Tuned Out, I think Its okay to have a different definition of an empath.

Open Eyes, to me what you are describing is an empathic person. Which a a little different from empath (in my understanding) though empaths can be empathic, they aren't always / not all of them are.

Hugs to everyone.

Also again, I hope my second post did not offend anyone. When I wrote it, I was thinking if 2 people. Me, pre-self-growth (also my mother, while caring, has never been very empathic towards my problems so I used to be very biased about empathy being better than non empathy bc of the pain her non empathy caused me), and a person who I've encountered who embodies what I was talking about. Like the people OE was describing earlier who think they're empathic but are not. Though I would argue you can be a difficult person and also 1. Have empathy 2. Be an empath. I think no one person is the same and sometimes I notice people have empathy for one situation but not for another.

Possum, OE and some others who are straight up empaths and empathic, it does sound very hard, overwhelming, and thankless sometimes. I hope there are ways to protect yourselves. There's got to be. I am empathic too but maybe not to an overwhelming degree in all situations. Im more reflective about how I can do better next time. But yes I sit w ppl in their pain, I struggle in crowds big time. The panic from everyone I've felt at the grocery store lately has been rough. The energy / vibe.