Is it normal to not really show empathy?

I have a small friend group and we're nearing the end of our high school careers. I've lived a good life in a good home with good parents. However, because of a couple video I recently shared in Facebook, both of which involved someone being hit by a train, my friends who I have come to love since freshman year suddenly started calling me a sociopath because I didn't have empathy for the people who were hit. Now, I didn't share the videos for kicks. I shared them to try to show people what happens when you get hit by a train and for them to understand that no one wants to see that happen to someone. My goal was to get people to think twice before trying to beat the train.

At the request of these friends after a long night's argument of if I was mentally stable or not, I saw my schools guidance counselor who is also a licensed psychologist. She said I was fine but recently I've been starting to question my mental state more and more because I'm confused on whether or not what I'm showing is empathy. I don't have symptoms of a sociopath other than lack of empathy, or so it seems. Should I be seeking help or are my friends nuts?

Voting Results
64% Normal
Based on 28 votes (18 yes)
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Comments ( 7 )
  • By posting the video you showed empathy for others because you did it to prevent the same thing from happening to someone else. I think you're normal. If you were a sociopath, you wouldn't care if anyone else gets run over by a train.

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  • Tealights

    No worries. My Driver's Ed teacher in high school did the same thing. He would show us videos of wrecks, or those very, very disturbing European car crash commercials where they get you immersed in the story then a very unexpected, yet preventable car accident happens. Thanks to that teacher I never drive no more than 5 over the speed limit, stop for school buses (or go super slow), and many other safe habits.

    So there's a good chance your video is helping someone out there realize that trains are equally as dangerous as everything else. Just be sure to add all the tips the next time you post (if you do this already, then you're super awesome). Not many people know that cars can get stuck on tracks, or what to do when their car is stuck, so spread the knowledge as much as you want.

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  • NormalIsAsNormalDoes

    Have you also considered that you might be a psychopath? About 1 in 100 people are psychopaths and from my understanding it doesn't mean you don't value human life or wish to see people generally happy, but it does mean you are going to see some things a bit different from other people in regards to what's socially and morally acceptable. Specifically some people have an intuitive emotional sense about what ought to and ought not to be done that you may lack in some aspects. I definitely could be wrong about a lot of this though, my recommendation is to do some research. Here's a start, the video is called: "Are You a Psychopath? Take the Test.": <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUsGDVOCLVQ" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUsGDVOCLVQ</a>

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    • cr8098

      I've looked at the symptoms and I am definitely not a psychopath. My guidance counselor also said that I don't exhibit any signs of mental illness.

      Thanks for the comment, though.

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      • NormalIsAsNormalDoes

        Out of curiosity did you watch the video? If so, what did you say to the trolly dilemma?

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  • Normal. It would be abnormal if you wanted people to get hit by the train though.

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  • gay

    same here

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