Old Dogs, New Tricks

There was a recent meme about how much trouble empaths have dealing with sociopaths. I wanted to present part of a conversation thread connected to that.

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Steve: Excuse me, but if an empath is one who can tune into the emotional experiences of others, how precisely did they not tweak to the nature of the narcissist or sociopath? Doesn’t that indicate that they COULDN’T read the true emotions of their partner?

Michele R. : Steven Barnes oh wow…you are fortunate to have never interacted with one. I understand the seemingly flawed logic or faulty syllogism but trust us — narcopaths are consummate liars and frauds. So what we tune into is what they are projecting and or at times, mirroring. It’s not real — but it’s what they’re putting out. No way to know that until the mask slips. Glad for you that you’ve not experienced this. When it happens in intimate relationships (family or significant other), the damage is a lifetime’s worth. Biggest mindfuckery ever. Life altering.

Steve: I’ve interacted with several. But the definition of “empath” is “one who can tune in to the emotional experiences of others” yes? But you are specifically describing a failure of that capacity. So…limited empath? Or some other term? I’m not a natural empath, so I specifically found ways to test the nature of people I interact with. Basic principle: ask victims what the clues were that should have warned them. What did they ignore? And why? I’ve asked dozens of people that question, and if I dig, there wasn’t a single case…