Empath

I'll apologise in advance in case I don't really know what I'm talking about Catherine, so forgive me if I sound a bit clueless. I have strong empathy too but not to your extent where I feel overwhelmed by everything. Although I could have, if I dwelt on all the bad in the world, and sometimes I lie awake at night thinking of the poor animals going to slaughter and everything.

But I suppose I shut it out to a large extent by trying to concentrate on good things, like the robin in my garden who comes to sing to me each day when I put the food out, or Sooty my adopted cat when he's wriggling and squirming at my feet, showing off. I suppose I rationalise shutting out the misery at the subconscious level, by telling myself that dwelling on too much suffering will be counter-productive. It's a lot better to do something positive, something good you can put into the world, rather than dwell too much on the misery, which can sap your energy and take away your ability to do anything positive.

Hope that's some help…