Are you often aware of other people’s feelings? Even if they’re hiding them or others nearby have no sense of what’s going on?
Do you find crowds overwhelming because you are suddenly struck by intense emotions? Is it easy or second-nature to feel what other people are feeling? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might be an empath.
What Is An Empath?
An empath is someone who is deeply aware of the feelings of those around them. They often feel the emotions alongside whoever they are with. While this gift can create beautiful and meaningful moments of human connection, it can also be difficult for someone unable to turn it off. Here are some of the bigger signs that you or someone you know is an empath include:
- You have a lot of empathy. Sometimes it feels like you have more of it than others.
- You have difficulty separating your feelings from those of your partner or close friends. This might mean that you’ve been angry all morning and don’t know why, and then your spouse explains that they’re angry for a valid reason, and you realize that the frustration was not your own. It was theirs.
- You have a really strong intuition. You are often able to guess what’s going on beneath the surface of work struggles or conversations.
- You find time in nature more restorative than other people do. Nature is healing for everyone, but in particular, it can give empaths a break from the emotional states of other people.
- You struggle to “not care.” You know too well what someone else is going through to leave it alone, often taking on other’s problems as your own. Even when it comes to scenes in movies or television or songs.
- You have a high sensitivity to sounds, sights, sensations, or smells.
- You struggle to set boundaries.
- You get overwhelmed easily by senses or emotions.
What Is Not An Empath?
Oftentimes there is an overlap between empathic people and clairsentient (clear-feeling) people. In addition to all of the above, clairsentient people can experience these signs from a great distance, and their emotional sensitivity often overlaps with an understanding of where the feeling comes from.
Sometimes clairsentience can even pass beyond our sense of time. An example of this would be someone looking to rent an apartment, but upon walking inside know that something sad or difficult or beautiful happened in the room at another time. Many additional gifts can be mistaken for empathic ability. Some of these include clairvoyance (clear-seeing), claircognizance (clear-knowing), and clairaudience (clear-seeing). Each of these gifts is a separate form of heightened awareness and understanding.
What Do Empaths Need To Know About Their Abilities?
You’ll notice the term “gifts” was used several times in this article. This is because, at its core, being an empath is a gift. It is a profound awareness that allows someone to connect with other beings. This being said, managing empathic abilities can be difficult, and oftentimes particular strategies need to be employed.
One of the first things an empath can do to ensure their own well-being is to put aside time alone, to recharge, and to feel their own emotions. Speaking to those closest to you can also be helpful. It’s ideal if your friends and partners understand what you mean when you say you need to step back for a moment.
Of course, you can’t avoid other people and negative emotions entirely. Coping strategies are an important part of being an empath. Simple things like:
- Designing a “feel-good” playlist and keeping it on your phone can help you out when you’ve got to be running errands in crowded spaces. (Holiday shopping can be especially difficult for empaths).
- Visualization can also help. Imagine a protective bubble or invisible wall around yourself or the person you can feel is suffering.
- Name the feeling, acknowledge it, and where it’s coming from. Remind yourself that the feeling might not be your own.
- Do grounding exercises.
- Release the emotion. Once the feeling has been felt, something has been communicated. It has served its purpose and now you can let it float away.
Being an empath is a beautiful thing, even if it doesn’t always feel like it. If you or someone you know is an empath, make sure you are taking the time to address the emotional experiences that accompany this ability.
