Is it normal that i'm emotional but i feel no empathy, remorse, or love?

I'm about to ramble.

I don't want to change or anything like that. I'm not making this post because I hate myself. This doesn't bother me but I am curious.

I saw someone else post something similar on here and there was a comment saying that that person must have been lying to himself, so I'll start by saying that I welcome my feelings and I never try to suppress them. I'm not scared of getting my heart broken or anything like that. I don't try to be tough or dark or edgy, so please do not further ruin honesty for me.

Anyway, when I try to look this up, all of the search results talk about Antisocial Personality Disorder, but I've heard that people with ASPD aren't emotional and I am emotional. I cry, laugh, and smile just fine, maybe even more so than most people, and I have feelings. I even cry in front of people, but I have never cared about another human being in my life. I could torture and kill my entire family without feeling bad about it, but I'm NOT going to do that. Some people would say that I hate everyone in the world, but I don't know if I would say that because my "hatred" for every person is thoughts more so than feelings, unless I have a personal reason for it. If it is personal, I feel really angry.

I understand people but I don't "get" them. I'm good at making people think I care about them, but I don't like to keep it up for too long and I have absolutely no desire to maintain intimate relationships. I get too tired and my fake thoughts and feelings start to unravel until the relationship is an awkward mixture of truths and lies. I like being around fun people and I have friends but I don't open up to them at all (Crying around them doesn't feel like a big deal to me). I'm fine with expressing emotion but not my most prevalent ones. I'm usually pretty zen with pretending, but I still feel hopeful that I will actually be able to express myself to someone one day. Every once in a while I open up a bit, but afterward I don't want to keep that person around for long. They tend to react badly.

A lot of people talk about this stuff like it's almost unfathomable to them, but sometimes I wonder if anyone is actually capable of feeling guilt, empathy, or love. I'm not talking about caring for a select few people or trying to suppress these emotions. I just want to know if it's normal that I have never experienced them and I couldn't if I tried. Thank you guys for reading. I'm probably going to get hate but it still feels nice to express this.

Is It Normal?
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Comments ( 9 ) Sort: best | oldest
  • Is this thegypsysailor?

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    • No, I don't know who that is lol. I just made this account today.

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  • Honestly I’m sort of the same way. I have a lot of friends and I’m pretty nice to them. But, I can’t feel anything for them. I don’t care about them and I wouldn’t pity them in any way. I really struggle when one of them starts to cry though. I don’t feel anything for them when that happens, but I don’t want to seem like I don’t care for them, even if i don’t, I am really awkward when this happens and I just hug them because I feel as if that’s all I could do. I had no one to relate with so I just never told anybody until recently.

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  • I think I recognize some of what's in this post.

    For a long time growing up, I don't think I really felt genuine love or empathy for others. I didn't know it, but I felt hollow, most of the time. I was mostly selfish and motivated by my own anxieties and whims. If I didn't act very anti-social, I feel like it was mostly because I feared the consequences of do so.

    Today, at the age of 25 or so, this is still true to an extent - but as I've experienced more hardship personally in the past few years, I'm beginning to feel, I think, genuinely empathetic to others, in that I can imagine their emotions, and feel pity for them. I'm not horrified *instinctively* by words like "kill own family and not feel anything" - but now I not only know that I would never do it, but I also understand that the very thought of it, should I care to think about it in depth, makes me feel monstrous, in pain.

    A side effect of this sort of "empathetic awakening" is that poetry, literature and communication with others all take on a whole new light. I think I'm thinking more clearly and wisely. I think I feel more alive and whole.

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  • You need therapy and pills.

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    • Is this a joke? No, I don't, but I'm super appreciative of your concern!
      I'm a pretty happy person and I have no desire to change who I am on such a fundamental level. I just wanted to know if this is normal (and express myself lol). I have an interest in psychology and I figured I might as well study myself a bit and see if others feel the same way.

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  • I would see a therapist.

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    • This is the OP. I do see a therapist because I have a "food addiction" and I want help for that, but I can't tell her everything because she could think I am a danger to myself and others even if I'm not planning on doing anything.

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      • If don't have violent thoughts and don't think about acting on them you should have nothing to worry about.

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