Posted by fallingstar on August 20, 2004, at 0:51:21
I have a friend of over two years who after I told her some things about putting up limits in our friendship (she and I had no boundaries between us, and I did not feel like my privacy was respected)-also I ended up allowing her to get too involved in my marital problems...is still processing (as she calls it), over what to write to me after two months. I have stayed with her at times when I was dealing with alot and she has helped me at times, but I am trying to do things for myself and work on my marriage. Even though she says she isn't, she appears very jealous. I will try to get to the point, but it is very difficult where to start, and I am rathy wordy at times. There have been times where she has had a right to defend me and has a right to her own opinion, which she sees as being truthful but her truthfulness is too aggressive at times. She will almost yell and scream about things, and insists it is not out of anger but out of passion and concern for another person's experience. For example, one time when she was visiting my hubby and I and my sister who was being maltreated in the hospital was telling me a story of what had happened to her. I related the story to my friend who was in the room, while my sister was still trying to tell me her story, and my friend started screaming that my sister was masochistic. Of course, I ended the conversation with my sister and this caused a disagreement with my friend. My friend appears as oversensitive and overpassionate, which I can understand to some degree because I am way sensitive too. She is also treated for depression and has a terminal illness, which is very upsetting for me because she only has a few years left, and I feel she is being unfair by not understanding my choices. My friend has an "ability" as she would designate as as "empathy". She goes through awful emotional events which she calls "processing" In the past she has asked me if I thought it was abnormal, and she said she never found anyone like her. Now, at the time I told her no I didn't think it was...but as time goes by I am starting to wonder about it. Basically, if she watches a crime show or a tv show even if the event wasn't real she claims to process the event feeling the whole thing. She also claims to know when something is wrong with me or someone else she knows and says it causes her suffering too so she can feel their pain even if I don't tell her. Of course, this gives her reason to want to know everything. She will almost freeze after watching some of these shows and cry. Of course, this was her claim for freaking out while my sister was on the phone because my sister was doing nothing to help herself. So here goes, what do you all think about this. Is there a mental illness that has this as a symptom. I really don't know.
Thanks
poster:fallingstar
thread:379762
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040811/msgs/379762.html