You have a very difficult job. But who else would do it except a caring individual? It is a good thing that tragedy affects you. Patients wonder about doctors and staff who are too impersonable. Hang in there, You are one of the good ones!

This is just a shortcoming of society. Instead of acting like adults and working hard for the benefit of humanity, we selfishly hoard our money and spend it on ourselves.

If more of us chose to research medical treatments as careers or chose to donate to biomedical research charities then we would probably be at the stage where cancer was curable about 30 years ago.

Sadly we wasted money on alcohol, war, drugs, etc. We value our quality of life more than the lives of others. Just the way most humans are.

I feel ya! I could never do your job. I feel peoples pain on a casual level, and could not absorb as much as you have to in your job. I would be emotionally drained in 6 months.

I usually go the other way and wish more peopel felt more empathy.

Never ever. One of my most prized attributes. I do sometimes wish I didn't read lips so well. I wear hearing-aids and haave read lips since I was young. What we see others say when they are convinced it's safe............Wow!!!

Lack of empathy is not the way to go. You can't ever be sincere again, you don't cry at funerals or weddings. You're just numb. You miss out on the most human part of the human experience.

I'm sorry that you have to deal with such horrible stuff but please don't think that loosing a part of yourself would be any better.

no

Sometimes it hurts deeply to see the things that some others suffer. Still, I would feel myself emjotionally sick if I did not feel so.

I’m an empath. I wish I didn’t feel the emotions of others on a daily basis. I can be having the best day of my life and BAM I’m weeping because someone is having a rotten day.

What, and become president of the united states

...seriously (as if I’ve not been taking this place too serious..), I feel your pain. I pay attention to those having achieved prominence in society. Most often, it appears the difference between me & them is their ability to ignore serious suffering. I’m still trying to determine if they’ve simply found a way to suppress their sympathy or empathy without losing it, or if they’ve less of it to begin with?

A caregiver, I can’t say it’s served me well… It’s certainly benefited those I’ve cared for … and assured me a ‘place in society’ much as your own.. But when it comes to ‘stepping up’ to the next level, I’m not sure I could shed or compartmentalize my empathy to the extent necessary to do that.

Aww... brother.... That's what makes you unique. To be able to feel emotions. I'm sorry for your pain from being a great person you are. To tone it down would be cool. To turn it off would make you a robot.

I understand what you mean. I also have a fairly well-developed sense of empathy. I must say, however, that for all the pain it has brought, I couldn't imagine feeling differently. Frankly, I wouldn't want to, either. I feel it makes me a better person and allows me to be authentically human.