8 Characteristics of People Who Lack Empathy

You feel oceans apart with the person you’re chatting with. Something is missing. It could be they display characteristics of people who lack empathy.

Think everyone has empathy? That isn’t always the case. In fact, there are quite a few people who completely missed the info session on being empathetic and show characteristics of people who lack empathy.

Instead of listening or supporting you when you need someone, they suck the energy right out of you. They don’t listen, and it almost feels like they don’t care. This is because they’re not putting themselves in your shoes.

Empathy is an extremely powerful force. It allows us to understand how the people around us feel and think. You want to surround yourself with empathetic people. So, let’s look at the signs of people who lack empathy, that way, you can stay far away from them.

# You feel something is off

When you talk to them about things going on in your life, you don’t get the response you were looking for. In other words, they don’t seem to show any signs of empathy towards you. Whether it’s good news or bad, you feel disconnected from them emotionally. And that’s because you are.

# They get into many arguments

When people have empathy, they’re able to process information by understanding the other person’s perspective. So, they’re less likely to get into arguments. If they lack empathy though, you’ll notice they’re constantly getting into arguments with everyone they encounter. This is because they don’t understand other people’s feelings.

# They don’t understand emotion

They know that everyone is emotional, but they don’t understand how emotion works. For example, they may cheat on their partner, but they don’t understand why their partner would be angry or hurt by their actions. In addition, just the thought of emotions exhausts them.

# They think people are too sensitive

They may crack jokes that are extremely hurtful or really inappropriate, but they don’t see it like that. Instead, they view people as being overly sensitive. This isn’t because of their ego, this is because they don’t understand the effect their words emotionally have on others. So, they just label everyone as “overly sensitive.”

# They’re self-absorbed

Not only do they lack the emotional capability to understand your problems, but they also don’t want to understand what you’re going through. Your issues mean nothing to them. Usually, people who lack empathy are self-absorbed, focusing on their own issues. This is also the reason why you feel disconnected from them.

# They’re insecure

This is somewhat ironic, you would never think someone who lacks empathy would be insecure, but it’s true. People who don’t understand basic emotions are usually very insecure. Why? They cannot connect with other people and misinterpret everything. So, they connect this with their self-worth.

# They have trouble making friends

This shouldn’t come as a surprise. People who usually have many friends or at least a couple of close friends are those who can emotionally connect. However, if this person doesn’t have many friends and shows other signs on this list, well, there’s a reason why.

# They’re judgemental

Well, when you don’t understand the feelings of another person, it’s easy to point the finger and judge. This is a common characteristic. When they don’t understand someone, they simply judge them because it’s easier than trying to understand.