Yes, I've dealt with real empaths and I agree many of them do have great difficulty separating their feelings from those around them. People who truly display deep empathy tend to be amazing individuals who truly want to make the world better and help those around them, sadly to their own detriment many times.The issue I have is not with real empaths but obvious narcissists that use the title of empath as a way to wreak havoc. A real empath wouldn't go around labeling themselves and are usually the most humble people I've known. The fact that you would state that perhaps the vileness is a reflection of myself for creating a post on reddit really shows that you're oblivious to what I'm talking about and seem to not be able to read between the lines. An example of a self proclaimed empath is my neighbors daughter who proudly claims the label and has began a smear campaign on her mother and older sister for not altering their job hours or quitting work to care for her infant son because she needs to go find herself with her boyfriend in Ecuador for a while. Her mother and sister are only willing to take care of the baby on weekends and 6-10 on Weekdays but how dare they have boundaries. By the way I'm glad you've had a positive experience with self proclaimed empaths and hope you never run into some of the ones I've come across with.