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Originally Posted by velcro003
this fascinates me. my therapist just had a conversation with me today about this. she had been suggesting i go see my pdoc to see if maybe i need to change or up my meds bc she thought i have been more depressed lately. i didn't/don't really believe her, but i've always listened to her suggestions, so i went. my pdoc agreed with her and we changed a few things. today i told her how this just doesn't feel like depression. to me, it is like the time i spent 3 months crying every day, wishing i was dead sort of stuff. she said it would make sense i think that, but being numb/emotionally shut down is also signs of depression and that her and my pdoc can feel it.
she has said that a few times. i find it so fascinating. how can you feel how another perso is feeling?
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Being emotionally numb/distant is absolutely a presentation of depression. It was the major way my depression showed itself most of my life.
As far as how someone can "feel" the mental state of another, I don't think it's so mysterious. Most of us have the ability to some degree. It's easy for us to guage the mood of people we know well. Those who have been trained and have wide experience are more consistent at it. And Ts are probably the most highly trained and observational, with the most intense contact.
Interestingly, those who were abused as children also often have a heightened awareness and perception of the moods of those around them because it's a skill they had to develop as a defense.