Empathy (?) and when it becomes a problem
I feel like I'm making no headway in counseling and I realized it's because I've not been completely up front with him.
I isolate to an extreme mostly because I become easily overwhelmed by the (perceived) emotions of others.
When I was a kid, I thought it was some sort of magickal ability, but now I understand I'm just picking up on their body language.
When I was growing up, for the sake of my emotional well being, I learned to read people too well: how are they sitting/standing; are they gesturing; are their sentences clipped; is their face tense etc.
Then, too, there are more obvious signs like a person repeatedly looking at their watch or out a window; not maintaining eye contact and such.
I've not told him, in part, because I don't want to sound silly.
Does anyone here have a similar problem? Can you "turn it off"? What are some tips?