[Under*Over]

I was just wondering if... you guys have found... that through understanding your own pain, you were more or less senstive to the pain of others.

For me, I find that- the people that others get frustrated over- i just cant. Unless I can tell that what they are doing is deliberate AND malicious... I am usually inclined towards the train of thought of... feeling bad that THEY feel bad enough to be doing whatever it is they are doing. Lots of times the most dysfunctional people... they dont mean to be. Most people dont mean to hurt others. And much of the time it comes from pain. And therefore, I have just a relaly hard time being angry at PEOPLE. I CAN be angry at situations- but people...

I have a hard time not empathizing with like... pretty much anyone who shows even the least bit of confusion/vulnerability FOR ANY REASON... because I can just realate so strongly to those feelings- the feeling of being confused and lost in general.

Anyways. So I was wondering- have your own experiences with MI lead you to be MORE or LESS empathetic- or just... how has it impacted you in general?

[downandlonely]

I think the depression has led me to be more empathetic. It's true that people who hurt others are usually in pain themselves.

It varies depending on what I'm on.

[*Laurie*]

I am generally an extremely empathetic person, unless I'm quite manic.

[Pookyl]

I’m the opposite. My care factor for others has decreased since bipolar. It’s especially noticeable during an episode.

[annielovesbacon]

My experience with mental illness has made me more understanding -- but not necessarily tolerant -- of others who are late, who cancel plans, etc. when I know or suspect they may have depression.

Also, I did not understand many symptoms abuse survivors show (for example, apologizing constantly for things they don't need to apologize for) and even was intolerant of the behavior of a former roommate who I now know was a victim of abuse. (I feel very guilty for this.) Now that I have suffered abuse myself I understand and am empathetic.

[amicus_curiae]

Hmm. I’m empathetic with those with whom I share or understand disorders. And I understand a host of disorders, having been in a mental hospital for three years.

One of the most comfortable spots for me is a shrinks waiting room. Everyone is usually so polite!

I’m so manic-high right now and, yeah, that’s when empathy is most difficult. When I slow down I’ll be empathetic, again.

[BipolaRNurse]

Before I was diagnosed bipolar, I was the head nurse at an assisted living facility where there was this one patient/resident who had just about every known psychiatric diagnosis (EXCEPT bipolar). The one the doctors finally settled on was Factitious Disorder, which is basically malingering...IOW, they said he was faking mental illness. Accordingly, he drove me and my staff nuts. He was constantly complaining about the voices in his head telling him to do stupid, destructive stuff like burn himself with cigarettes, start fires in the laundry room and hide himself in his room while refusing to eat, drink or take his meds. Nobody believed him because he had that Factitious Disorder diagnosis. But he scared the staff, and he scared the other residents too. And I couldn't get him out of the building despite the fact that he was totally inappropriate for assisted living.

Then I got my bipolar DX, and everything changed. I started actually spending some quality time with this fellow and got to know him pretty well. I learned that he truly was severely mentally ill and I fought for him long after his social worker, his PCP and even his psychiatrist had given up on him. When he ripped his arm open with a steak knife from the community dining room, I was finally able to get him admitted to a psych unit, where it was quickly determined that AL was not the place for him but that he'd be better suited to a group home where there were other mentally ill people who needed some care but didn't need to be locked up.

So yeah, I think having a mental illness myself made me more empathetic and more compassionate towards others who suffer. I'm normally a pretty compassionate person or I'd never have gone into nursing, but BP made me a better nurse, I think.

[tecomsin]

Sometimes my empathy has been remarkably deficient and I think this, in part, related to the condition of being bipolar. There's a surpisingly strong genetic overlap between, not only, bipolar and schizophrenia, but also between bipolar and autism. I'm not saying that bipolar people are autistic... that's a different thing.

But the process of understanding the depths of my illness has made me more empathetic of other people's suffering. It's human nature to relate to an experience more if one has been through something similar. That already creates a kind of shared experience which binds us into relationships.

[Wander]

Generally I am an empathetic person and always have been. I come from a history of severe abuse so that may come into play too, making me more sensitive to others feelings. As for Bipolar I think my profound experiences of mania and depression have also enabled me to place myself in the place of others who are suffering. If I had of lived a life without deeep suffering perhaps I would not feel the suffering of others so deeply?

Still, I have close friends who have had relatively easy lives and are deeply empathetic people.

[aberrationBP]

I am not a very empathetic person, but i try.

I think BP allowed me to tap into some empathy that i never had before, though, with all the ups and downs.

[Shazerac]

I don’t know if I have empathy or just more patience with others. If someone seems to be a complete jerk I try to think that maybe they are having a rough day. Who knows what they are suffering? I plaster on a fake smile and pretend I’m ok. I’m sure others do it too.