I have always considered myself to be an empathetic person.

I think that’s why I cry so much. I genuinely like people and if I see someone sad or suffering, I can’t help but imagine myself walking in their shoes. This happens in real life and also when I watch TV or films (which is why I’m often a blubbering wreck at the cinema).

However, I discovered something interesting this weekend.

You can switch your empathy off.

This is probably not done consciously but it is definitely possible as I experienced it for the first time on Friday night.

You’ll be pleased to know I didn’t discover this in relation to anybody I know personally but in relation to a TV programme.

I have been a ‘Coronation Street’ fan since I was young enough to go to bed at the end of it and have watched it ever since (except for a short spell when I lived abroad). The hot storyline recently has been Sinead Tinker’s death from cancer at a very young age. I think this happened about a week ago in real time, but I have only just caught up.

I have been following her storyline but realised I could only watch one or two episodes across the week as I just found it all too depressing, but over time I have slowly caught up. I knew she died in the episode I was about to watch last Friday night. I contemplated just deleting but then I wanted to see her final hours (she has been such a good actress throughout) so I tuned in.

Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have got through that episode without a stream of tears, smudged mascara and a pile of tissues. But, on this occasion I watched her dying scenes, saying goodbye to her family, friends and baby, completely dry-eyed and largely unaffected.

When it was over, I spent quite a while thinking about how I had managed to watch that episode without a single tear.

Clearly, I haven’t suddenly lost the ability to be empathetic to others, I just think the story line was just a touch too close to home (Ok, I know I’m not as young as her and I’m not dying but you get the gist) for me to allow myself to walk in her shoes even for half an hour.

As I was contemplating all of this, I googled ‘can your brain switch off empathy’ and an article appeared entitled ‘Psychopaths don’t lack empathy: They just have the ability to turn it off at will’ so clearly this is a possibility.

I’m hoping this doesn’t prove I’m a psychopath, just that the brain is an amazing organ that has the ability to protect you when you need it most.

I think I knew this deep down, but had never experienced it.

I guess every day is a school day…….