--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But Erin has empathy, lots of it, so much…" description: "\"“But Erin has empathy, lots of it, so much it hurts sometimes, so much that other people's pain turns into her own pain and makes her completely incapa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/199/amy-reed-10017_empathy_but-erin-has-empathy-lots-of-it-so-much_2602778.jpg" --- # But Erin has empathy, lots of it, so much it hurts… ![“But Erin has empathy, lots of it, so much it hurts sometimes, so much that other people's pain turns into her own pain and makes her completely incapable of doing anything useful for anyone. That's why it's easier to avoid it than to engage. It's easier to try to ignore it than try to comfort…” quote by Amy Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/199/amy-reed-10017_empathy_but-erin-has-empathy-lots-of-it-so-much_2602778.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/199/amy-reed-10017_empathy_but-erin-has-empathy-lots-of-it-so-much_2602778.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/199/amy-reed-10017_empathy_but-erin-has-empathy-lots-of-it-so-much_2602778.jpg) > ““But Erin has empathy, lots of it, so much it hurts sometimes, so much that other people's pain turns into her own pain and makes her completely incapable of doing anything useful for anyone. That's why it's easier to avoid it than to engage. It's easier to try to ignore it than try to comfort whoever's hurting, because usually that backfires and makes things worse.”” [Amy Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-reed/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Empathy can become overwhelming, leading to avoidance and inability to help others. **In simple terms:** Too much empathy can paralyze. Key Takeaway Set healthy emotional boundaries. Themes empathy burnout avoidance helping Mood empathetic concerned Type personal advice When to use this quote - counseling - friend support - family caregiving - volunteering Key Concepts emotional contagion self‑care Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance empathy with self‑preservation? - When is it okay to step back? A Different Perspective Boundaries may limit genuine connection if too rigid. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Empathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathy/) [Empathy Lots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathy-lots-1959909/) [Erin Empathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erin-empathy-1959907/) [Hurting Usually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurting-usually-1959908/) [Hurts People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurts-people/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Thenowheregirls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thenowheregirls-189654/) ## Related quotes > [“What Erin wants to do with pain is fix it, make it go away, and sometimes that's not what other people want.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-reed/what-erin-wants-to-do-with-pain-is-fix-it-make-it-go-away-and/) [Amy Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-reed/) > [It hurts when people walk into youre life and make you happy and then walk out and leave you hurting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-hurts-when-people-walk-into-youre-life-and-make-you-happy-and-then/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It hurts when the people whom you once called best friends turns their backs on you...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila/it-hurts-when-the-people-whom-you-once-called-best-friends-turns/) [Sheila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila/) > [“What Hurts the People There are five things that hurt the people: There are local officials who use public office for personal benefit, taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/what-hurts-the-people-there-are-five-things-that-hurt-the-people/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [We are not perfect! 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It hurts,, that's why the other people lie..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florabel/the-truth-about-the-truth-is-it-hurts-that-s-why-the-other-people-lie/) [Florabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florabel/) > [What hurts people a lot is taking humiliation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wyatt/what-hurts-people-a-lot-is-taking-humiliation/) [Robert Wyatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wyatt/) > [When the climate hurts, people and businesses also feel the pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-polman/when-the-climate-hurts-people-and-businesses-also-feel-the-pain/) [Paul Polman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-polman/) > [It's not what we don't know that hurts us, people say. It's what we believe is true that isn't that does the damage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-beattie/it-s-not-what-we-don-t-know-that-hurts-us-people-say-it-s-what-we/) [Melody Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-beattie/) > [It hurts when people walk into your life and make you and then walk out and leave you hurting Truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-hurts-when-people-walk-into-your-life-and-make-you-and-then-walk/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People should learn that you cannot dwell in your past. 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It can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-reed/silence-does-not-mean-yes-no-can-be-thought-and-felt-but-never-said/) [Amy Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-reed/) > [“And my name sounds like flowers in his mouth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-reed/and-my-name-sounds-like-flowers-in-his-mouth/) [Amy Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-reed/) > [Imagine trying to live without air. Now imagine something worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-reed/imagine-trying-to-live-without-air-now-imagine-something-worse/) [Amy Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-reed/) > [“Humans are capable of a lot more than they know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-reed/humans-are-capable-of-a-lot-more-than-they-know/) [Amy Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-reed/) > [“I feel myself floating without the weight of him on my body.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-reed/i-feel-myself-floating-without-the-weight-of-him-on-my-body/) [Amy Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-reed/) > [“Even though I'm sleeping again, everything still feels a little rickety, like I'm here but not quite here, like I'm just a stand-in for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-reed/even-though-i-m-sleeping-again-everything-still-feels-a-little/) [Amy Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-reed/) > [“And maybe these words have become something more than emails; maybe they are a kind of journal. 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She is not the chubby girl with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-reed/there-is-a-picture-of-me-in-their-heads-a-picture-of-someone-i-don-t/) [Amy Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-reed/) > [“I feel like I'm a snow globe and someone shook me up and now every little piece of me is falling back randomly and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-reed/i-feel-like-i-m-a-snow-globe-and-someone-shook-me-up-and-now-every/) [Amy Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-reed/) > [“Shirley: "Christopher, would you like to tell Olivia what "F.I.N.E" means?" Christopher: "Fucked-up, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional" ... Olivia: "But what if you really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-reed/shirley-christopher-would-you-like-to-tell-olivia-what-f-i-n-e-means/) [Amy Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-reed/) > [“What if talking about your feelings doesn't fix anything? 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Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [Cinematography speaks to everything that women do inherently well: It's multitasking, it's empathy, and it's channeling visuals into human emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-morrison/cinematography-speaks-to-everything-that-women-do-inherently-well-it/) [Rachel Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-morrison/) > [“God has a way of picking a “nobody” and turning their world upside down, in order to create a “somebody” that will remove the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/god-has-a-way-of-picking-a-nobody-and-turning-their-world-upside-down/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“Understanding breeds empathy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/understanding-breeds-empathy/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [ That is another theme in the book \[Dreams from My Father\]. How do we exercise more empathy in our public discourse? How do we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/that-is-another-theme-in-the-book-dreams-from-my-father-how-do-we/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Making a movie is about following characters and embarking on an adventure with them, seeing their reactions, and seeing what they do, having empathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franck-khalfoun/making-a-movie-is-about-following-characters-and-embarking-on-an/) [Franck Khalfoun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franck-khalfoun/) > [“A novel is not an allegory...it is a sensual experience of another world. If you don't enter that world, hold your breath with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/a-novel-is-not-an-allegory-it-is-a-sensual-experience-of-another/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [Empathic listening takes time, but it doesn't take anywhere near as much time as it takes to back up and correct misunderstandings when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/empathic-listening-takes-time-but-it-doesn-t-take-anywhere-near-as/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [I try to treat every job with the exact same level of respect. When I go into it, it doesn't matter what the budget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaya-scodelario/i-try-to-treat-every-job-with-the-exact-same-level-of-respect-when-i/) [Kaya Scodelario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaya-scodelario/) > [“CWC (Church Women Concerned) enabled us as women in that part of South Africa, to see ourselves as ordinary citizens who found themselves in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sindiwe-magona/cwc-church-women-concerned-enabled-us-as-women-in-that-part-of-south/) [Sindiwe Magona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sindiwe-magona/) > [Ultimately, my character is defined by the quality of my sensitivity to other people. I exist in equilibrium. I am here to the degree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-prather/ultimately-my-character-is-defined-by-the-quality-of-my-sensitivity/) [Hugh Prather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-prather/) > [I began to use my sensitivity. 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I need advice from Elizabeth Bennett.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/i-need-voices-of-reason-and-of-hysteria-and-of-empathy-i-need-to-have/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) [Browse all 2,480 Empathy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But Erin has empathy, lots of it, so much it hurts sometimes, so much that other people's pain turns into her own pain and makes her completely incapable of doing anything useful for anyone. That's why it's easier to avoid it than to engage. 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