7 Signs You’re An Empath?
And If You Are, What Do You Do About It?
By Dorraine Fisher
By Dorraine Fisher
Are you an empath?
An empath is a person with a natural ability to absorb the emotions and energies of others. Often to the point of doing emotional damage to themselves, unfortunately. So people who suspect themselves to be an empath may have a negative view of the idea. But you really shouldn’t.
I’ve been talking a lot about empaths on social media lately, and it’s brought people to ask me questions about the subject. It seems there are actually a lot of people out there that suspect they might be an empath, but haven’t been able to positively identify their symptoms.
And when I say symptoms, it sounds like a disease. And being an empath can feel that way sometimes, but I swear to you, if you are one, there are also reasons to celebrate. Being an empath can mean you’re a diplomat of sorts. You have the ability to understand people when no one else can. You have the power to resolve conflict and turmoil. It can be a blessing or a curse, depending on how you view it. But first, you have to identify yourself as one, and then we’ll talk about how to handle it from there. So, see if you identify with these traits:
1. You feel other people’s pain. And this is a really tough one. You’re with a friend or talking to them on the phone, and you can just feel pain radiating from them. You know something’s wrong, even though they haven’t said a word about anything bad. When suddenly they spill their guts. This can also happen with complete strangers or people you just met very recently.
2. You have a tendency to avoid public places and crowds and you can’t put your finger on the reason why. It’s just incredibly uncomfortable and you can’t stand it for very long. And have you ever walked into a room full of people and felt tension right away, like there was something uncomfortable going on before you entered. This trait is much stronger in empaths and can cause you to want to get away. The negative vibrations you pick up can be very overwhelming.
3. You pick up the mood of people around you. This can be really tough. I’ve wondered over the years if I was bipolar because my mood can change drastically throughout the day. And this depends on how many people I come in contact with and what kind of energy and emotion they’re emitting. This can often be exhausting, like an emotional roller coaster. And usually none of this energy is yours. You’ve absorbed all of it from those around you.
4. You can’t tolerate stressful stimuli such as horror movies or stressful action movies involving death, torture, never ending and often ludicrous drama, mass destruction, or apocalyptic scenarios. It’s just too much. I personally have given up on TV for the most part because that’s all there is on it. And if you’re an empath, you internalize every scenario as if it were your own until you’re either completely stressed or depressed or both. And recovery time can be slow depending on your level of experience in dealing with it. Some empaths feel miserable all the time, simply because of television and other visual media. And don’t watch the news. That’s the worst of all.
5. You seem to connect with people easily. For some reason, empaths are the ones that people automatically gravitate toward with their problems and secrets. I’ve had people I just met, just moments ago, tell me their deep, dark secrets in detail. Even though they don’t know me at all, they keep talking about their past mistakes and insecurities, hopes, dreams, and aspirations like they’ve known me their entire life. Quite often they’ll tell me, “I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I’ve never told this to anyone.” And this can be taken to the point of discomfort for the empath. There are many things about many people that I simply don’t want to know. And yet, because I’m an empath and seem to understand them, they keep telling me all the gory details. And since I relate to their pain, I listen and try to understand. Often to the point of my own exhaustion.
6. You always feel the need to help people. It’s because of your absorption of their pain onto yourself. You can feel the depth of it within yourself. And you feel bad for the person and you can feel yourself soaking it up. You want to take it away and make them feel better because you understand it so intimately from their point of view. But this can drain the energy out of you quickly.
7. People recognize your healing power. Your friends often come to you for advice or when they need cheering up. And they’ll often say you’d made THEM feel so much better, when suddenly, YOU don’t feel so great. That’s because you’ve taken their negative energy onto yourself.
So, now that you know you’re an empath and you’re possibly a little uncomfortable or even horrified by the idea, what do you do about it? How do you get through life this way? Well, here are some things I’ve learned over the years that help me immensely, so I don’t walk around miserable with the weight of the world on my shoulders:
First of all, the most important thing to remember is, as you feel cursed at times, your empathy is your superpower. And you need to remind yourself of that every time you can feel your energy draining away because you feel empathy for someone.
Second of all, take care of yourself first. Although when we’re surrounded by loved ones and we often feel the need to take care of their problems first, we need to remember that we need care too. There are just times when you need to put yourself first. Because you’re no help to anyone you care about if you’re an emotional basket case yourself.
Third, don’t accept unnecessary drama. I know many empaths who are almost constantly miserable because they have friends or family member that introduce constant drama into their lives and the lives of everyone around them. So, sometimes we have to limit the time we spend with these kinds of people, and there have been times when I’ve had to completely eliminate them from my life. It’s often a hard reality to face, but if you get the overwhelming feeling around this person that they’re literally draining the life out of you, you need to stay away from them. Besides, if someone is causing you to feel this way all the time, there is no benefit in being around them.
Fourth, try to spend more time around people who are capable of understanding your gift and who nurture your spirit. It’s possible to find people who live to enjoy life and lift up the people around them. These are the kinds of people you need around you.
Fifth, always follow your instincts. If you feel the need to do something you might consider completely crazy at times, like taking off work to go hiking or to a museum, by all means, do so. Your instincts are there for a reason, and that’s your personal preservation. Listen to them carefully and follow what they say, and you might never go off the deep end again.
Sixth, take your solitary time. Spend time alone with nature. It has a way of healing you. The sounds of nature and the peaceful atmosphere can have a profound effect on dopamine and serotonin in your brain. A little window of time spent in a quiet, secluded place as often as you feel the need can work wonders in helping you recharge.
Seventh, adopt a grounding ritual every day. Learning to meditate can go a long way if helping your recover quickly. There is a real benefit in learning to empty your mind for a while. Your brain, like your body, needs rest. And if you have trouble with meditation, you can always try putting on headphones and listening to a guided meditation or meditative or brainwaves music to help you ground yourself again. Anything like this that transports you temporarily to another time and place can be very helpful. Like a mini-vacation inside your mind.
And finally, get in the habit of telling yourself that other’s problems don’t belong to you. It may not feel helpful at first to do this, but just keep doing it until your brain rewires itself. Probably over 90 percent of what you absorb from others is completely unnecessary. Over time, and with patience, it becomes easier to shield yourself. You learn what works for you and what doesn’t and you keep those practices in place for a much happier life.
I see a really bright future for people who have a great capacity for empathy and the capacity to understand people when they first meet them. The health and home care professions are being filled with great people like you with strong empathy, intuition, and natural knowingness. There have been times in the past when your gifts were not recognized or appreciated, but as the world evolves, more value will be placed on your natural abilities. Keep the faith. There will be a day when everyone will understand what you are and be glad to know someone like you. Many of them already do. Times are changing.
There’s so much more to say about this subject and I’ll be talking about it more in the future. But in the meantime, try and see it as a psychic gift from the universe. That’s what it really is. The world needs more of us because there are so many people out there who don’t have a clue what other people feel and they don’t ever think about it. You do, and that’s something special. We can make the world a better place just by understanding. *********DF
This Post By TCC Team Member Dorraine Fisher. Dorraine is a Professional Writer, photographer, a nature, wildlife and Bigfoot enthusiast who has written for many magazines. Dorraine conducts research, special interviews and more for The Crypto Crew. Get Dorraine's book The Book Of Blackthorne!
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Another great article. I was not aware of such a thing as a Empath. I feel that I have some of these traits but I am probably not a true Empath. I look forward to read more of your blogs!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mark. You don't have to have all the traits. Some are just undeveloped. Thanks for reading.
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