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> normal level without caring One of my personal quotes is "caring is the first step towards insanity". Over-caring/empathy can also push one towards an unhea

> normal level without caring One of my personal quotes is "caring is the first step towards insanity". Over-caring/empathy can also push one towards an unhealthy level of isolation as a coping mechanism. Granted that is a choice whereas someone on the spectrum faces isolation by default.

drumdance 11y ago
I have a friend who is an energy healer. I personally think that kind of thing is nonsense, but her origin story makes me pause. Throughout her teens and twenties she really struggled emotionally because she had this unconscious ability to absorb other people's emotional states. Then she went to an energy healer herself, discovered she had a gift and finally developed the coping mechanism not to let other people's energy affect her so much. Now she uses her ability to help people instead of just flailing around.
- partomniscient 11y ago
  >I have a friend who is an energy healer. I personally think that kind of thing is nonsense, but her origin story makes me pause. With a username like yours...? Or is it much more quantized drum machine and less anything else?
  - drumdance 11y ago
    Many, many years ago I used to perform in a group that combines drumming and dance - http://www.popmatters.com/feature/jellyeye-030610/ http://www.popmatters.com/feature/jellyeye-030610/
    - partomniscient 11y ago
      Wow, looks like it would have been quite momentous at the time. I've personally been becoming less full on skeptic and more 'can't relate from my frame of reference' if that makes sense?
- todd8 11y ago
  > I have a friend that is an energy healer. ... I find myself torn when friends say things like this to me. I feel that such religious beliefs are overall harmful to my friends and leaving them unchallenged allows believers to promulgate that horse shit to others. On the other hand true believers seem to be so invested in these beliefs that they would be psychologically harmed by any debate that would be strong enough to persuade them. I've never known what the responsible way to act regarding these strange but heartfelt beliefs. Usually, I just let them know that I don't see things that way and leave it at that.
  - iammyIP 11y ago
    What's so strange about it? It's some kind of yoga massage social relaxing procedure embedded in harmless ritual fluff with words like 'light' 'energy' 'love' and rainbows and even sometimes 'quantum-entanglement' - you should be excited. Energy healing also undoubtedly involves the wonder of energy. If it feels good to people, then it heals, so what is the horse shit problem here? Do they want you to sacrifice seven goats to their ruthless rainbow-god-of-light for a power-refill while still not appreciating the apollo spaceflight computer as incredible scientific achievment enough?
    - todd8 11y ago
      I just don't see it that way.
  - dfraser992 11y ago
    What about transference and counter-transference? Perhaps I've had too much therapy, but they are tangible things. There is a heck of a lot humanity does not understand about human psychology, and it's not all BS. 'Energy' work isn't religious at all either - it could work for some people off the placebo effect. And if you're an engineer, if something works, then use it. Whatever the 'patient' thinks is ... shamans have to play engineer sometimes, along with priest, psychologist, doctor, PR man, confidence trickster... but yes, there are a lot of shallow thinking people out there, and not just in the New Age world, who can't grasp metaphors - e.g. the concept of the dead and dying god, who is reborn, as a metaphor for a psychological process.
Practicality 11y ago
Yep. My wife is the same as me (a big reason why we're together) but she hides way too much (in my opinion). The best way to deal with it is to just be willing to feel the pain and move on. Go through instead of around. There is a lot of pain in the world, but it doesn't really hurt you. You don't have to be afraid of pain.

drumdance 11y ago

I have a friend who is an energy healer. I personally think that kind of thing is nonsense, but her origin story makes me pause. Throughout her teens and twenties she really struggled emotionally because she had this unconscious ability to absorb other people's emotional states. Then she went to an energy healer herself, discovered she had a gift and finally developed the coping mechanism not to let other people's energy affect her so much. Now she uses her ability to help people instead of just flailing around.

partomniscient 11y ago
>I have a friend who is an energy healer. I personally think that kind of thing is nonsense, but her origin story makes me pause. With a username like yours...? Or is it much more quantized drum machine and less anything else?
- drumdance 11y ago
  Many, many years ago I used to perform in a group that combines drumming and dance - http://www.popmatters.com/feature/jellyeye-030610/ http://www.popmatters.com/feature/jellyeye-030610/
  - partomniscient 11y ago
    Wow, looks like it would have been quite momentous at the time. I've personally been becoming less full on skeptic and more 'can't relate from my frame of reference' if that makes sense?
todd8 11y ago
> I have a friend that is an energy healer. ... I find myself torn when friends say things like this to me. I feel that such religious beliefs are overall harmful to my friends and leaving them unchallenged allows believers to promulgate that horse shit to others. On the other hand true believers seem to be so invested in these beliefs that they would be psychologically harmed by any debate that would be strong enough to persuade them. I've never known what the responsible way to act regarding these strange but heartfelt beliefs. Usually, I just let them know that I don't see things that way and leave it at that.
- iammyIP 11y ago
  What's so strange about it? It's some kind of yoga massage social relaxing procedure embedded in harmless ritual fluff with words like 'light' 'energy' 'love' and rainbows and even sometimes 'quantum-entanglement' - you should be excited. Energy healing also undoubtedly involves the wonder of energy. If it feels good to people, then it heals, so what is the horse shit problem here? Do they want you to sacrifice seven goats to their ruthless rainbow-god-of-light for a power-refill while still not appreciating the apollo spaceflight computer as incredible scientific achievment enough?
  - todd8 11y ago
    I just don't see it that way.
- dfraser992 11y ago
  What about transference and counter-transference? Perhaps I've had too much therapy, but they are tangible things. There is a heck of a lot humanity does not understand about human psychology, and it's not all BS. 'Energy' work isn't religious at all either - it could work for some people off the placebo effect. And if you're an engineer, if something works, then use it. Whatever the 'patient' thinks is ... shamans have to play engineer sometimes, along with priest, psychologist, doctor, PR man, confidence trickster... but yes, there are a lot of shallow thinking people out there, and not just in the New Age world, who can't grasp metaphors - e.g. the concept of the dead and dying god, who is reborn, as a metaphor for a psychological process.

Practicality 11y ago

Yep. My wife is the same as me (a big reason why we're together) but she hides way too much (in my opinion). The best way to deal with it is to just be willing to feel the pain and move on. Go through instead of around. There is a lot of pain in the world, but it doesn't really hurt you. You don't have to be afraid of pain.