empathy and compassion and PERSPECTIVE at all times, though. i'm working on it..

I'm pretty empathetic when I'm calm. If I'm in any kind of emotionally aroused state - playing music, working out, etc. it goes out the window. Then, I get very intense and demanding.

How do you remain in touch with compassion? When I'm teaching, I can do this, but in other circumstances, it's very hard, especially of I think the person should 'know better". Perspective is another challenge. Even if I hear a little voice in the back of my mind saying "This is not a big deal - we can handle it, take it easy' once triggered, it's all over. I can't get back to that place of dealing with things calmly or seeing the other person's point of view.

Depends on my mood really. Though I always recognize how people feel bed on their face. I've been told I'm a good people-reader as a result. At other times, I'm like a socially retarded cockroach. I can't other people if my life depended on it.

Repeat please taurus?

A lot of my problems stem from empathizing too much, actually. Even seeing people sad on TV can trigger me into an awful sobbing curled up in a ball state. Same with real life. I suppose at that point it becomes almost selfish, huh? Injustice for me is always taken personally too.

I've been told I'm fairly good at reading people, but I'm very very very VERY bad at interpreting neutral expressions. I always assume they're upset, and that's the paranoid side of me, I guess. I'm good at recognizing the subtle speech/typing patterns of people when their emotions change.

I'm also very good at sensing and recognizing emotions then throwing that all out the window and freaking out instead. That's the BPD, I'm assuming. :/

littlearcher wrote:i empathize a great deal but i wouldn't consider it too much. i cry from things on tv and injustices as well. however, i have found that learning how to set healthier boundaries in general has helped with this. i can still empathize but, it doesn't totally take me over.

What sort of boundaries do you mean, if you don't mind me asking? Cutting myself off from the things I know will upset me...?

No, that makes sense. Gaining control in other areas definitely does help. I guess I have to work on that first! It's so easy to fall off the wagon with things like that though. Can fall off the wagon even apply in this situation. Oh well... you know what I mean!

In a political argument that turned nasty I was told that I have selective empathy. Apparently I can't empathize with republicans or obnoxiously privileged snot-nosed libertarians. I don't realize that these people don't actually want uninsured depressed or mentally ill people to starve on the street or kill themselves. They just don't care enough to think it warrants having the government "steal" a few extra pennies in tax revenue from some rich ###$ who in all likelihood wouldn't notice the difference. HUGE difference there. HAHAHAHA!!!