There is the fashionable notion these days for individuals to be branded as 'psychics' or 'empaths' if they are emotionally sensitive, or display a high level of compassion towards others. It is automatically assumed that people who are emotionally highly intelligent must also have an exceptional capacity for extra-sensory perception (ESP). Nothing could be further from the truth.
Please know that natural human empathy has not become such a scarce commodity that it now needs to be classified as a paranormal phenomenon. It is also not a psychic ability that must be developed or applied at all cost. If empathy really has become such a rare trait, then our society is in much greater jeopardy than we may suspect (see below).
People who do not display empathy are considered by the medical profession to be abnormal, or disordered. A lack of empathy is a common characteristic found in the Cluster B Personality Disorders in the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), especially in those diagnosed with Antisocial and Narcissistic Personality Disorder. |
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