I have mentioned before that I am an empath, but some readers have had questions about what that means. Being an empath means having the ability to sense and absorb the feelings of others. This heightened sensitivity makes empaths more caring, compassionate and understanding of other people; however, the challenges that come with it are also heightened.
Empaths become overwhelmed easily trying to juggle all the emotions from themselves and others. Here are a few examples to help explain what life is like for an empath.
Sorting - When constantly absorbing emotional material from others, it's hard to know if what you are feeling is from others or if they are actually your own thoughts and feelings. This causes making decisions extremely hard. - My personal experience: I cannot tell if I am making a decision for myself based on how I feel, or if I am allowing the feelings of others to take over. Therefore, I cannot make good split second decisions.
Dreams - Empaths struggle with vivid dreams. Dreams are laced with emotions that can cause intense sensory overload. Sometimes when we wake up, empaths cannot remember the dreams, but still have all these residual feelings that they cannot associate with a true memory or event, and this wreaks havoc on their well being. Even when they sleep, empaths do not get fully refreshed. My personal experience: Sometimes I wake up sad, anxious or overwhelmed and don’t know why. I usually cannot remember my dreams, but when I do, whatever happened in my dream sets my mood for the morning. It can be hard to shake even though it did not really happen.
Television / Movies - Empaths are heavily affected by watching shows and movies that portray people in pain and suffering. We can quickly become emotionally drained. My personal experience: When someone is hurt or dies on a show, I often have to pause the show and cry to let some of the built up emotions out. Sometimes I cannot continue to watch the show until I get my emotions in check.
Exhaustion - Self care is a high priority for Empaths. They have to carefully manage their emotions to avoid constant emotional fatigue and exhaustion. My personal experience: All day long at my job, I talk to people that are full of tense emotions… they are angry, aggravated, and stressed out. After working a 10 hour shift, I cannot summon the energy to do much of anything.
Switch - Even if they are having a great day, coming in contact with a friend who had an awful day can cause an immediate shift in an empath's emotions. Their good vibes are gone, and they suddenly feel sad or angry just like the friend, as if the bad day happened to them. My personal experience: If I am having a good day, and then get a phone call from a friend or family member that needs to vent, when I get off the phone, my good day is over, and I feel like whatever the caller was facing is now my problem. So I can go from chill and relaxed to tense and worked up like the flip of a switch.
Anxiety / Depression - The chronic fatigue can lead to physical and mental illness. Most empaths experience depression, panic attacks and more. My personal experience: I have been diagnosed with BiPolar disorder. The constant inability to stop the switch from good mood to bad, not only shows up in the form of mood swings, but also in my physical health.
People pleasing - Empaths have an overall naturally giving personality. They hate disappointing or potentially hurting others. Saying no makes them feel guilty. My personal experience: When I say no, or when I cause negative feelings in others some other way, I absorb back those feelings.
Alone time - Empaths need space and quiet moments to recoup from others’ energies and to filter out the emotions they may have picked up throughout the day from other people. My personal experience: Being alone is truly the only way I can get to the core of things. Is this my thought/feeling/emotion or did I absorb it from a customer, colleague, friend or family member?
If you think you are an empath, or you just want to learn more, here are a few helpful resources.
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