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moments of extreme empathy

Grayscale

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i am very introverted, but i sometimes experience short bursts of what extroversion must be like when i am focused on communicating so much that i am "sucked out" of myself to see from the outside in (which allows me to make a better choice of words)

it is truly a strange, strange experience, but i know it must be pretty close to what extroversion is like because as soon as i experience it, the behaviors commonly exhibited by extroverted people make absolute sense... it's about where your consciousness is placed. introversion is like driving the car of self, and extroversion is like standing outside of the car guiding it into a parking spot. very crazy!!

has anyone else experienced moments of extreme empathy? where you, more or less, reverse-engineer an experience into your own mind?
 

Kiddo

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Yeah, whenever I come across an objectivist.
 

Grayscale

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Yeah, whenever I come across an objectivist.

i am not talking about understanding something from another point of view, i am talking about actually experiencing it. if that's what you mean, then nevermind, but objectivity is about understanding all sides of something from a logical standpoint, not emulating a style of perceiving the world.
 

Seanan

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i am very introverted, but i sometimes experience short bursts of what extroversion must be like when i am focused on communicating so much that i am "sucked out" of myself to see from the outside in (which allows me to make a better choice of words)

it is truly a strange, strange experience, but i know it must be pretty close to what extroversion is like because as soon as i experience it, the behaviors commonly exhibited by extroverted people make absolute sense... it's about where your consciousness is placed. introversion is like driving the car of self, and extroversion is like standing outside of the car guiding it into a parking spot. very crazy!!

has anyone else experienced moments of extreme empathy? where you, more or less, reverse-engineer an experience into your own mind?

All the time! Just went through it today when waiting for my phys therapy appt. I started talking to the receptionist I see twice a week and am, somewhat, comfortable with... well, all of a sudden I was "gripped" as if there was be some impending doom. I know that sounds extreme and dramatic but its not. That's how it felt and often does when I catch myself. I don't know if its something the other person says or some way they look but I can go from feeling like extroverts must to being me in a second.
 

Kiddo

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i am not talking about understanding something from another point of view, i am talking about actually experiencing it. if that's what you mean, then nevermind, but objectivity is about understanding all sides of something from a logical standpoint, not emulating a style of perceiving the world.

For the record, I have yet to meet an objective objectivist.

I meant it in the sense that I will argue with them relentlessly because I feel for them and understand their point of view, but I want desperately for them to understand my point of view so that they won't have to suffer in the ignorance.
 

Grayscale

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All the time! Just went through it today when waiting for my phys therapy appt. I started talking to the receptionist I see twice a week and am, somewhat, comfortable with... well, all of a sudden I was "gripped" as if there was be some impending doom. I know that sounds extreme and dramatic but its not. That's how it felt and often does when I catch myself. I don't know if its something the other person says or some way they look but I can go from feeling like extroverts must to being me in a second.

you are still talking about understanding external things internally. im talking about experiencing a different perception to the point where it almost completely occupies your mind. it's probably something people who have done hallucinogens might be able to relate to... very "out of body"

I don't really experience what you guys are describing.

it's a very strange, uncommon experiences and it pushes the limits of my imagination to replicate it. i dont know how to describe it, but as an introvert experiencing full blown extroversion i can definitely see why socializing comes easier and is less taxing.

i dont want to limit this discussion to my particular experience that prompted me to start this thread, but the reason i am interested in it is because the benefits the emulation allows are very apparent... if i could harness this tool it would serve very useful for someone as introverted as I am.

im sure similar benefits could be found through this type of experience.
 

disregard

mrs
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But what do you mean by experiencing full blown extroversion? I am misunderstanding something, because I thought introverts were introverts and extraverts were extraverts.. When people say that they can "be sooo extraverted sometimes" it bugs the shit out of me, because it asserts that the rest of us are always a certain way.
 

Grayscale

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But what do you mean by experiencing full blown extroversion? I am misunderstanding something, because I thought introverts were introverts and extraverts were extraverts.. When people say that they can "be sooo extraverted sometimes" it bugs the shit out of me, because it asserts that the rest of us are always a certain way.

see my previous analogy about the car... imagine having been the car driver your entire life what it would be like to, through powers of powerful imagination, suddenly see the "car" (yourself) from someone standing in the parking lot controlling the car via remote control, more or less.

when i imagine that in myself i get short bursts of a huge alteration in perception (and by perception i mean that everything is suddenly seen through a drastically different lens) it's crazy... i was just curious if other people experienced this in some fashion... doesnt necessarily have to be related to introverts experiencing extroversion
 

Seanan

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you are still talking about understanding external things internally. im talking about experiencing a different perception to the point where it almost completely occupies your mind. it's probably something people who have done hallucinogens might be able to relate to... very "out of body"



it's a very strange, uncommon experiences and it pushes the limits of my imagination to replicate it. i dont know how to describe it, but as an introvert experiencing full blown extroversion i can definitely see why socializing comes easier and is less taxing.

Sorry... I do "get" it. Its just that words fail to describe what I was trying to. I only described the internal return. I think I'm familiar because there was a time when I was on the I/E border and experienced it more often. That is a curious thing actually. I started out far "I" and then over the years approached the border but am not going far "I" again. Note: Yes, it is similar to a "trip" when experiencing it.
 

Grayscale

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i see... oh well, maybe it's only so notable to me because i am very introverted.

anyways, floor is open to other experiences unrelated to introversion/extroversion
 

Athenian200

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i am very introverted, but i sometimes experience short bursts of what extroversion must be like when i am focused on communicating so much that i am "sucked out" of myself to see from the outside in (which allows me to make a better choice of words)

it is truly a strange, strange experience, but i know it must be pretty close to what extroversion is like because as soon as i experience it, the behaviors commonly exhibited by extroverted people make absolute sense... it's about where your consciousness is placed. introversion is like driving the car of self, and extroversion is like standing outside of the car guiding it into a parking spot. very crazy!!

has anyone else experienced moments of extreme empathy? where you, more or less, reverse-engineer an experience into your own mind?

I'm not sure. I actually think that often happens when other people tell me how they perceive me... in fact, other people's reflections of my feelings back at me are the only way I really experience most emotions (although I guess I can still experience pain, fear, irritation, confusion, or curiosity alone). When I'm alone, I still process ideas and understandings, but not most feelings. The positive feelings and many of the more complex negative ones definitely come from my perception of other people's perceptions.

I always assumed this was because my Feeling was Extraverted and my Intuition and Thinking were Introverted. So that I have to use an "Extraverted" mechanism to process feelings, but an "Introverted" manner to process intuitions and thoughts.

So I sort of understand what you're talking about, but I'm not sure if it's the same thing...
 

Grayscale

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another analogy...

complete introversion is like playing indian poker... you can see out but you have no idea what your card looks like. complete extroversion would be you getting to sit and watch the game from the sidelines, except that you're also playing the game and able to control yourself from your external viewpoint
 

nightning

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Uhhh... I believe I called it "snapping out of it"... as in losing touch with reality. I believe I was sitting around thinking about what will happen if I did go crazy... becoming stuck within my own head and have no sensation of what goes on in the real world. Then I slipped into uhhhh altered consciousness? I suppose you can call it like an "out of body experience" but not quite. There's a clarity within my mind... like I'm evaluating myself objectively. I'm aware of what's going on in my mind... spatial location, more or less a sense of my body. Yet that's pushed to the back of my mind as if those things are of no consequence to me whatsoever... I thought I might have gone too far and wondered whether I'll get stuck detached. Took myself back more or less...

Is this like what you mean? It does not happen often for me though... I'm more or less out of the run away from everything stage.

Or are you describing empathy for other people? *scratches head* In that case, no. Fe for me is Fe. It either runs unconsciously in the background or I deliberately shut it off... but it does not go into overdrive. Perhaps it occurs for you because it's your inferior function? Sudden awareness of my surrounds in great acuity happens for me... inferior Se and all. Sometimes I wonder how people with dominant Se handles it... but then I thought to myself, they learn to filter input.
 
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