8 Dangerous Signs Of A Dark Empath

8 Dangerous Signs Of A Dark Empath


8 Dangerous Signs Of A Dark Empath

Most people think that empath is far from cruelty and aggression, but in fact recent studies have proven otherwise. It is widely understood that people with dark personality traits, such as psychopaths, Machiavellians, sociopaths or even narcissists, often have empathy deficiencies.

In research by Marsh and Cardinale, They concluded that psychopaths do indeed possess empathy within them, thus forcing us to conclude that there is a darker side to empaths as well. In recent years, several psychological studies directed towards personality traits have revealed an interesting new type of personality - The Dark Empath

A Dark Empath: is someone who understands another person's emotions and uses it to manipulate and take advantage of others. Also a dark empaths is a term can describe  a group of people they may  act interestingly at first glance but can become just as dangerous as a narcissist. 

In addition to dark traits, they are also endowed with the ability to understand the feelings of others. In short, a golden experience in emotional manipulation. It's interesting because these people have dark and revolutionary personality traits because they have high levels of empathy in them too.

These people have the ability to lead and succeed in many professional fields. Indeed, some CEOs, business leaders, and soldiers are dark empaths, and they use these skills to advance innovation or protect the country.

Empaths are very sensitive to other people's feelings - so much so that they absorb other people's feelings and become exhausted when they spend a lot of time with people.

Read Also:   The 4 Types of Introvert: Which Are You?


Dark empaths may seem like pure evil, but they also have positive traits and this makes them hard to spot. They are still empathetic, so they face a certain level of shame, and are often very talented at what they do and very inspiring. 

The only positive advantage of being a dark empath is the ability to take on jobs that others find emotionally draining, such as being a homicide detective or an emergency physician.

Empathy comes in two types - cognitive and emotional. They are independent of each other, but often work side by side. 
  • Cognitive empathy: is the ability to see things from the point of view of others. Or the ability to understand a person's 
  • Emotional Empathy: is the ability to adapt to the feelings of others, or the ability to feel a person's feelings about themselves 

In other words: Cognitive empathy = I know your pain  Emotional empathy = I feel your pain.
Cognitive empathy is stronger in narcissism, while emotional empathy is weaker.

According to a 2020 study by researchers from Nottingham Trent University, the difference between regular empath and dark empath is that dark empath is high in cognitive empathy which is able to know someone's feelings. Regular empath is higher in emotional empathy, which really means being able to feel someone's feelings. Having a dark traits and being able to know how a person feels is very dangerous.

The Dark Triad is a subjective scale that measures psychopathy (emotional coldness, cruelty, and impulsiveness), narcissism (greatness, superiority, and vanity) and Machiavellianism (manipulation, planning, and immorality). A dark empath is someone who has all three of these negative traits, but is also an empath.


Dark Empath Personality Traits:

1- They Are Selfish extroverts :

Although they are usually extroverted and find pleasure in social activities, their close relationships with family and friends are poor. Although they prefer socializing, they tend to be selfish and unreliable. They can be controversial to those around them.


They Are Passive Aggressors :

Possibly due to the enhanced empathy factor, dark empaths did not score high on aggressive behavior. This does not mean that they do not participate in passive forms of aggression. In fact, they scored higher on aggressive sub-levels, such as malicious humor and guilt-generation. 


3- The never ending desire to influence others:

This type of empath loves prominent positions. They look for opportunities to influence others. For example, they prefer to be the policy makers rather than the implementers. And since dark empaths have the advantage of knowing and understanding the feelings of others, they may become more dangerous than narcissists.

4-They put their interests first:

Before they decide to help or partner with anyone, they must determine what is beneficial to them. For example, empath lends money when he is sure that the person will pay it immediately. Or, they engage in philanthropy but have an ulterior motive to admit it. In turn, dark empaths will put a smiley face on to encourage certain behavior. However, they usually have something up their sleeves. 

5- They Are  Emotional manipulator:

 Because dark sympathizers know exactly what you're going through, it makes it easy for them to manipulate you. They will never resort to physical violence, but their knowledge and perspective gives them insight. They will only know which buttons to press and which will do the most damage.


6- They Make Malicious jokes: 

You can recognize dark empath by the kind of things they finds amusing. Many of them have a dark sense of humor that goes beyond sadism. They make hurtful jokes at the expense of others. They will be the first to laugh if someone cuts themselves

7-They experience frequent bots of paranoia:

All humans have mirror neurons, but research suggests that the MNS of empath are more responsive. This hypersensitivity can cause some empath to feel more anxious and paranoid. Accordingly, anxiety and paranoia are results, not symptoms, of being an empath. If you are an empath who suffers from frequent anxiety, try to understand your feelings. Contacting with a therapist can help you learn about your feelings and the emotions you may have been feeling around you.

8- They experience cognitive dissonance:

Cognitive dissonance is a state of inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes. It's the mental discomfort you may feel when you have two opposing thoughts. For example, you might do something that is inconsistent with your core beliefs. For an empath, it may seem like hesitation but it is a form of self-preservation.

Related Article: 5 Reasons Why Empaths Attract Toxic People 

1 comment

  1. Calling an Empath "dark" is a made up word. Empaths are human beings who make mistakes and get angry just like everyone else. So if they have a bad day they are a "Dark Empath"? No. I don't think so. There is no such thing as a "Dark Empath", that would be a sociopath and Empaths are not Sociopaths.

    ReplyDelete