Totally totally agree with this. This is exactly how it is for me. I am super empathetic in my personal life and empathizing is part of my job. I have told my boyfriend that I think part of why people with emotional sensitivity/BPD empathize so much is that our feelings are so overwhelming we want to protect others from having to feel those huge things. It took me a long time to realize that I feel things so much more intensely than others. That being said, when my abandonment fears or feeling disrespected/neglected kick in I have zero empathy for the person I feel is upsetting me. It's like a switch that gets flipped.