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Old Mar 14, 2017, 07:53 PM
Onward2wards Onward2wards is offline
Magnate
 
Member Since: Jun 2010
Location: USA
Posts: 2,283
As concerned as you clearly are with how you relate to and affect others, the concept that you lack empathy seems unlikely. I have read that being excessively affected by feelings of guilt may be a component of OCD. Could it be that you are hyperaware of (and horrified by) some of the coping and defense mechanisms which you and most people have? There may be some social anxiety involvement as well.

I sometimes notice myself doing/thinking similar things. I've been trying to make some sense of it. I see these symptoms as a combination of learned fears and genetic tendencies.

I understand where you are coming from. After I wrote this, noticing that I had left a word out prompted me to reread my post, and led to the horrible thought that everything I just wrote might be poorly constructed and therefore misinterpreted. This made me consider "what if I am a bad writer, have no business commenting on psychological subjects, and am also socially clumsy?" When I caught myself, I laughed out loud! I had a burst of obsessive negative thinking, compulsively reread my post (three times, no less), and then a "social anxiety moment", followed by a wave of noticeable depression-like sadness. Funny how one thing leads to another.

Last edited by Onward2wards; Mar 14, 2017 at 08:10 PM.
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