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Have you ever heard of a dark empath?
I'm sure you've probably heard of an empath,
someone who ranks high in affective and cognitive empathy.
They have an acute sense
of what others are feeling and thinking,
but dark empaths don't necessarily rank high
in affective empathy, but cognitive empathy,
while also displaying dark triad traits.
The dark triad is a term used to group three
malevolent personality traits in psychology.
The dark triad comprises of the traits
of Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy.
Those who are part of the dark triad personality type
rank low in empathy and high in the three dark traits.
An average score may mean you rank low in the dark traits,
and average in empathy.
While empaths are ranked high in empathy
and low in the dark traits.
But a dark empath ranks high
in both dark triad traits and empathy.
But just because you display empathy
doesn't mean you often share another's feelings emotionally,
that's affective empathy.
Dark empaths can often use cognitive empathy
to their advantage, due to their dark traits.
Meaning they know what it is you want and feel,
but dark empaths may use it against you.
There are plenty of reasons being a dark empath
may have its advantages.
Possessing a great deal of empathy
and ranking high in dark triad traits such as psychopathy
could be very useful in certain occupations,
surgeons, soldiers, first responders
and others in intense and high demanding jobs
may find it useful to have a bit of cognitive empathy.
Understanding others,
but being able to shut off absorbing others' emotions
and relating so much that you often need to recharge.
Seeing other people's motives and desires
helps them make important decisions.
And although they understand other's feelings,
they have the ability
to choose not to be empathetic if needed.
They may even have some secrets up their sleeve
based on the unique combo of empathetic
and dark triad traits.
So what are some of those secrets?
Here are five secrets dark empaths don't want you to know.
Number one,
they know how to get the right reaction from you.
Because empaths are so in tune with others' emotions,
they can learn very quickly
what strongly touches their emotions.
Maybe a certain subject subtly gets on your nerves,
or perhaps a certain someone or topic
ever so slightly brightens your mood.
Many dark empaths can easily pick up on these emotions
and in turn know exactly what to bring up,
what to say or what to do to get this reaction out of you.
They've simply observed how you react
and know exactly what to say.
This isn't to say dark empaths
aren't genuine in what they say or do,
their sensitivity to your desires and feelings
just gives them a boost in predicting
how it is you'll react.
Number two, they often know how to act
by watching films and television.
It's been noted by psychologists
that some dark personality types
obsessively watch TV and films,
observing normal human responses for emotional mimicry.
Basically they want to further develop cognitive empathy,
since they rank high in cognitive empathy,
they may know just how to act in the right situations,
but sometimes it may feel forced to others,
this is because their affective empathy ranks low.
A study by Dacity and Associates found
when subjects high in the dark triad trait psychopathy
imagined pain to themselves,
brain regions including the anterior insula,
anterior midcingulate cortex, right amygdala
and somatosensory cortex,
displayed average response to pain,
implying they are indeed sensitive to the thought of pain.
But when they imagined pain of others,
these brain regions did not become active.
Number three, they can often tell when you lie.
Since dark empaths and empaths alike,
can notice the subtle reactions
and changes in moods in others,
some can often tell when your emotions don't line up
with what you're saying.
Nobody knows what someone is exactly thinking,
no one's a mind reader,
but empaths are often more sensitive to mood changes
and the little subtleties in other's expressions.
Knowing when someone is lying
means they could or could not use it in a negative way.
Depends on how high they rank on dark triad traits.
Number four, they know how to get what they want.
Because dark empaths can read others easily,
they know what to say to get what they want.
For example, on a date with someone,
a dark empath may pick up on their date's subtle desires,
pay attention to their reactions,
see what they respond best to,
and alter their words and actions
to fit exactly what they want,
even if this doesn't fit who they really are,
they simply know how to get what they want.
And number five, they can manipulate you.
Dark empaths can often use their high level
of cognitive empathy as a means of manipulating others.
Often noticing your subtle reactions and feelings,
they may just know exactly
how to use your emotions against you.
Some dark empaths have a hard time with boundaries,
and often focused on fulfilling only their needs.
If you notice the end of every argument or discussion
their needs are only met, they may be manipulating you.
This isn't to say
every dark empath wants to manipulate others,
but if they needed to, they wouldn't have a hard time.
So have you ever heard of a dark empath?
Let us know in the comments down below.
If you wanna hear more of the dark empath,
check out our other videos on the topic.
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