I strongly suspect that many of my wonderful Lovelies are Empaths.
We’ve all heard the term Empath, it’s a derivation of the word empathy, but just in case you’re not sure what an Empath actually is, here is some deeper insight.
I’ll highlight the advantages and disadvantages to being an Empath, and also what you can do to protect yourself, if after reading this blog you think, “Oh my, that sounds like me!”
So first of all what is an Empath?
An Empath is a highly sensitive person, who is naturally attuned to the energy emitted from other people, places or things.
They have a higher degree of empathy than most people and so are extremely sensitive to other people’s energy and emotions.
All Empaths are Highly Sensitive People (HSP), but not all HSPs are Empaths.
HSPs are highly sensitive, but don’t necessarily take on others emotions like an Empath does.
Are you an Empath?
Here are some typical traits:-
- You are extremely sensitive.
- You wear your heart on your sleeve.
- You know how people feel without them having to tell you.
- You have empathy in abundance, so you’re the one everyone goes to for emotional support.
- You care deeply about animals, nature and the planet.
- You’re a great listener and generally don’t judge others.
- You often react emotionally to films, music and the news.
- You feel other’s pain, sadness or anger very deeply.
- You are often considered overly sensitive or emotional by others.
- Negative situations and people affect you very deeply.
- You are very kind and go out of your way to help others.
- Strangers often open up to you and give you their life story.
- You are drawn to helping others and are a natural healer/teacher.
- You generally see the good in everyone and everything.
- You are sensitive to medication and caffeine.
- Music captivates you.
- You are a daydreamer who often lives in their head.
- You have a very finely-tuned intuition.
- Seeing random acts of kindness or love can bring you to tears.
- You are very forgiving.
- You can become easily drained by negative people.
- Large crowds can make you uncomfortable.
- You hate injustice of any kind.
- You avoid conflict and/or confrontation.
- You’re a human lie-detector, because you listen to people’s energy, rather than their words.
- You hate any kind of violence or cruelty.
- You don’t like selfish or arrogant people.
- You don’t like clutter, especially in your bedroom.
- If you are hurt, you need to withdraw yourself.
- You’ve always been different to others, even as a child.
- You’ve been a human sponge your entire life.
There are many different kinds of Empaths – here are three of the most popular types.
Emotional
This type of Empath has a much heightened sensitivity to everyone else’s emotions.
They can easily feel and absorb the emotional states of people around them and deeply empathize and understand their emotional experiences.
Physical
This type of Empath is intensely sensitive to the physical feelings and ailments of others.
It means that they can detect bodily pain and distress in others, even to the point of feeling it themselves.
Claircognizant
This type of Empath has a clairaudient and clairvoyant ability, which gives them a strong sense of “knowing”.
They possess innate wisdom and understanding and often receive insights and intuitive knowledge without any logical explanation.
Advantages of Being an Evolved Empath
- Empaths have an uncanny ability to tell if the vibration of a person’s words matches the vibration of their emotions – so they can spot a liar or fake person at 100 paces.
- This helps them tell if someone is a person worthy of their time and friendship.
- They have the ability to form very deep bonds and have wonderful friendships/relationships.
- Because they feel things so deeply, they have the capacity to experience deep joy and happiness.
- They have amazing intuition, so often just “know” things intuitively without any physical proof or evidence.
- Because creativity often comes from intuition, they can be highly creative, so often make excellent artists, writers, teachers, interior designers, musicians, and/or crafters.
- They are deep thinkers and so are great problem-solvers.
- They are good, kind people who have a strong moral compass.
- They place great importance on truthfulness and integrity in all aspects of life; because of this they are very genuine people who are always sincere and never fake.
- They are often introverted, preferring to be alone, or in very small groups to recharge, but they don’t have to be.
- Many Empaths can be extroverts, as long as they are around the right kind of people.
- Empaths exist to balance out the narcissists, sociopaths and psychopaths of the world. They are their polar opposite.
- With time and dedication, an Empath can learn to truly love themselves. Giving themselves the love they give to others. This is a wonderful thing.
Disadvantages of Being an Unevolved Empath.
- Empaths generally have low self-esteem and are overly critical of themselves.
- Because they feel things so deeply, they often suffer and experience deep pain and unhappiness.
- They usually give far more than they receive.
- They can become overwhelmed with all the negativity around them.
- People dump their problems onto them – they’re everybody’s agony aunt.
- But they don’t usually share their problems with others, they feel they have to carry their burdens alone.
- They can suffer from chronic stress, burn-out and fatigue because they are constantly dealing with their own deep emotions as well as other peoples.
- They can suffer from anxiety. Sometimes it’s not even their anxiety; it’s someone else’s they’ve taken on as their own (I’ve seen this in many of my Empath clients).
- Physical Empaths can feel the same physical pain as their loved ones.
- They may suffer with stomach issues, such as IBS, this is because the stomach is the seat of all emotion.
- Empaths feel other people’s energy through their solar plexus, which is in the abdomen, this can cause them to overeat or comfort eat.
- They can be susceptible to alcohol and other addictions, because of the need to numb their overloaded emotions.
- Sometimes Empaths can find it hard to focus, because of all the sensory information that is constantly bombarding them.
- Because of their forgiving nature, Empaths are a favourite target of the toxic people of the world; they are especially susceptible if they’ve had a narcissistic parent.
- Takers are naturally attracted to givers and vice versa unfortunately.
What you can do to protect yourself and thrive as an Empath
- Put up and enforce healthy boundaries that safeguard your emotional wellbeing.
- Make NO a complete sentence. (Not easy for a loving Empath).
- Avoid as much as possible, the energy vampires who only want to drain your beautiful energy.
- Meditate every day.
- Be mindful and grounded as much as possible.
- Spend time alone to recharge your batteries.
- Prioritise your self-care and ensure you have enough energy to support yourself first. (Only give from your overflow).
- De-clutter your environment – decluttering externally and internally is very cleansing.
- Surround yourself with people whose energies align with your own, or at least don’t trigger you negatively.
- Listen to calming or uplifting music.
- Consider a weighted blanket.
- Exercise, take walks in nature and be in, or by water as much as you can.
- Limit toxic environments and interactions.
- Avoid the narcissists, sociopaths and psychopaths at all costs!!!
- Don’t ignore those red flags, trust those wonderful instincts of yours.
I hope you found this blog interesting and insightful.
Awareness is everything.
Much Love
Christina xx