Yes, empathy is so essential. I don't really know what to say. I feel it's so difficult to have empathy for myself right now. I feel I have reasonably high for how nice people should be to each other. It upsets me very deeply when people don't live up to that in real life and I'm always lowering the bar a little every day and trying to be more realistic, and then you all go and raise the bar again. Welcome to the sticky wicket that is therapy. How do you do it so, I don't know! Receiving empathy is dangerous, though, and I think on the whole we on this board are better at giving it than taking it. I don't know what to say so I'll save myself the trouble of writing more (and you all the trouble of reading it!) and just stop for now.