Many physicians go straight to antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications when treating empaths, but, in general, initially I recommend not using them with such sensitive souls. Sometimes, my patients just need to be kinder to themselves and make certain adjustments which make their lives easier.
Antidepressant treatment, not depression, leads to reductions in behavioral and neural responses to pain empathy.
After three months of antidepressant treatment, the research revealed relevant differences: patients reported their level of empathy to be lower, and brain activation was reduced in areas previously associated with empathy.
People who are empathic tend to become addicted more easily than others. Many empaths are undiagnosed and don't realize overstimulation and high sensitivity to their environments drive this desire for drugs, substances, or other-worldly experiences to take them out of their bodies and minds.
But what happens if the medications you're taking diminish that ability? A new study suggests that taking antidepressants impairs empathy, while the experience of depression itself does not.
Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) Reduces Positive Empathy.
Roughly half of people taking antidepressants report some degree of blunted emotions, according to a study published in the October 2017 issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders.
Because empaths quite literally feel what their friends are going through, they can become overwhelmed by painful emotions, such as anxiety or anger. Empaths have a tendency to take on the problems of others as their own.
If there is one type of person for an empath to avoid besides a narcissist, it's a chronic complainer. Chronic complainers, characterized by negativity, learned helplessness, and vocal self-pity, can take a bright, beautiful, positive day and quickly turn it into a massive nightmare.
Fearing intimacy and getting closer.
Some empaths may avoid dating or romantic commitment because they fear being overwhelmed by a partner's energies and emotions.
A study from the University of Oxford found that 46% of antidepressant users experienced emotional blunting during treatment.
Though the symptoms of depression have decreased, there may be a sense that other emotional responses – laughing or crying, for example – are more difficult to experience. This is termed “emotional blunting,” which is the experience of dulled emotional states caused by an antidepressant.
Antidepressants work by balancing chemicals in your brain called neurotransmitters that affect mood and emotions. These depression medicines can help improve your mood, help you sleep better, and increase your appetite and concentration.
Many experts believe that SSRIs and SNRIs can cause dulled emotions because they interact with your serotonin levels.
In general, though, affective empathy is often more affected. The disorder can be prevalent in certain types of mental health conditions too, such as narcissistic and antisocial personality disorders, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorders, and people who are on the autistic spectrum.
Someone's pain and suffering can trigger an empath.
They might notice a friend's shift in energy when they're hanging out; if an empath knows someone is struggling, they might feel triggered, even from afar. An empath might feel overwhelmed by: A friend who seems quiet or not quite like themselves.
Intellectuals can make good partners for certain empaths because their sense of logic compliments and grounds an empath's emotional intensity. Ask for help. Intellectuals love to solve problems. Be very specific about ways they can assist you with a problem or task.
Spiers tells us, “With depression, an empath may feel overwhelmed by the pain and suffering of others. This may lead them to withdraw from their usual routine as a means of self-protection, but by isolating themselves and breaking links with their families and friends, the depression can then be exacerbated.
They may become easily overwhelmed by negative emotions or feel as though they are responsible for the emotional well-being of others. Additionally, because empaths are so in tune with the emotions of others, they may struggle to express their own feelings, leading to difficulty in forming close emotional connections.
A constant state of fear can lead to trauma and a hypervigilant state. Hypervigilance can make the empath feel like they are observant of unseen dangers, whether from people or their environment. However, many times, in a hypervigilant state, the threats we perceive are not real.
They will help you feel like yourself again and return to your previous level of functioning. (If a person who isn't depressed takes antidepressants, they do not improve that person's mood or functioning - it's not a "happy pill.") Rarely, people experience apathy or loss of emotions while on certain antidepressants.
Research shows that taking antidepressants if you're not depressed can alter brain function and structure, particularly the medication Zoloft.
“Emotional blunting is a common side effect of SSRI antidepressants. In a way, this may be in part how they work–they take away some of the emotional pain that people who experience depression feel, but, unfortunately, it seems that they also take away some of the enjoyment.