Being human for real
You might have heard this saying that if you feel pain in any way, whether it is a pain in a toe or heartbreak caused by love, you can be sure that you are alive, it's proof that you're alive. The second half of the phrase goes even further in its meaning, if you feel pain shared with other people, you are human. This quote is from Leo Tolstoy. To my mind, the difference between just existing and life is in that feeling.
Feeling pain is an important function done by the body. It may look selfish but when you suddenly find yourself feeling your chest ache for a complete stranger, that's being human. Nowadays, you can see that we tend to be alive without being human. When we watch reports from faraway places, where people die, our feelings are still cold despite the fact that we know how terrible their pain must have been.
This coldness is caused by a kind of hard heart that we have developed. If we are honest, the pain of all people in the world can be quite too much. Some psychologists describe this as a dangerous form of empathy, which leads to high levels of tiredness for people who feel for others. It's a burden the carry.
But is there any other choice than being a machine moving only when something breaks inside? According to Leo Tolstoy, feeling other people's suffering and pain does not mean being unhappy. On the contrary, it shows the beauty of our connection with other people. True humanity is not in comfort but in suffering from our connection with other people's lives.
Being human is the choice you make every time you cannot turn a blind eye to someone else's pain. Being human is feeling your heart beat as fast as other people's hearts beating under the stress.
I definitely feel that, especially with short-form content, and the devastation is so easily accessible that after some point it just becomes something behind the screen.
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Yes, I watched so much news yesterday on war and bombs and drone attacks I felt so sad for those involved
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I think it is normal and human to feel compassion when confronted with the suffering of others. Of course, there are differences in the intensity and form of this empathy, but it is certainly something we all possess. It becomes unhealthy, however, if one actually has a condition known as mirror-touch synesthesia. In that case, one physically feels every pain and every sorrow experienced by others. As there is always someone around who is suffering in some way, this hyper-empathy turns one’s own life into a living hell...
Yes I've been meaning to ask someone that knows about it. I've asked AI before but I wanted a person's opinion, some people can really feel someone's pain 😱😱. Is it a nervous system connection with the person they're observing or it's their own body playing tricks on them
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Well – I only know what I’ve read. I wouldn’t even claim to be particularly sensitive or empathetic myself...
There is as yet no conclusive scientific explanation for hyper-empathy. The American term ‘mirror-touch synesthesia’ supports a theory based on so-called mirror neurons in the brain. Another theory suggests that those affected are unable to distinguish between their own self and another person.
To be honest, I imagine it must be brutal. If you don’t learn to block out other people’s pain, life is likely to be pretty joyless.
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