The Rock & Roll Shrink Radio Show Ep. 120 - Empaths and Empathy

Tonight’s topic is not necessarily tied to any recent incident, news article, or pop culture event. It is a common trope to know a couple of people who claim to be Empaths. Many people who make this claim do not even know how to define what is an Empath, never mind how to explain the difference between an Empath and having Empathy or being Empathetic, or the difference between any of these and Sympathy.

The term has a pop culture allure that belies its meaning, and tonight we not only want to set the record straight on what each of these words mean as well as the differences between them, but also to examine the psychology behind why it is so compelling for certain people to claim this trait.

Please remember that we are addressing these things from a psychological and scientific perspective, only.

Tonight, we will discuss:

1. What is an “Empath”? What is Empathy, what is Sympathy, and what are the differences between them all?
2. Self-Proclaimed Empaths and what is really going on
3. Why do people feel compelled to make empathy a magical power?

We'll start off the evening with some topic-relevant Classic Rock played by Dr. Mathis, followed by Classic Rock trivia in "The Rock & Roll Shrink Recalls," followed by our topic discussion.

Please follow our bi-weekly, Wednesday evening shows, at 11 pm ET. We will have a new topic for you in two weeks!