It can be an advantage when it's been tuned and trained properly. When it hasn't been, it mostly just leads to additional pain for the empathetic person, and ev

It can be an advantage when it's been tuned and trained properly. When it hasn't been, it mostly just leads to additional pain for the empathetic person, and eventual withdrawal. Parents need to be taught how to recognize children that are highly empathetic, and given the tools to teach them to train and deal with that aspect of themselves. Otherwise they'll experience great emotional pain in their lives without any of the tools they need to cope with it. That can have a rebound effect, leading to emotional numbing and social withdrawal.