Bipolar Type II Support Group

Hi Everyone,

Been a while since ive been on here hit some rough patches but am working through them slowly as they come about.

But ive noticed that throughout my life i have lacked empathy in others situations i tend to turn the situation around to relate to me and i find it hard to feel for them.

I am just wondering is this related to my BPII and does anyone know any good ways to fix this as i think my friends partner and family are starting to get upset that i dont feel anything in situations where i should. even when it comes to myself i lack empathy i cry for the sake of crying cause i know i should be and not because my box is sad and it wants me to...

HELP!

Are you on meds that make you numb? You could work on it with a therapist also. I get numb when I am overwhelmed.

I have too much empathy...it's been a trait of mine since I was young, the only time it goes away is when I am hypomanic.

I go in and out of empathy. When I'm hypomanic like Janna, it goes out the window. The rest of the time I'm overly sensitive to others.

I usually have too much empathy for others and not enough for myself if that makes any sense. It sounds like your meds may need adjusting as they may be making you emotionally flat and that would seem like you are not empathetic.

PandaBear, It's really hard for me to tell what you mean. Can you give an example?

That is cool to note the correlation between hypomanic and no empathy, depression and over empathy. Since I have been anxious/depressed the last two weeks I have not watched the Cairo and Japan news since I know just hearing about it it is too much for me. I can totally see also that when I was hypomanic three weeks ago I was so hyper and happy that slowing down to connect with others wouldn't happen.

I was at a point where my meds made me emotionally flat. I felt numb... not happy, not sad... just there. It could be the meds that are making you not feel empathy. That wouldn't surprise me at all. I have been at the point where I couldn't feel empathy. I get so consumed with my problems that I don't want to hear or deal with anyone else's. I almost resent people for talking about their problems... don't they know what I'm dealing with? The answer to that is probably not. I don't think people understand BP and what it does to you. The depression makes me feel like I'm in much more pain than anyone else so I don't want to talk about anyone else. When I'm hypomanic, I am so on top of the world I don't have time to listen to other people's problems and they annoy me. I don't think it's abnormal to feel the way you do. I think a lot of us feel this.

I think it could be your medications. You should probably talk to your psychiatrist about this. You shouldn't be feeling numb. This is not good when you are medicated. Something sounds like it needs to be adjusted. I have a lot of empathy no matter what kind of mood I am in. It's just the way I am. I hope you get this problem solved soon.

If your SO's family is noticing, maybe there's something that you need help to figure out. I get what I call numb feeling, that's usually about as good as I get on the depression scale. It's kind of like being in a haze. It might be interpreted as not being empathetic, I never thought of it with that view before. Maybe we're talking about the same thing. I know I will probably still have to go through some med trials before we get it right.

I hope things get better soon. When you see your doc, be sure to mention how you've been feeling. In the meantime try to be kind to yourself.

heather

Post edited by: hedap, at: 03/15/2011 09:16 PM