To have empathy is not to “feel what someone else is feeling”. It’s to understand their feelings. The empath claim is arrogant and divorced from logic. You might feel what you believe someone else is feeling, but you actually have no clue.
In my experience, someone calling themselves an empath is a HUGE red flag! Only God knows what is in the hearts of men, anyone claiming to be an empath is claiming to have Godly powers.
This is usually a claim deployed in service of justifying horrible behavior against someone who doesn’t deserve it, or defending someone who doesn’t deserve it. At the core of the claim is the arrogant notion that your ability to read minds is greater proof of something than the existence of evidence for your claim.
Associate with these people at your own risk.