Pain empathy

It can also be referred to as vicarious pain, indirect pain or mirror pain

It is sometimes also called mirror sensory synesthesia or synesthesia for pain, although it is generally not considered a type of synesthesia

 

What is it?

It consists of an unpleasant physical sensation felt in a specific part of the body on perceiving physical pain felt by another person: either seeing it visually, reading about it, hearing someone describe it or even just thinking about it. In each person who experiences it, the specific part of the body affected is always the same, although different people feel it in different parts of their body (some people always feel it in the back of their legs, for example, while others always feel it in their hands and feet).

It does not fulfil all the requirements to be considered a type of synesthesia and is not normally classified as such, although some opinions (CC Hart, recently Michael Banissy...) suggest it should be included as a type. However, it is estimated that it could affect between 17% and 30% of the general population, while synesthetes are considered to make up just under 4% in total)2, so it would be more logical to consider it a parallel phenomenon and not a type of synesthesia. It has some similarities to mirror touch, which affects a much lower percentage of the population and is accepted as a type of synesthesia by the vast majority of researchers (although not all). Sometimes these two phenomena are confused and we hear someone say they have mirror touch when they are actually talking about pain empathy experiences (see the chart below to find out more about the differences between the two).

People who have pain empathy have reported feeling it in the following parts of their bodies: back of the legs; groin; feet; hands and feet; spine or base of the spine; back of thighs and buttocks; shins; whole body; forearms; stomach; thighs; arms and legs and a little in the jaw; legs and stomach; arms and back; spine and back of the neck; lumbar area and legs; ankles and feet…

The type of sensations they mention, which appear to always be the same for the same person, are a kind of electric shock feeling that travels down the affected area; tingling; “waves of unpleasantness”, “a bunch of tiny paper cuts running across my skin repeatedly”, etc.

Some people say that the feeling only occurs in response to certain types of injuries (only with cuts or bleeding wounds, for example), although most do not make this distinction. It is only triggered by physical pain, not by emotional distress.

Although the phenomenon is commonly evoked on perceiving pain in strangers, it appears that the closer the affective relationship with the person who is suffering the stronger the effect is. Even people who never normally experience it can sometimes feel it in exceptional cases, when the pain in question is affecting a close family member, their SO, etc. (a classic case is the pain felt by a new father when his child is being born.)

Some people say that they also feel it in response to pain suffered by animals, although it is only evoked by some animals and not all. It seems to depend on the type of animal in question, and is more likely to occur in the case of a beloved pet.

The phenomenon described here has been related to the “mirror neurons” or “empathy neurons”, located in the premotor cortex of the brain and whose function is to reflect the activity being carried out by other people. Discovered by Giacomo Rizzolatti in 1996, mirror neurons are probably involved in mirror touch, pain empathy and mirror kinetics, although their mechanisms are not yet fully known. You can read more about mirror neurons in this article.

Differences between mirror touch and pain empathy

Mirror touch	Pain empathy
The action of touching, hitting, etc. must actually be observed visually, in real life or on film/video etc., for the mirror sensation to be felt.	It is triggered not only by visually observing the pain but also by seeing its effects or consequences, hearing someone talk about it, reading about it, remembering it, anticipating it or even just thinking about it.
It occurs on seeing painful stimuli and also other types of tactile stimuli. Examples: Tactile actions carried out on a person causing physical pain (slaps, punches, shots, stabbing, head butts…. need I go on?) Other types of hitting (not only blows that cause pain but also those with more pacific intentions such as a pat on the back, someone hitting a ball, etc.) Other tactile actions in general (stroking, gentle patting, tickling, handshakes, etc.)	It only happens on perceiving physical pain (real, reported, possible or anticipated). It does not occur with other non-painful tactile stimuli such as stroking or patting.
The mirror sensation felt is located in the same part of the body as the affected part of the person being observed. It mirrors what is being observed and is not idiosyncratic. So if somebody’s knee is hit, all people who have a mirror touch reaction will feel it in their knee, or if they see someone touched on the cheek they will all feel it in their cheek.	The mirror sensation is consistently felt in a certain part of the body in particular, regardless of the bodily location of the other person’s pain perceived. It is basically idiosyncratic: some people always feel the vicarious pain in their legs, for example, while others always feel it in their groin. Some people feel it in two different parts of their body at the same time, or in rapid succession.
As it affects the same part of the body as the part observed, the mirror sensation often affects just one side or one point on the body (one hand, for example).	The mirror sensation is centred with respect to the body (groin, spine, etc.) or is symmetrical (both legs, both feet, etc.).
It is an uncommon phenomenon (estimated to affect around 1.5% of the general population)1	It is relatively common (estimated to affect between 17% and 30% of the general population)2

 

¹ This figure is taken from the study by Ward, Banissy et al. 2016, Common and distinct neural mechanisms associated with the conscious experience of vicarious pain

² The figure of 17% comes from the same study by Ward, Banissy et al. and the figure of 30% from Fitzgibbon et al. 2012, Mirror-sensory synaesthesia: Exploring ‘shared’ sensory experiences as synaesthesia 

Here are some descriptions written by people who experience pain empathy:

"[It] is a strange and discomfiting sensation. When I see another person’s wounds, I get shocks of stinging pain that shoot from my hips to my heels. It doesn’t matter if this injury is real or depicted in a film or novel; the instant I see it or read it, flashes of something akin to electricity course down my legs. If I’m deeply affected by what I see, or if I am really tired, I will also feel pain in the back of my arms and across my chest following the path of the thoracic dermatomes."

(Source: CC Hart, synesthete and medical and massage professional, in her website, Vox Synaesthetica. CC Hart calls this phenomenon “synesthesia for pain".)

“I get this, but never thought much about it. When I see someone in an unexpected fall (something I know will hurt), I get a sharp pain in my nerve endings mainly hands and feet. Like if a skateboarder fall comes up on my feed and he's flew off down a flight of stairs. I can't watch those fail videos where people are actualy hurt as I feel physical pain!”

(Source: This comment on Reddit/Synesthesia. 2020.)

An example of pain empathy involving animals:

“I feel pain when my dog is hurt but not my son's cat.”

(Source: This post on Reddit/Synesthesia. 2020.)

Are there any methods or tips for stopping this from happening?

Pain empathy is something natural and spontaneous that tends to be very consistent in the people that have it. However, the majority of those people interpret it as being painful, unpleasant or, at best, annoying. As far as I know there are no tried and tested "remedies" for getting rid of it, but the following might be of help for some people:

In response to a comment received on this page a couple of years ago asking if there was any way of stopping these "shooting pains", I thought of a few ideas.

Extract from the comment:

"I feel physical pain shooting down the backs of my legs when I see others get hurt or if I just perceive that what they're doing will result in a painful accident. It's highly uncomfortable. I found, recently, that a group of small children (toddlers) playing and running, with high risk of falling makes for a very painful day. What I'd like to know, is there any way to stop it?"

Extract from my reply with a few ideas:

"I don’t think there’s any way to actually stop it, here are a few ideas, they’re a bit “off the top of my head” and some are a bit obvious, others might be impossible for some people, but maybe some of them are worth thinking about:

-Physically don’t look

-Don’t listen when someone tells you something unpleasant. We tend to listen to things, but really we don’t always have to, especially if you are not the only person listening at that time

-Try to anticipate what’s going to happen, to be able to avoid it if necessary. I don't know what your case would be, but for some that might mean, for example, not sitting in the park precisely where children are playing, there are probably other places to sit!

-If you can, avoid situations that you know it will probably happen in

-Avoid watching videos, reading books, etc. that you know contain things that will set it off. If you’re at the cinema or theatre and the film or play turns out to be unpleasant, you don’t have to stay and watch it. Don’t let people convince you otherwise. Your sensitivity is not the same as theirs and you might have other needs

-If you’ve noticed it become stronger, or weaker, or even go away temporarily because of any particular stimulus (for example your mood, medication you take, substances like coffee or alcohol, tiredness/energy, time of day, time of the year, etc.) try and work with that clue to improve it

-Consciously try not to become too involved emotionally with the people you come into contact with

-Take special care with activities such as sport

-Accept it as something natural, which is what it is. Don't interpret it as pain: that's just one possible interpretation. Think of it more as empathy - which is something positive - or just a tactile sensation that happens to you and connects you with others and can be part of you being a caring person rather than a cold person with limited emotions." 

On the subject of the last idea here, I'd mention here that I've personally had these pain empathy sensations all my life but it was only when I started reading about other people's experiences with it that I was surprised to find that they interpreted it as being "pain". Even though the sensation is often very strong for me I had never thought of defining it as "pain" but rather just "that sensation you get in the back of your legs when someone is hurt". Maybe when I was very young and asked about it I was told that this wasn't pain, and (being rather gullible!) I believed them. I have even have vague memories of having had that conversation with my mum at the beach one day. But I get the feeling that I probably coped with it better because of that conviction. For people who do think of it as being pain, I wonder if this kind of "reinterpretation", if they can achieve it, might be useful in coping with it. I think this would perhaps tie in with the Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) method of achieving pain relief, so some readers might find that worth looking into. I'm not knowledgeable of this technique at all, but when I first read about it in a newspaper article, in the light of my own personal experience it certainly struck me that it might be applicable in this area.

Please feel free to comment and tell us about your own experiences or any tips you may have discovered for stopping these sensations, reducing their strength or accepting them better, or about Pain Reprocessing Therapy, if you've had it or know about it.   

More links:

Another study on this phenomenon: M. Rothen, B. Meier, Why vicarious experience is not an instance of synesthesia  

A 4-minute video giving a good overview of both pain empathy and mirror touch. "Empathy to the Extreme", a BBC Reel by Aurore DuPont Sagorin, also featuring Jamie Ward and CC Hart.

In a recent podcast in her Let's Talk Synaesthesia series, Maike Preissing interviewed Aurora Dupont-Sagarin about mirror pain. You can listen to it here.

Here's a Facebook group you can join if you have mirror pain/pain empathy and would like to chat about any aspect of it or read other people's experiences: 

Mirror Pain Synesthesia Facebook Group

Posts are occasional now but the group still exists so you can join, read and ask a question if you wish. Administrator Kristy Lee says "This group has been created to bring together those with a lived experience of Mirror Pain Synethesia. A space to share our unique experiences without judgement. A place to feel believed & supported, to ask questions & seek validation."

 

Related synesthesia types:

Mirror touch

More cases / readers' comments:

Read all 70 comments on this article here

(There is a small selection of comments below, or you can follow the above link for access to all the reader comments describing their own experiences: it makes interesting reading)

This page last updated: 17 April 2026