So you think I'm trying to subliminally appear sociopathic?
This topic was really more about gauging answers from each individual than anything else.
Virus stated: source post
I don't know about you or sys... he says he has sociopathic tendencies and he writes as if he does, but he claims not to be.
I quote this more for the why of people coming here. The writer brought up very good points. Many here try very hard to be something they maybe already are or perhaps just want to be... I find it more relaxing to not try... and just be.
I meant no offense with this...
He made good points from time to time, but the presenter often makes it carry a different message than just the words by themselves.
Also, having met Syst, he isn't sociopathic.
That guy was calling us heartless for not having heartfelt feelings about characters in The Twilight Zone.
At most he shows some narcissistic tendencies, but he has all sorts of feels.
Edit: Oh, you meant whoameye, not Syst. Check into his posting history, he's an interesting subject that's done a fine job riling some people up. He misses a lot of points, but every so often he hits it right on the money despite having a subtext that takes away from the impact.
Edit2: Use the old forum search if you expect to find anything.
So, it was the empathy training that I've been going through that gave me the idea for my research...
But basically there are two different types of empathy: Cognitive (which is the ability to recognize and interpret the emotions and motivations of others) and affective (which is the ability to spontaneously adopt the emotions of others). These can either be self-directed (imagining how one would feel in the situation) or other-directed (imagining how the other would feel in the situation).
The empathy training that I'm going through right now consists of stopping and imagining how I would feel in a situation, observing if it matches the reaction of the other, and adjusting to imagine a situation in which I would feel what the other is feeling if those do not match up. Then I respond accordingly.
The formula begins "I understand that you are feeling..." to show validate the other's feelings. Then I am to show understanding and identification with the others emotional state by citing a time when I experienced a similar situation. After that I can offer advice or say something supportive, such as "If you need to talk..." or "Have you tried/considered..." I am not to use any invalidating words like "but" or "however".
I'm also practicing reciprocal communication by repeating what the other has said like "What I'm hearing you say is..." to ensure that I am understanding the other properly.
The progress that I have seen is that people seem to feel closer to me and are more likely to trust me. Even the few that know I am in treatment for PD seem to feel that I am invested in them personally and it has increased the quality of my relationships.
I like to create mental stereotypes of every person i meet and gauge reactions based on what I say, what topics are 'OK' and what role they like to play in. That gets really hard for me in larger groups, as I'm not sure what role I'm supposed to play. It's probably very similar to your patterns and probably innate for people 'with social skills'.
Regarding your question, I just think deeply about those interactions (Actions and speech). It's enough for me to remember it later on, but I think a diary approach is more effective.