For stupid nonsense like raww and rOverwatch , but for subs that require freedom of speech like this one , I ' m perfectly willing to split my time . <| sep |> First , there is such a thing as genuine altruism , that is innate in most people the recent research on empathy and altruism cf the work of Frans de Waal , for example is rapidly approaching an incontrovertible level of evidence . So that makes it rewarding in itself to help others , and also makes it fatuous to claim that this work never truly pays . Further , someone with the healthy personal boundaries required for sound mental health can empathize with but not take on the dark feelings of others , so coping with that is not the impossibility that you seem to be presuming it is . We do . occasionally get people here who come to help for sinister reasons like selfaggrandisement , but they ' re usually pretty easy to weed out . They stick out like a sore thumb if you know what to look for .