Personally, I don't think I'm confusing sympathy and empathy. I do empathise a lot of the time, I just don't necessarily express that well to the other person. For instance, if one of my family or friends are down about something then I feel down and my mind thinks of the things that have happened to me which are similar to what is happening to them. Going by the dictionary.com definition where it states "you feel empathy when you've 'been there' and sympathy when you have not", then is not drawing on your own previous experiences which have caused similar feelings, empathy?

That is a genuine question by the way, if it is not then please do tell me because sometimes I think something is a certain way and unless somebody tells me otherwise I will continue to believe it whether it's true or not.