The chances are if you’ve happened across this blog after typing the words: ‘Traits of an Empath’ into any search engine, you will very likely be an Empath.
As soon as you heard or read of the traits of an ‘Empath’, you knew that it was describing you and, with the discovery of a title for your condition, this probably came with a huge sigh of relief… Finally, you can piece it all together, you have an understanding as to why you’ve felt the way you do with certain people and in certain places, why you know things you shouldn’t and seem to experience more emotional and physical pain than others.
Empaths are an inquisitive bunch and just love to learn or get confirmation on our ‘suspicions’, ‘hunches’, or feelings. So, hopefully the info below will give you a few more ‘aha’ moments in your quest for self discovery. Here is also a list of 12 quick questions to discover if you’re an Empath
Do you want to learn the secrets of being an Empath and discover ways revolutionize your life in the most amazing way? Click here for more information. Get ready to transform!
30 Empath Traits By Diane Kathrine:
1. Knowing: Empaths just know stuff, without being told. It’s a knowing that goes way beyond intuition or gut feelings, even though that is how many would describe the knowing. The more attuned they are the stronger this gift becomes.
2. Being in public places can be overwhelming: Places like shopping malls, supermarkets or stadiums where there are lots of people around can fill the empath with turbulently vexed emotions that are coming from others.
3. Feeling others emotions and taking them on as your own: This is a huge one for empaths. To some they will feel emotions off those near by and with others they will feel emotions from those a vast distance away, or both. The more adept empath will know if someone is having bad thoughts about them, even from great distance.
4. Watching violence, cruelty or tragedy on the TV is unbearable: The more attuned an empath becomes the worse it is and may make it so they eventually have to stop watching TV and reading newspapers altogether.
5. You know when someone is not being honest: If a friend or a loved one is telling you lies you know it (although many empaths try not to focus on this because knowing a loved one is lying can be painful). Or if someone is saying one thing but feeling/thinking another, you know.
6. Picking up physical symptoms off another: An empath will almost always develop the ailments off another (colds, eye infections, body aches and pains) especially those they’re closest to, somewhat like sympathy pains.
7. Digestive disorders and lower back problems: The solar plexus chakra is based in the centre of the abdomen and it’s known as the seat of emotions. This is where empaths feel the incoming emotion of another, which can weaken the area and eventually lead to anything from stomach ulcers to IBS (too many other conditions to list here). Lower back problems can develop from being ungrounded (amongst other things) and one, who has no knowledge of them being an empath, will almost always be ungrounded.
8. Always looking out for the underdog: Anyone whose suffering, in emotional pain or being bullied draws an empath’s attention and compassion.
9. Others will want to offload their problems on you, even strangers: An empath can become a dumping ground for everyone else’s issues and problems, which, if they’re not careful can end up as their own.
10. Constant fatigue: Empaths often get drained of energy, either from energy vampires or just taking on too much from others, which even sleep will not cure. Many get diagnosed with ME.
11. Addictive personality: Alcohol, drugs, sex, are to name but a few addictions that empaths turn to, to block out the emotions of others. It is a form of self protection in order to hide from someone or something.
12. Drawn to healing, holistic therapies and all things metaphysical: Although many empaths would love to heal others they can end up turning away from being healers (even though they have a natural ability for it), after they’ve studied and qualified, because they take on too much from the one they are trying to heal. Especially if they are unaware of their empathy. Anything of a supernatural nature is of interest to empaths and they don’t surprise or get shocked easily.
13. Creative: From singing, dancing, acting, drawing or writing an empath will have a strong creative streak and a vivid imagination.
14. Love of nature and animals: Being outdoors in nature is a must for empaths and pets are an essential part of their life.
15. Need for solitude: An empath will go stir-crazy if they don’t get quiet time. This is even obvious in empathic children.
16. Gets bored or distracted easily if not stimulated: Work, school and home life has to be kept interesting for an empath or they switch off from it and end up daydreaming or doodling.
17. Finds it impossible to do things they don’t enjoy: As above. Feels like they are living a lie by doing so. To force an empath to do something they dislike through guilt or labelling them as idle will only serve in making them unhappy. It’s for this reason many empaths get labelled as being lazy.
18. Strives for the truth: This becomes more prevalent when an empath discovers his/her gifts and birthright. Anything untruthful feels plain wrong.
19. Always looking for the answers and knowledge: To have unanswered questions can be frustrating for an empath and they will endeavour to find an explanation. If they have a knowing about something they will look for confirmation. The downside to this is an information overload.
20. Likes adventure, freedom and travel: Empaths are free spirits.
21. Abhors clutter: It makes an empath feel weighed down and blocks the flow of energy.
22. Loves to daydream: An empath can stare into space for hours, in a world of their own and blissfully happy.
23. Finds routine, rules or control, imprisoning: Anything that takes away their freedom is debilitating to an empath even poisoning.
24. Prone to carry weight without necessarily overeating: The excess weight is a form of protection to stop the negative incoming energies having as much impact.
25. Excellent listener: An empath won’t talk about themselves much unless it’s to someone they really trust. They love to learn and know about others and genuinely care.
26. Intolerance to narcissism: Although kind and often very tolerant of others, empaths do not like to be around overly egotistical people, who put themselves first and refuse to consider another’s feelings or points of view other than their own.
27. The ability to feel the days of the week: An empath will get the ‘Friday Feeling’ if they work Fridays or not. They pick up on how the collective are feeling. The first couple of days of a long, bank holiday weekend (Easter for example) can feel, to them, like the world is smiling, calm and relaxed. Sunday evenings, Mondays and Tuesdays, of a working week, have a very heavy feeling.
28. Will not choose to buy antiques, vintage or second-hand: Anything that’s been pre-owned carries the energy of the previous owner. An empath will even prefer to have a brand new car or house (if they are in the financial situation to do so) with no residual energy.
29. Sense the energy of food: Many empaths don’t like to eat meat or poultry because they can feel the vibrations of the animal (especially if the animal suffered), even if they like the taste.
30. Can appear moody, shy, aloof, disconnected: Depending on how an empath is feeling will depend on what face they show to the world. They can be prone to mood swings and if they’ve taken on too much negative will appear quiet and unsociable, even miserable. An empath detests having to pretend to be happy when they’re sad, this only adds to their load (makes working in the service industry, when it’s service with a smile, very challenging) and can make them feel like scuttling under a stone.
If you are new to discovering you are an Empath be sure to check out: Grounding Techniques for Empaths and Sensitives There are many tried and tested techniques on this page that will help you better deal with your gift.
Transform your Empath life in the most amazing way and learn the secrets of an Empath.
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Empaths are presently having a particularly difficult time, picking up on all the negative emotions that are being emantated into the world from the populace undergoing huge transformations. Please check out the pages and posts below on important information how to deal with the ever-changing energies.
Why Empaths Freeze around Inauthentic People
It’s Time to Let go of Toxic People
Supplements to Heal the Empath
This above list has been compiled as a guide to help the unknowing Empath recognise his/her gift.
©Diane Kathrine at Empaths Empowered
Hope this helps you on your path.
Diane
Learn the 7 secrets of an Empath
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If you are new to discovering you are an Empath be sure to check out: Grounding Techniques for Empaths and Sensitives There are many tried and tested techniques on this page that will help you better deal with your gift.
Below is a great article written by Christel Broederlow © about being an Empath. Enjoy:
TRAITS OF AN EMPATH by Christel Broederlow
Empaths are often quiet achievers. They can take a while to handle a compliment for they’re more inclined to point out another’s positive attributes. They are highly expressive in all areas of emotional connection, and talk openly, and, at times quite frankly. They may have few problems talking about their feelings if another cares to listen (regardless of how much they listen to others).
However, they can be the exact opposite: reclusive and apparently unresponsive at the best of times. They may even appear ignorant. Some are very good at “blocking out” others and that’s not always a bad thing, at least for the learning empath struggling with a barrage of emotions from others, as well as their own feelings.
Empaths have a tendency to openly feel what is outside of them more so than what is inside of them. This can cause empaths to ignore their own needs. In general an empath is non-violent, non-aggressive and leans more towards being the peacemaker. Any area filled with disharmony creates an uncomfortable feeling in an empath. If they find themselves in the middle of a confrontation, they will endeavor to settle the situation as quickly as possible, if not avoid it all together. If any harsh words are expressed in defending themselves, they will likely resent their lack of self-control, and have a preference to peacefully resolve the problem quickly.
Empaths are more inclined to pick up another’s feelings and project it back without realizing its origin in the first place. Talking things out is a major factor in releasing emotions in the learning empath. Empaths can develop an even stronger degree of understanding so that they can find peace in most situations. The downside is that empaths may bottle up emotions and build barriers sky-high so as to not let others know of their innermost thoughts and/or feelings. This withholding of emotional expression can be a direct result of a traumatic experience, an expressionless upbringing, or simply being told as a child, “Children are meant to be seen and not heard!”
Without a doubt, this emotional withholding can be detrimental to one’s health, for the longer one’s thoughts and/or emotions aren’t released, the more power they build. The thoughts and/or emotions can eventually becoming explosive, if not crippling. The need to express oneself honestly is a form of healing and a choice open to all. To not do so can result in a breakdown of the person and result in mental/emotional instability or the creation of a physical ailment, illness or disease.
Empaths are sensitive to TV, videos, movies, news and broadcasts. Violence or emotional dramas depicting shocking scenes of physical or emotional pain inflicted on adults, children or animals can bring an empath easily to tears. At times, they may feel physically ill or choke back the tears. Some empaths will struggle to comprehend any such cruelty, and may have grave difficulty in expressing themselves in the face of another’s ignorance, closed-mindedness and obvious lack of compassion. They simply cannot justify the suffering they feel and see.
You will find empaths working with people, animals or nature with a true passion and dedication to help them. They are often tireless teachers and/or caretakers for our environment and all within it. Many volunteers are empathic and give up personal time to help others without pay and/or recognition.
Empaths may be excellent storytellers due to an endless imagination, inquisitive minds and ever-expanding knowledge. They can be old romantics at heart and very gentle. They may also be the “keepers” of ancestral knowledge and family history. If not the obvious family historians, they may be the ones who listen to the stories passed down and possess the majority of the family history. Not surprisingly, they may have started or possess a family tree.
They have a broad interest in music to suit their many expressive temperaments, and others can query how empaths can listen to one style of music, and within minutes, change to something entirely different. Lyrics within a song can have adverse, powerful effects on empaths, especially if it is relevant to a recent experience. In these moments, it is advisable for empaths to listen to music without lyrics, to avoid playing havoc with their emotions!
They are just as expressive with body language as with words, thoughts, and feelings. Their creativity is often expressed through dance, acting, and bodily movements. Empaths can project an incredible amount of energy portraying and/or releasing emotion. Empaths can become lost in the music, to the point of being in a trance-like state; they become one with the music through the expression of their physical bodies. They describe this feeling as a time when all else around them is almost non-existent.
People of all walks of life and animals are attracted to the warmth and genuine compassion of empaths. Regardless of whether others are aware of one being empathic, people are drawn to them as a metal object is to a magnet!
Even complete strangers find it easy to talk to empaths about the most personal things, and before they know it, they have poured out their hearts and souls without intending to do so consciously. It is as though on a sub-conscious level that person knows instinctively that empaths would listen with compassionate understanding. Then again, for empaths, it is always nice to actually be heard themselves!
Here are the listeners of life. They can be outgoing, bubbly, enthusiastic and a joy to be in the presence of, as well as highly humorous at the most unusual moments! On the flip side, empaths can be weighted with mood swings that will have others around them want to jump overboard and abandon ship! The thoughts and feelings empaths receive from any and all in their life can be so overwhelming (if not understood) that their moods can fluctuate with lightning speed. One moment they may be delightfully happy and with a flick of the switch, miserable.
Abandoning an empath in the throes of alternating moods can create detrimental effects. A simple return of empathic love–listening and caring compassionately without bias, judgment and/or condemnation–can go an incredibly long way to an empath’s instant recovery. Many empaths don’t understand what is occurring within them. They literally have no idea that another person’s emotions are now felt, as one’s own and reflected outwardly. They are confused as to how one moment all was well, and then the next, they feel so depressed, alone, etc. The need to understand the possibilities of empath connection is a vital part of the empaths journey for themselves and for those around them.
Empaths are often problem solvers, thinkers, and studiers of many things. As far as empaths are concerned, where a problem is, so too is the answer. They often will search until they find one – if only for peace of mind. This can certainly prove beneficial for others in their relationships, in the workplace, or on the home front. Where there is a will, there is a way and the empath will find it. The empath can literally (likely without the knowledge of what’s actually occurring) tap into Universal Knowledge and be receptive to guidance in solving anything they put their head and hearts into.
Empaths often are vivid and/or lucid dreamers. They can dream in detail and are inquisitive of dream content. Often they feel as though the dreams are linked to their physical life somehow, and not just a mumble of nonsensical, irrelevant, meaningless images. This curiosity will lead many empathic dreamers to unravel some of the “mysterious” dream contents from an early age and connect the interpretation to its relevance in their physical life. If not, they may be led to dream interpretations through other means.
Empaths are daydreamers with difficulty keeping focused on the mundane. If life isn’t stimulating, off an empath will go into a detached state of mind. They will go somewhere, anywhere, in a thought that appears detached from the physical reality, yet is alive and active for they really are off and away. If a tutor is lecturing with little to no emotional input, empaths will not be receptive to such teaching and can (unintentionally) drift into a state of daydreaming.
Give the empath student the tutor who speaks with stimuli and emotion (through actual experience of any given subject) and the empath is receptively alert. Empaths are a captivated audience. This same principle applies in acting. An actor will either captivate the audience through expressing (in all aspects) emotions (as though they really did experience the role they are portraying) or will loose them entirely. Empaths make outstanding actors.
Empaths frequently experience déjà vu and synchronicities. What may initially start as, “Oh, what a coincidence”, will lead to the understanding of synchronicities as an aspect of who they are. These synchronicities will become a welcomed and continually expanding occurrence. As an understanding of self grows, the synchronicities become more fluent and free flowing. The synchronicities can promote a feeling of euphoria as empaths identify with them and appreciate the connection to their empathic nature.
Empaths are most likely to have had varying paranormal experiences throughout their lives. NDE’s (Near death experiences) and or OBE’s (Out of body experiences) can catapult an unaware empath into the awakening period and provide the momentum for a journey of discovery. Those who get caught up in life, in society’s often dictating ways, in work etc., can become lost in a mechanical way of living that provides very little meaning. All “signs of guidance” are ignored to shift out of this state of “doing”. A path to being whole again becomes evident and a search for more meaning in one’s life begins.
These types of experiences appear dramatic, can be life-altering indeed, and are most assuredly just as intensely memorable in years to come. They are the voice of guidance encouraging us to pursue our journey in awareness. Sometimes, some of us require that extra assistance!
For some empaths, the lack of outside understanding towards paranormal events they experience, may lead to suppressing such abilities. (Most of these abilities are very natural and not a coincidence.) Empaths may unknowingly adopt the positive or negative attitude of others as their own. (This, however, can be overcome.) Empaths may need to follow interests in the paranormal and the unexplained with curiosity so as to explain and accept their life circumstances.
Words © Christel Broederlow
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Empaths Empowered 
28. Will not choose to buy antiques, vintage or second-hand: Anything that’s been pre-owned carries the energy of the previous owner. An empath will even prefer to have a brand new car or house (if they are in the financial situation to do so) with no residual energy
I agree with and see in myself everything written except the above……Empaths are strongly drawn to history, antiques and prehistoric artefacts. We have an intense curiosity about the past, and past lives etc
Hi Stuart.
You have touched upon a point that has been discussed many times over the years.
Number 28, on the list, is about the residual energy held within anything pre-owned.
To many Empaths, the energy held in antiques, and such, can feel cluttered, which is sometimes overwhelming or just too much for their senses. It has nothing to do with not enjoying feasting their eyes upon beautiful trinkets of old or not having a natural fascination for history.
But thanks for sharing. It will help other readers understand. 🙂
I wanted to ask about what Christine said about looking with curiosity to understand your life circumstance,well something weird has been happening in my life & I noticed that the same strange events has been sort of happening to other people as well but mine seems far worse.I wanted to understand what’s going on in my life but it seems just like a tragedy since other people are going through something similar,does this happen to other people? (should i really bother investigating what’s happening in my life if its supernatural related?)
And are most empaths confused as gay or feminine by normal people?
I got 26/30 on the list but I am still skeptical if I’m actually an Empath or not.
When I recall my experiences, I could feel the general mood in a place,but I naturally thought that everyone can also feel the energy and that it influce others to feel the same way as well (like if someone is unmotivated, then others would be as well) What’s the difference between that and an Empath? I’m not sure as well since I can’t really differentate indivual feelings fron other people; it’s just a cluster of emotions.
I am also intuitive; I could predict the future and determine what personality a person has with some degree of accuracy. It might be just a lucky concidence, but I keep my options opens to the conclusion. It’s just that I don’t like to label myself something I wasn’t so sure of.
People say I look friendly, but I don’t know why. I didn’t do anything special to make them like me so I don’t understand how they came to the conclusion so quickly at first glance. I just listen and talk about daily life like a decent person would do. Furthermore, people are surprised that I know a lot, especially for my age . It’s really obvious and it makes sense to me but it seems that others didn’t even consider about it before.I just hope that I’m not falling into confirmation bias.
Can someone help me clarify if I’m an Empath or not? Thanks
A great article.
Thanks a lot for that. Although the article is older, in my opinion it has gained in importance. It’s a very lively time out there and the world really needs empathy that accepts its nature as it is.
In my childhood I was expelled and they laughed at me because I was so different. Today I am so grateful for my empathy that I bring my knowledge and insights into the world. Since I speak several languages, I have started to tell people in the German-speaking world how great they are. With the Germans there is still a lot of catching up to do. 😉
Best wishes for you…
Myriam from
https://www.urantia-aufstieg.info
Thank you, Myriam. 🙂
I accidentally happened across your blog and began reading the 30 empath traits. I started crying uncontrollably because I have finally found that I am not strange, there are others out there like me.
I guess from about the 3rd grade (I’m 49 yrs. old now), I have always befriended those who I knew were teased because I could feel their loneliness and what it was like to not be liked or included at recess and I didn’t want them to feel that way. In a group of people, I am the only person who won’t laugh at someone’s mistake. I can feel their humiliation and embarrassment. At work I’ve been called Lucy Van Pelt (Peanuts…The Doctor is In) by my Postmaster because co-workers and mail customers tend to tell me really personal things. I could never explain that. I’ve had a moment where I would touch a person’s mail (mail customer of mine) before I got to his house and have a feeling of sexual perversion, mental abuse and physical abuse. I kept thinking of his death even though he was alive. Shortly afterwards, I touched his mail and didn’t feel anything anymore and I couldn’t explain it. Then one day I delivered his ashes to his elderly wife. I inquired about this man I had never met before with a friend of theirs and asked what kind of person he was. She said, “He was a monster.” I had a run in with a customer who yelled and screamed at the top of his lungs at me for skipping his blocked mail box. As I heard him out and then drove off, at first I took on his anger as my own. Then I thought, “No one gets this mad over mail, something is going on in his life.” Turns out his wife had breast cancer and the next day she came out yelling at me, accusing me of not caring about her (when I had no clue she had cancer). I drove away and immediately began to feel her fear of dying and leaving her 2 boys behind. I couldn’t shake it off of me. I became depressed as if I was the one who was living with her diagnosis. It took a lot for it to leave me.
I’ve walked into houses and felt a flood of either negative or positive emotions hit me at once. One house I could feel that everyone belittled each other and another house (on my route) I was invited into (victorian home) I could immediately hear the sound of all the laughter and good times that house has had fill its rooms. I could walk into businesses and get a strong sense of worry or sadness from the person sitting at the front counter. I found it extremely difficult to turn away and walk out the door, so I would always ask that person if something was wrong or if I could pray for them about something. There was always something bothering them.
I’ve always been able to read body language, pick up on people’s vibes, know to trust my initial gut reaction (although that came much later in life), I can tell when someone is lying and I cannot feel comfortable telling lies.
I have lower back problems that will never go away. I used to blame them on work, but now I know what the root cause is. I do not listen to the media and get very angry with people who believe anything without doing their research LIKE ME. I will research down to the minutia just so I can feel at peace. I hate going to parties, being around large groups and yes, my personal space and personal time is very important to me. I get to work an hour to an hour and a half early every day just so I can sit in my car and be by myself before I step into chaos. Then when I’m done for the day, I go back and sit in my car for about a half hour and decompress from the day’s stresses before I get on the road and go back home, where again, I sit in my car in the driveway for a little while more before I go into the house and have to deal with family things. My favorite books and movies have always been true crime stories because I was more interested in how a person thinks than focusing on the actual crime committed. I’m not a meat eater although I do like it very much. I DO NOT like to buy items second hand or antiques, and now I know why. I have an addictive personality, but my addiction is in people who can fill a void. It’s always one person at a time. Currently it’s a person who has amazing life experiences. His stories keep me captivated. Eventually I will get bored and pick another person to be captivated with. I get bored quickly at work and am in a constant state of frustration due to the fact that I cannot be me (the empathic) due to lots of rules that hinder my true personality. It’s also become mundane and confining to me. I pick up on the anger and frustration of all of my co-workers. It’s very exhausting to be at work. I am the person who gives out hugs to those who want them because I know the toll that job takes on everyone. It also releases a little stress for me also. They confide in me their concerns, which is even more frustrating to me because I want to help them but know I cannot. Instead, I try and get them to see that our bosses have bosses also. Everyone has to work under conditions that are less than idyllic.
My question is this, is this hereditary? I see the same traits in my oldest daughter. It is nice to see that I have a personality that is unique and I’m not weird or crazy. I will be able to recognize it when the negative traits arise and hopefully keep it under control. I can go from happy go lucky to raging lunatic in 0.1 seconds.
Thank you for this post. It literally has changed my life. I had just thought I had empathy only for people and was also a highly sensitive person, but I couldn’t explain all the other idiosyncrasies.
And thank you for sharing your story, Gina.
To answer your question, I believe sensitive traits are hereditary but they don’t always shape into Empath traits. The following post will help you better understand:
https://theknowing1.wordpress.com/2017/07/07/the-dark-side-of-sensitive-and-how-it-impacts-the-empath/
Diane
#NOT_ALONE
All my life I have had “deja Vue”, experiences of just “knowing” what is about to happen. I have learnt to stop finishing peoples sentences for them because I know what they are going to say – especially when the are talking about their emotions or a very emotional experience.
Paranormal always fascinated me and I have a thirst for knowledge of all things. I just want answers even for thr trivial problems.
I always wondered why people at work – or complete strangers – would just open up to me about their problems, and why aftewards I always felt tired, upset or just cranky.
I have always known when someone is angry, upset or sad even if they put on the brave face and tell me “nothing is wrong”, and if they are close to me even if they are hundreds of miles away….this has led to many arguments in relationships.
I have always been labelled “moody”, and since childhood been frustrated that at all of the sudden, quite literally out of the blue, I would go from being happy to feeling like the world was on my shoulders for no apparent reason.
I’ve always known instinctively if someone is lying to me. I’ve always played the diplomat in arguments and been able to see both sides clear as day when others seemed totally blind.
I have always found myself in public places feeling a cacophony of emotions and being able to watch someone getting upset and just know what they are feeling and felt frustrated that the person they may be talking to cannot see what I can see. For this reason I have always shunned crowds or busy public places unless neccessary..they always feels like being the only sober person in a room full of drunkards. I have always found I prefer my own solitary company because I can day dream without feeling the woes of others for a while. Just sat outside, on my own, listening to the sounds of nature is about the only place I can relax.
And I have had a lifetime of “mystery” ailements..IBS, FybroMyalgia, aches, pains, mildly unwell feeling, random swellings on my face and hands, headaches, pains in my abdomen…yet a not a single doctor can diagnose anything wrong. In fact I gave up on doctors several years ago and just learnt to accept I would randomly feel some ailment for a day or two, but I would not actually end up ill. Now I these things happen when I get exposed too much to someone’s negative emotions.
I am now 50 years old and I have only in the last year or so with the help of my wonderful wife found out who I am. It has been a very tiring journey, but now I am able to explore myself and understand why I feel like I do. I am finally learning how to protect myself from the wave of external emotions I get exposed to daily and channel my “gift”.
It seems the life of an empath is not easy but it sure is not boring either.
Thank you so much for sharing, Paul. 🙂
Insight into how déjà vu happens
Déjà vu can also be a neurological symptom. The same sensation, with exactly the same features, is often reported by patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.
Recordings of the brain prior to surgery for temporal epilepsy offer some insight into the mechanisms of déjà vu. In the brain, part of the temporal cortex lies just below the hippocampus. Seizure discharges from this temporal cortex simultaneously activate two circuits in the hippocampus.
One circuit monitors our ongoing experience of the outer world. The other retrieves past memories. The simultaneous activation compresses time between the two brain functions, causing us to “remember the present,” or experience déjà vu.
When déjà vu signals a problem
Déjà vu may suggest a neurological problem when it:
Occurs frequently (a few times a month or more often versus a few times a year)
Is accompanied by abnormal dream-like memories or visual scenes
Is followed by loss of consciousness and/or symptoms such as unconscious chewing, fumbling, racing of the heart, or a feeling of fear
If there is any doubt about the cause of déjà vu, it is important to consult a neurologist.
Apart from epilepsy, déjà vu has been observed in vascular dementia and more rarely in other dementias. Patients with fronto-temporal dementia experience persistent déjà vu and fabricate stories about their current life to rationalize the illusion.
it really doesn’t surprise me that you live in OZ, the aborigines understand the dream time, i believe that you are an empath, and a good one, your facts are spot on, so, i am impressed, the world desperately needs people like you, a lot of empaths end up, going to shrinks, and are given drugs, and, non empaths, treat empathy, as a mental illness, instead of the real reason behind the problems their experiencing, ive been an empath my whole life, and, i found, that helping others was a lot easier than understanding and dealing with my own problems, i always told people, don’t try to climb inside of my head, you wont like, what you find in there, how do i describe myself ? an enigmatic paradox, religion, eclectic, my whole life has been, rich kid, snob, then a long downward spiral, to homeless, trying to work out, what is my group, where do i belong, vegetable, having to reinvent myself, from the ground up, then the climb back up the ladder, to a place of being content, with where ime at, and who, and what i am, abuse just bounces off, but, i wont tolerate other people getting bullied, conflict i can handle, but no defence against people being genuinely nice, yep, i have my dark side, but my demon is kept locked in a metal box with chains, it takes a lot of control, to keep it in their, result control freak, also there’s only just so much of other peoples vibes that can be absorbed, without having time to get grounded again, so, do you think i fit the pattern ?
I’m an empath. I’m the type the can feel other emotional energy and take it on. At work I’d brighten the place up. It was miserable place then with in 15 minutes of me being things go better. It was woman there who informed me I’m empath. I still remember them sending me into the CEO’s office, he was so angry about his email not working. Beat red face on verge of heart attack. I go in, fix his email and absorbed all his anger. He was bubbly and happy when I left, I didn’t say two words to him. I felt incredibly drained after. Like carry a huge weight. I found walking in nature that as I walk the weight comes off.
The dark part though is when I’m burden with lot of emotional energy I can unleash it on others. I have in the past. I scared people in ways like they have never experienced. Dumping a mix of emotional energies on someone cause immense fear in nonempaths. I once expelled so much energy in this way at house party that whole party stopped and they were all staring at me. Creepy is all I can say.
Thanks for sharing, Chris. 🙂
I’m not sure if I’m a empath. I’ve never noticed that I absorb other people’s emotions as my own. However, I do match with most of the other traits: 23/30.
As a young child, I’ve known that I’m different from the other students. I don’t fathom why they have to keep up with the latest treads and take random pictures of themselves,foods,places.etc online (social media). To me, that is a big waste of my time.I am quite empathic about other’s people feelings and strive to help whenever I can to the point that they thought I was too innocent and pure. Social gatherings drain me, but that may also mean I’m an introvert.
P.S.Either empaths are super rare, or I’ve never met one yet in my life.
So I want to know for sure if I’m an empath, I’ve been on tons of sites and I’ve matched up to all of them besides one. I don’t normally have crazy mood swings that I’m aware. But before when I was looking it up I learned different ways to heal and so I decided to try and work with them. So my best friend and I sat on the floor and we held hands and she mood her hands away because she said she felt a tingly from my hands, she put them back on and she’s a person who is very stressed and has a lot of her plate so I just imagined all of the negative stuff leaving her body and entering mine and then leaving me and I think I could feel the ways of energy and she said she felt it moving out of her the same way I was feeling before I explain to her. So I don’t know. I don’t want to think I am one but then just turn around being an overly helpful person, which one of the empath text told me I’m the moon goddess empath (which I can not express to you how much I’ve always loved the moon, stars and sun) and that I was also an over helpful empath and need to learn to cleanse myself. I don’t know if you can help me clarify but I love this post❤️
Hi Olivia,
There are many traits associated with being an Empath but the main one is feeling other people’s emotions and energy (as well having a strong sense of empathy towards others). There are certain traits that come and go over the course of an Empath’s life. And some result because of taking on too much emotional energy, from others, as well as being out of balance.
Depending how in balance one is, as a human, also has a massive impact on how the Empath shows up in the world (hence certain traits coming and going).
So I wouldn’t get too hung up on not having certain experiences. If you are an Empath you will probably know it already 🙂
Many Empaths go through life feeling ‘different’, isolated and alone. They often find it difficult being around people, because of what they feel, and don’t understand why. ‘The Traits’ are there as a guide to help the Empath identify their gift and to let them know they are not alone.
Oh and be careful when taking on other people’s negative energy. If you don’t transmute it properly it can sit in your energy field and have a rebound effect.
Thanks for sharing
(And I also love the sun, moon and stars… especially the moon.)
People have always told me how kind I was and would ask why I was nice to everyone when they weren’t nice to me and I use to just answer because it felt like the right thing to do because you never knew what someone was going through, and I mean people have used the words “kind”, “caring” and are starting to use “protective” about me since I was a little girl. I had only recently read an article about empath a before I started searching it more. My mother is always a very kind heart and strong person and we’ve both always been in love with the shows that have to do with empath and all of the above. I always use to joke when I was little with her “what if that’s me” but ever since I found it and researched more it really does seem to draw me in. Ive always loved being outside and it grew as I got older. I love being in water even though I’m not a great swimmer, I have just became over fascinated with wanting to plant a graded and with doing different things to help the environment and my own health. I just don’t know 100% and that makes me nervous. But also almost all the traits belong to me and some to my mother. “Bad” people always tend to come into our lives and especially for me it’s like people come into my life when they are at their worst (many people who are completely closed up people) and they completely open up to me and I help them with my opinion, telling them mostly it’s okay to feel the way you do because your feeling are yours and you have the right to act the way you want in an emotional situation as long as you’re not hurting others. And I’ll continue to help them and a lot CONSTANTLY tell me how they never thought of it that way or how it makes a lot of sense and that even talking to me helps more than anything. Also (lol I know I’m going on but it interests me so much) many people have told me I have a very comfortable, soothing voice that they find drawn too. My current boyfriend (we’ve had an on and off relationship but not getting into it😇) is a very closed person, and still is slightly to me but he told me (one time when we were fighting) that no matter what happen to us he wouldn’t be able to forget me because he’d never opened up or loved someone before like me (which I know comes with relationships but he is a very private person and it surprised me). I deal with pain very oddly. It’s hard for me to close people off because I just never want to shut someone off at the wrong time and then something happen. And when I do feel things I tend to feel them intensely, like the last break my boyfriend and I took was completely horrible. I felt like I was trying to sort out more than just my emotions and I knew it was because I didn’t want him hurting and every time I thought of him I just tried to think of him being happy and painless about it. And it was a rough spot for me but it also helped me a lot and I gained the mentally of no matter what I’m feeling it either couldn’t get worse and I’d stay the same and eventually get use to it or it would get better. Also (lol again) one article I read said that sometimes for people it doesn’t come till they’ve had a near death experience. I’ve been in some “almost” really bad car accidents over the past few years and even when I was a child I almost got into a bad one. Idk if that article was true but everyone of the ones I’ve been in or almost in I was the only one completely calm compared to everyone else and none of them we anywhere close to as bad as they should’ve been. Idk I just want to know or maybe I’m just putting all these things together and thinking they are somehow connected. I know there is different gifts and “if” I am one and it’s possible to have more than one, my strongest one is definitely my dreaming. My mother has the too because one time I was her diary (shhh) and she wrote them down. If I’m ever to stressed out I won’t dream and if something bad is happening while I’m asleep I don’t dream. But I’ve had serval and I mean probably 80% at least of my dreams come true, it started a little after freshman year of high school that I noticed it. And it’s amazing because I know that I’m dreaming and I’m able to get as much detail as possible or enjoy it the best as possible. Again I don’t know, maybe I’m just wanting to be something I’m not and idk if you can help me anymore than you already have, which thank you thank you thank you so much for, but yeah ☺️
I don’t know how to explain this, I’m 29 out of the 30 points listed here. I used to think that I was crazy because of watching too much scifi movies. I’ve been like this since I was 8. I used to copy peoples personally at age 13-14 specially my older brother’s friends who were in their early 20s back then.
Im really good at many things and never knew why, but reading this today right now I can EXACTLY EXPLAIN where or from whom each of my knowledge/« ability »/gift comes from:
-my first tallent from early âge was drawing from my mom, a fashion designer.
-science and religion from my dad professor in Arabic and Islamic study. He speaks many language. Now I speak 4 languages growing up and only went to school for french, I pick up English in few months, started working in a company in usa 6 days after coming from a french speaking country.
-i used to make small car model, then afterward learned 3D design and thaugh my little brother, he become one of the best 3D visualiser in my country. I don’t know if i was getting his vibes or talent when we first started but somehow I feel like he was destined to do that.
-one of my older brother was really good in mechanics industrial design and that’s what I end up doing and was one of the best.
-i switched field after that BS and did IT/Computer science, the only thing I did which I don’t think anyone in my immediate surrround did.
Is it possible that, the same way I’m getting their emotional vibes, I’m also getting their passions on stuff they do?
This empathy thing explains a lot about my two failed marriage. Always felt like clashing with my partner, felt like we had the same personalities even tho both of them were different. I understand now that what I was feeling was their feelings and I needed to help them not fight them or push on them the same feelings.
Hi Fadboard,
Yes, I believe it is possible. Also many Empaths love learning new subjects and trades.
You may find the following posts helpful:
https://theknowing1.wordpress.com/2015/12/16/are-you-a-multipotentialite-empath/
https://theknowing1.wordpress.com/2016/07/15/are-you-a-boggart-empath/
Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Wonderful post about how to harness the power of being an empath!
I want to present my view on the topic with you.
A lot of articles and videos about empaths talk about empaths taking everybody else energy and then make it seem as though as weakness.
I found out that I am an empath by accident. I would always find myself being very sensitive to other people’s moods, their thoughts, their energies.
For instance, you wake up in a great mood, ready to take on a day. You go into this place and you don’t why but you just feel there is clutter, there is a whole bunch of energetic noise inside your head and suddenly you start feeling frustrated, angry, depressed and you don’t why and where this energy is coming from.
9 out of 10 that energy doesn’t belong to you.
And If you manage to successfully protect your energy from others negativity, some of them are purely energy vampires or narcissists, you will save your emotional body from being overwhelmed by dark energy.
Blessings.
Thanks for sharing, Martha. 🙂
I’m so glad other people share the same problems I’ve had since i was a child although im actually not sure if I am an empath . I’ve never really ever researched what i was feeling as i felt I was just abit abnormal . ever since I was young I’ve been able to tell what people are feeling/ thinking even if they hide it I can tell , happy , sad ,lonely , troubled i feel it all which has made it very hard for me to trust people .I can tell just by meeting some one if they are good person or not (i’m always spot on ).when people lie i can tell straight away. Just being near some one Angry stresses me out and makes me feel uncomfortable. Being in groups of people makes me stressed even with my family/ friends I’ve quite understood that. I just feel uneasy and stressed dealing with people but not animals i feel they get me on some strange level. In the past I’ve been able to sense if some one or a place will cause me harm , I’d get chills and my whole body would freeze and the fear of god would fill me with dread and despair.some times in my life so far I’ve had weird feelings of people or pets that i cant explain using words It’s like i could sense they were going to die :s it sounds so crazy . For example a few months back i met one of my work friends partner for the first time he looked like he looked abit under the weather as he caught his partners cold but just from looking at him and hearing his cough i felt uneasy and felt he was alot sicker then he was even though to everyone else he looked normal . But 2 weeks later after meeting him , my friend didnt come to work and i had horrible feeling that he had died which in fact was the case on the same day i felt it .
Like others have said before me i do tend to attract people that tell me everything about their life more so when i was younger i think my pissed off face tends to scare most of them off .
How ever there is some thing that has bugged me more as ive gotten older (im 28 by the way) i struggle to go in hospitals and care homes for the elderly it makes me feel so poorly and sick. I feel tired and like im going to be sick . It makes me feel like getting out of there the minute im there . If any one else has ever felt this way please let me know as im hoping im not the only one .
I dont have all the traits as the above as i love routine (obsessive compulsive disorder.) but i would love to hear peoples take on the whole hospital thing
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Hi Justine,
What you have just shared is so common with many of us Empaths. It is a common trait to pick up on others’ suffering and take their symptoms on (the more out of balance one is the longer the symptoms last), which can make it difficult to be around anyone who is suffering physically (especially in hospitals or nursing homes) or feeling strong negative emotions.
Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I’m so glad I found the term to describe myself. Ever since I was a toddler (seriously I have vivid memories as early as 2 years old) I could I feel and consciously knew I was different and could feel the feel the positive and negative emotions of others when I looked at them walking through a mall, the park, etc. but taught myself as a child into my teenage to block it out and not get emotionally invested because it used to physically hurt (like heart chest pain hurt) but couldn’t explain it to my parents or doctors who thought it was my imagination. I used to get deja by all the time when I was a child and into my teenager year but blocked it out…it’s not as frequent now that I’m a young adult but it still happens occasionally. Like I’ve mentioned, I suppressed and tuned out my knowing “gut” feeling/energy for many years when I was younger as it was so draining and now that I’ve brought it back up within the past 4 years I’m feeling drained again. I may have to shelve it again. I feel for the people who haven’t learned how to turn this energy on and off when required…it’s an incredible talent and gift.
I do have an excellent emotional sensory memory and can recall events in great detail as well as the background details. I’m a daydreamer when something is mundane and my dreams are very vivid and can remember them in great detail. I do have a quest or thirst for knowledge and thirst for knowing, especially knowing the people close to me. I’m also the family historian and geneologist.
One ability I’ve known I had was I can draw energy. Every where I go and waiting in line I seem to stike up conversations and people will vent personal information to me or people will choose me to cut in front of line though there are large gaps in the line for people to cross. Even strangers who were waiting in line with me have commented that I seem to draw and exhibit an inviting positive energy.
Speaking of the paranormal or me just projecting energy…at night if I’m walking down the street at night the street lights will turn off completely or flicker as I walk by but go back to normal once I’ve passed a distance. My friends find it hilarious but also scary too. This I can’t turn off but I know I can manipulate energy into positive or negative energy when required, especially in tense situations – egging it on or ending it.
Interestly, I was born with a strawberry birthmark in the shape of a perfect heart (which often gets mistaken as a tattoo).
Thanks for sharing your very interesting story. 🙂
My name is Danny. I am an empath. It was very hard trying to discover the truth of my suffering at certain tomes when I couldn’t explain why. One day while my wife was combing her hair with her back toward me I felt a pain in chest Everything time she Strokes her hair. When She turned She was actually crying. This happened decades after I had a dream of a deceased child which was killed by her father as he backed up the car to exit the house. I had never seen the child nor did I ever visit her house. Her mother was a librarían which I didnt know well either. I almost went crazy when I found out later that She was the librarians daughter. As I said decades went by until that incidente with my wife. Now I’m more sensitive as ever. I am currently a school teacher and have had increíble experiences with students and collegues. I need to comunicate with other people like me. Thank you. God bless you.
Diane, thank you so much for replying to me! Your output just gave me so much peace. Im so glad for your understanding. I dont really have anyone to talk about this, people around me dont understand me. they think im crazy.
You’re very welcome, Sidney.
It was quite a shock when I read about empaths, I felt like it described a lot of what happens to me; however, im not sure, i think that anybody can read the traits and feel the same way.
Mostly empaths seem like really nice, and loving people, but lately, Im not feeling so nice and kind. There are some people that I just dont like, some even without really talking to them, without giving them a chance to get to know them. Some, Ive been “friends” with them for a long time and know I just cant stand them anymore. Im sick of them. I dont think thats very “empath” of me.
Also, its so true that I always end up bonding with people that is really sad and broken, and i feel their pain so much….but after a while, i get sick and tired, and i cant deal with them anymore. I feel guilty for that. When they get so needy, and they want to spend more time with me, it repels me. Even more when I try to cheer them up and all they want is just to keep on being miserable… I cant I cant. Then everyone thinks Im a bad person because I just start to put distance with them and finally just stop talking to them completely. I feel really bad for that, but I dont know how to stop it. It’s just sooo tiring.
Sidney,
What you describe is common amongst Empaths and HSPs.
Because they are great listeners, Empaths tend to get dumped on with everyone else’s woes. It can become like a drug for some when they know they are being truly listened to (as Empaths do). However, many Empaths are drawn to certain others because they feel an inner-calling to either help get them out of their victim mentality or help them make the necessary changes to turn their life around. When it becomes obvious the other person has no intention of taking self-responsibility, or making any changes, many Empaths back away or otherwise get taken down by negative energy.
Being repelled by others is often an inner-protective mechanism. The repugnance is a way to keep us away from said person. Otherwise, they can cause us damage with their draining negativity.
Also, by allowing others to repeatedly indulge in defeatist, destructive talk we are not helping them. And we cannot help anyone who will not help themselves.
Hope this perspective helps you understand that being repelled does not make you a bad person.
This post may also help you: https://theknowing1.wordpress.com/2014/05/19/knowing-the-time-to-let-go-of-toxic-people/
Thanks for sharing.
I feel this way also! What you described is EXACTLY how I feel…to the T. I guess I should not be so hard on myself because now I know there are others out there that feel like I do. I used to think of myself as a horrible friend, but now I know there is a reason why I feel like I do towards people and also why I can’t keep “friends” (who were never really friends).
Also, check out the Myers Briggs Personality test. Carl Jung’s baby. INFJs. No clue about that stuff. Very rare personality. Empath. Cool. Interesting.
Peace
Ben
Very interesting story! i would love to know more about it! I also have a strawberry heart shaped birthmark. thats what stood out to me the most. where is yours on your body?
I’m a recovering drug addict/felon that has had one helluva crazy life. I’ve been in treatment for a year now and psycho therapy has been part of it. Ive been blessed to have gotten a therapist who has been able to get me to open up. In recent weeks she started throwing some real crazy stuff at me about whether what i was feeling was truly mine or someone elses. She upped my appts to twice a week and then really poured on the crazy. But shes not crazy. And apparently neither am I. She herself is an empath and she’s telling me I’m one as well. Sure explains a lot. I’m30 for 30 on that list. It’s real strong. Almost unbearable sometimes. A friend of mine committed suicide this weekend and I keep feeling his torment and anguish leading up to it over and over. I even knew what he was wearing. I could feel something coming for weeks. My amazing therapist is giving me as much grounding tools as she can but it gets so heavy. She gave me some sage and an obsidian charm to help. One of my main problems is there’s a part of me that loves the pain that comes with it all. Instead of a closing where i ask to stay grounded, i ask that my vessel be protected while i leave it. Writing this right now is nuts for me. I’ve always been attracted to the paranormal but NEVER thought i was living it. My therapist is highly encouraging me to stay within myself but i cant help but want to astroproject. I’ve been doing it my whole life but never realized. Lucid dreaming, knowing things that i shouldn’t and being able to play someones life in my head like a movie…and be right. Crazy. Anyway, im thrilled to have found you. I need all the help i can get.
Mike
Thanks for sharing, Mike. 🙂
Anytime I meet someone new, even if it’s a clerk at a store, I will get a vibe instantly whether that person is a decent, honest & loyal person or a POS fake. I’ve never been wrong. I feel everyone’s emotions, even on tv or a movie. I can give advice but can’t take it. I could go on and on.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
I think this article is all about me coz i read this and my mind flashback’s into something i’ve done like. I want to share my experience about this, i had a fiend had problems that she cant say it aloud thenwe go into corner and i held her hand and all of her feeling got connected with me and i just think that she had to release it and next thing i know all of her problems, she just said it to me out of nowhere and then after that i felt week and my knees turned into jelly, and it was like someone drained my energy away from. And next when we have a free we do pick and split, and i never lost that game i dont way but everytime we do that i just know their going to release if it is paper, rock or scissors and i think that im so weird so i never play it again. And sometimes i am very happy but im sad and i felt that happines is not my feeling but the sad one is mine and when i looked at my friends, they are all happy. But i never done the healing part i dont know how to but i want to do it for the other who will got hurt i wanted to comfort or heal the,
I got a reading last night, and the lady got weird feelings and tingles from me, she was asking me questions and everything made so much sense, even the cards that i had chosen, and it was very eye opening for me as i have always been a believer but this just completely made my mind up. I get panic attacks out of the blue in social situations and i have no idea why, I can never watch anything down or depressing and it’s like something physically stops me. After reading all the traits, i’d say all of them are spot on bar a few, i guess i would like to know how do i start learning how to control these feelings?
Hi Breanna,
Try these posts to see if they help:
https://theknowing1.wordpress.com/2016/04/04/defining-the-emotions-an-empath-feels-in-others/
https://theknowing1.wordpress.com/2016/03/25/emotional-freedomcan-tapping-clear-your-emotions/
https://theknowing1.wordpress.com/2016/04/28/5-ways-to-stop-empath-overwhelm-in-an-instant/
https://theknowing1.wordpress.com/2016/06/02/residual-energy-and-how-it-impacts-the-empath/
🙂 🙂 🙂
occasionally I encounter someone that instantly gets my guard up. most often I meet and interact with people that I get good vibes from. I get feelings’ about animals, and whether or not to approach them, and I can quiet a dog from barking by saying things to him in my mind. sometimes I cant eat meat, or even an egg because I can “see” the animal it seems. as a child I recall a very disturbing dream which later came true, and as an adult, a “message” that came RUSHING into my head about someone, that also came true. I tend to enjoy my quiet time the most, and feel exhausted at times by too much interaction with others. I have to be in the right “mood” to go shopping, at times I have been overwhelmed and had to leave a store/mall and didn’t know why. people talk to me/strangers wherever I go…its like meeting best friends whenever im out! most recently and prior to, one particular person I met well over a year ago, I get “vibes”, I don’t know how to explain it. im sitting here minding my own business, then WHAM, its like im getting a message from him, or about him….of sadness, fear, happiness, everything. there was a period of time we had lost contact, but I “knew” everything that was happening in his life. after reconnecting with him he told me what had been going on and surprisingly I wasn’t that surprised! HE was surprised and intrigued to learn that I had this gift/curse lol because I had told him things he had not yet divulged. and now its happening again. in fact, earlier today I closed my eyes and imagined squeezing his hand, telling him it was going to be ok, although we have not had contact in some time…I felt the urge…and after I did, I giggled, because I swear he sent me a funny message. this seems to be a very strong connection. too many things have happened that i can not ignore. i can see things unfolding in situations that others seem to be oblivious to; i can totally predict an outcome, but i sluff it off as past experience which has taught me what usually happens. lol strangely enough, i occasionally have chats with my pet, and I think he understands me….sometimes I tell him I miss him coming into my bed in the morning to wake me up, and the next morning he does, stuff like that. on an ongoing basis, I get vibes from almost everyone I meet, mostly good, thankfully, but some I get chills from. because of all of this, I am learning patience, I am learning to go with my gut, and that timing around my mood is imperative, if I need to be out and about. I get rest when my body tells me to, I can tell when I need to be alone, and I try to get home quick if I have to. am I just a bit intuitive or actually going crazy? ha!
Definitely intuitive 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
I also have a recent experience of stranger approaching me. I was waiting for the bus when an old granny came over to me and started talking. During that time I was utterly exhausted and didn’t feel like responding much, so I just nodded and smiled. Then, she started talking about God. She told me that a New World is approaching, one free from disease, suffering and wars. She asked my, smiling, if I’d wanted to live in the New World. How could she knows of this, I wondered, her being so old and likely without Internet.
Sometimes good things do happen and just out of the blue :).
Thanks for sharing, Jon. 🙂
I felt alright today. However, at work, everyone was quiet and seemingly miserable. As I was focusing on a task, I noticed an overwhelming sense of depression and worthlessness come over me. I am home now and am feeling better. I haven’t been much depressed since I discovered spirituality, so this episode took me by surprise. I felt as if though I do not want to do anything, just disappear in to oblivion.
I wish I could work in a small team with plenty of time to myself. Unfortunately, my work days last for at least 10 hours, during which I’m either surrounded by people or engaged with them. I am always puzzled at how stupid, rude and brainwashed most people are, but of course I know that you can’t think in such a way. Almost every day when I come home I have no motivation or energy for anything, though thankfully this disappears over the weekend and I am able to enjoy myself.
It’s time for me for another change.
I’ve always felt that I am an empath but I am a little concerned about what I have been experiencing lately. I am caring for my elderly aunt whose health has deteriorated since she fell and broke her hip last year. She developed an issue with a toe on her left foot which resulted in her toenail falling off. Within 2-3 days, my toenail on the left foot (same toe as hers) fell off for no apparent reason. A week ago, she developed a blood-filled blister inside of her mouth. This morning, I woke up with a blood-filled blister inside of my left cheek and I’ve never had a blister like that before. Needless to say, I am a little worried that I’m absorbing too much of her energy/illness. Any recommendations?
How are you in yourself, Grace? Are you feeling rundown or tired? The reason I ask is because when the immune system is low, the Empath is more vulnerable to picking up and manifesting (mimicking) other people’s ailments. I too have experiencing this on occasions in the past, especially when I’ve been out-of-balance.
Building up the immune system through good food, supplements and rest will help, as well as using daily protection/grounding techniques.
A quick and easy grounding technique to use is standing/walking barefoot, on the grass or a beach, whilst mentally anchoring into the Earth (imagining roots coming from one’s feet helps with this). This will help transfer the Earth’s electrons from the ground into your body, which can have many redeeming health benefits. This post also has many techniques to use to help stay grounded: https://theknowing1.wordpress.com/panacea/
Hope it helps and thanks for sharing. 🙂
Good point Diane. Been a bit wonky here in my world and that is saying a lot without saying anything. I am the health but. Nothing gets through…………But it did. I got sick! Impossible! There were extenuating circumstances tho lol. The waves of sadness I never thought I would feel again. Sea salt ::D
Nice. Well no rocket fuel here. Breathe in and Out 😉
Diane, thank you for your recommendations, I will certainly try them. I have been feeling very rundown as my aunt’s illness is taking a toll on me. I will take better care of myself so that I can continue caring for her. Love and light to you.
Grace
Thank you, Grace. 🙂
for me the hardest thing is knowing something bad is going to happen in the env and i can not stop it the other is walking in to a building and being creeped out for no reason. shivers, emotional over load, pains, overwhelmed and need time alone in nature to recharge my batteries. i am very much a loner and lover of nature and understand pets and animals totally. do not like with too many people too much stimuli.
Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Finally. For years I have had complete strangers come up to me everywhere, grocery stores, etc, and pour out their life stories. My husband us so used to it, he just walks away until they are done or I manage to get away. I teach as preschool, 4 and 5 year olds. I know what they are thinking or feeling. Thanks for this post. So clear now.
You’re welcome, Lisa. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Thank you ! Can i write in french… I want to tell you all i want to say for you. Sorry, if is not okay but I really want… Sorry.
Tout d’abord, je voulais vous remercier pour ce que vous avez écris. J’ai tout le temps cherché ce que j’avais, qui j’étais et pourquoi je réagissais d’une certaine façon sans que les autres ne puissent vraiment me comprendre. En même temps, je ne me comprenais pas non plus. Je me suis auto diagnostiqué plusieurs troubles en voulant me comprendre, parce que je ne savais pas comment l’expliquer aux psychologues. Mais en lisant tout ça… J’ai tellement eu envie de pleurer, pas parce que je me sent triste, mais parce que vous m’avez donné la réponse ultime que je cherchais… Cela fait énormément de bien, je me sent enfin comprise et libérée… Et vous avez raison, je me lance dans un projet de devenir assistante social pour pouvoir aider les autres et en comprenant tout ça, ça m’encourage encore plus a vouloir le faire ! J’adore ce que je suis, j’adore comprendre et j’adore savoir ! Pour rien au monde je ne voudrai changer.
J’ai fais mon auto-biographie et en aillant fait cela, je sais d’où vient tous mes comportements et ma façon de voir. J’ai vécu des choses comme tout le monde et quand je les voit dans une situations qui m’a ressemblé( ou pas ), j’aime aider les malheureux parce que ça me rend heureuse de pouvoir leur donner de l’aide et des réponses que je n’ai pas eu moi même. Ce que certains ressentent ou me racontent, me plonge immédiatement dans un état imaginaire où je vois, où je construit ce qu’il me raconte et où je peux carrément me sentir à sa place. J’aime et j’adore, même parfois on me trouve bizarre. Je sentais que je commençais a me diriger vers un chemin de guérison, mais je ne savais pas lequel. Aujourd’hui, je sais et je vous remercie sincèrement !
Merci et encore merci !
You’re very welcome. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I agree wiyh so much ,yet still feel as thought Im still in a very lonely place ,I just want help
Hi Ian,
It can feel like an incredibly lonely path to walk at times, but once we get to grips with our gifts and find balance the path becomes much easier to walk.
When we reconnect with our Self we become empowered and the sense of isolation and emotional pain is greatly reduced.
There are lots of posts on this blog aimed at helping the Empath find balance. You may also find help here: https://theknowing1.wordpress.com/books/
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you for this information. I have been an empathy for many years. I now know why I have felt and done many of the things I did. At this stage my feelings have switched to animals. I have a very strong connection to them and feel it’s my life purpose to help. I have been visualizing and using laws of attraction to help me in my quest to fulfill what I feel I need to do. Any help and advise would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time and consideration. Blessings and love to all. Cat Buck
Shucks
I want to say thank you for this page Diane. One day I was sitting at my computer wondering
why I was so hyper sensitive to things and people around me so I typed in something like,
“super empathetic personality” or something like that. It didn’t take long for me to see a
page called “Are you a Empath?” and right at seeing that title something inside me…
I’m having trouble describing it, like a light bulb just turned on you know?
I scored a 29 out of 30 by the way!
Long story short I felt that I should start my own blog by a Empath for Empaths aimed partially
to reviewing movies, and other things like that, having Empath sensitivities in mind.
P.S. If it’s against some sort of blog oriented posting etiquette or ethics to mention I have
my own blog please forgive me. I’m quite new at this whole thing.
You’re welcome. And yes, I completely get your light bulb moment. 😉
Good luck with your blog. Sounds interesting.
🙂
Thank you for wishing me luck!
Have a great day!
I am absolutely amazed at this. I sat down with my younger brother of 4 yrs and we went down the list and had a strong 28/30. I will be 44 in one week and have been dealing with my thought process for a very long time. I do consider myself lucky having a thought process like this, but it can be a blessing and a curse. I still have to train my brain so to speak in a few of the traits posted above. I and my brother are looking forward to reading this all especially every comment. Thank you Diane Kathrine for listing those traits as it gives me something to appreciate daily, “Me and my Brother/Best friends are not the only ones living with these exact challenges”. I am open to conversation questions or any feedback. aciscore@yahoo.com Subject: Empaths
Day by Day,
KJM
You’re welcome and thanks for sharing. 🙂
its killing me and making life at time unbearable. where do i go from here??
Hi Mel, Sorry for the very late moderation. You do not need to be suffering so. There are many posts on this blog aimed at guiding Empaths towards a happier, healthier life. You could also check out the books page which go into greater detail on all things ‘Empath’: https://theknowing1.wordpress.com/books/
I have a lot to say but don’t know where to start and don’t know how to say it. I feel ashamed and embarrassed, I am almost middle aged and your article is the first real explanation I have ever found after looking, reading and asking for as long as I can remember. What you said is me, no less than 99% of it, has been that way as far back as my memory can go and I have struggled with it for just as long and more and more it seems the older I get. I know people without knowing them, I know how they really are just by seeing them I have always called it my gut feeling. It’s a good and a bad thing, good because people who knew me best would always come to me if they started dating someone for my opinion and it kept me away from people I knew would be trouble, if that makes sense. Bad because I tend to end up with people because I know they are decent deep down and I often think if they realize what I see they would be changed, people don’t work that way though so I now remain mostly to myself, I don’t talk to anyone, I cut ties with everyone that I could.
My closest friend said I had something special but he couldn’t put a finger on it, he said I was never wrong in knowing who someone really was and what they were like, no matter how many other people would disagree with me about the same person even if some said they have known the person for years and know them intimately, I would know them more and know more about the real them. He was the only person I had ever opened up to about it to this day. We used to talk about it at length. Sadly I lost him over 4 years ago and it has haunted me because knowing people, everyone, so well without knowing them and knowing him and being more than best friends, more than brothers, I didn’t see it coming. Somehow I missed it, it just never came to me and I don’t know why. Any other person, anywhere, I could tell you exactly what they are like, what they are about, just by looking at them and he was no different but he was different, and for some reason I haven’t been able to answer why I never saw it coming. Life is life.
I apologize for such a long story, I could go on forever, you have given me so many answers, in a way. I wish I could of known this years ago, heck, even when I was young it would of helped through so much. I don’t know what to do with it still though. It seems to be more of a curse than a blessing. You are correct in saying how some people wish they could shut it off, it would be fabulous to be ignorant to things, it would make it peaceful. I love sitting outside late at night because it’s the only time I can, for the most part, just relax and not have ‘everything’ going on. Looking up at the stars. It only works, meaning I can fully relax and enjoy it, if I’m somewhere away from most people. I never knew why, I always thought it was because I liked being out in the country type setting, which I do but that’s because there aren’t as many people, lol, but I never knew why only then I was at peace.
I agree with you completely on things being worse these days, I hate being around people, I really do. I used to say I could smell a lie from a thousand miles away, now I know I’m not crazy, I think that is the most important part of all of your article and I thank you for that. I thank you because for once I have answers to so many questions.I’m embarrassed that I have been so blind to me, to understand myself and why I have always felt and known things yet had no clue of how, I seriously thought I was crazy and thought I must be wrong even though my whole life I have been proven right again and again. Wrapping my head around this is probably going to take even more time, I like knowing now that there is a reason, how it is so is difficult to understand. How can I maybe change my life, my world, with this new knowledge that I am still clueless about, maybe it can’t. But maybe miracles do exist.
Thanks for sharing, BKT. Your story is one I’m sure many will relate to. 🙂
Finding this was post and having my brother/Best friend sit down and have a strong 28/30 traits just blows my mind. Thank you Diane Kathrine. My brother is 4 yrs younger as I will be 44 in one week, we both had a normal childhood till ages 11 and 7. Couple events we both went through I truly think made us who we are and could argue that could have been a contributing factor as to why we posses as many of the traits. We have both received counseling multiple times throughout the years, but never had any answers to why we know certain things and why we have such a demanding thought process. I have tried my best with the good traits I have while also struggling to retrain my brain to deal with the bad ones. I can not change who I am, but I have been able to turn some negative to positive. Both me and my brother have to fight one day at a time as some of these traits can get in the way of what is somewhat normal daily funtions. We also feel thankful because we are known by friends and family to be genuinely good people. I also have used a few traits to further myself in my profession with only a few years of college. I think with any individuals personality, traits, thought process it is a continual work in progress, as my thoughts are typically my worse enemy! That along with 28/30 of the above traits is what and how I have made it this far. I still have much room for improvement. I also would like to thank everyone for the comments as just the few I read thus far are helpful. We only just begun as the first two definitions we found did not tell us 28 traits that come as close to perfect as definitions to what we feel and that we are not alone. Wow, I am still amazed and dumbfounded.
Thank you, Kurt
Thank you for your “long” story. I loved every bit of it.
Wow ‘narc’ alert emphasis on the ‘long’ passive aggressive also!
Here’s what I’m wondering: what if the pain is gratifying? Am I one of the few in this camp? I’m not talking about a masochistic sexual gratification, I’m talking about a constant desire for catharsis via sadness. Moments of loss in movies and television shows have brought me to emotional states that are equally amazing and painful. Is there a specific kind of empath I am?
I am 50 and have dealt with, or suffered being an empath all my life and it has been only lately that I have discovered a way to stop my ( ridiculously over abundant ) empathy from controlling my life. Lots of things that I’ve read talk about ‘turning off ‘ your empathy or trying to ‘block’ out other peoples vibes with shields, walls and so on, For me this just doesn’t work, my empathy is a sense just like sight, hearing, touch and so on and with the exception of sight I can’t turn off my senses at will, so after many years of trying everything to just be done with this curse of empathy that has made my life so much harder than it had to be, I found that when I feel other peoples emotions as usual but instead of then incorporating them into my self as I always have done I simply throw them out. Throw them out like trash out the back door. Its like people hand you their garbage at your front door, why the hell should you keep it? Just shut the door , walk through your nice clean house and throw their crap out the back door into a dump truck or what ever, I still suck up other peoples emotions but I tell myself that my ‘being’ or self doesn’t need them and its actually wrong to absorb them into my self so I just dump them, in one door and out the other basically, they are no good to me, harmful actually. I’ve found this out a few years ago and I finally feel the way I always wanted to feel, of course I wish I figured this out long ago but better late than never.
Thanks for sharing, John. Glad to hear you found something that helped you. 🙂
I found this article and comments amazing. I always found hard to describe myself. Here I am. And I am not alone! I want to make new friends like you people!
I am a Cancer and just chalked up my moodiness and sensitivity to that. I have felt sick when my close friends and family are sick. I knew someone who I was talking to over the phone was seriously sick although she kept saying she was fine, after speaking with her for awhile she told me she actually had Leukemia. As mentioned in the article I hate to be in large crowds…I even hate grocery shopping. I have stomach and lower back pain. This is amazing.
Thanks for sharing. 🙂
This article was very helpful thank you!
You’re very welcome, Shawna. 🙂
I feel slightly disturbed having nearly reached the age of 45 and realising that I have a title, I am an Empath! It explains so much! I have always thought it strange that I feel I can pick up on animal’s and even plant emotions, I feel flies listen to me!!! (Never told that to anyone) I answered yes to most of the traits to a type I had never known was a type, I thought it was just me! Hardest part for me to accept is the struggle to relate to narcissists as I have a close family member who is one and that hurts very much. Explains it too.
And the most amazing thing I think is that I did a quick quiz on another site which resulted an image of the moon goddess. I recently created a fictional story and my name in it is Moon Girl. Hardly can believe that connection!
Thanks for sharing, Liberty. 🙂
Can an empathetic person pick up on a dogs spirit? Maybe I’m not sure how to explain but I walking past a bunch of dog kennels and in the corner of this room I could feel or sense like fear from a dog and it was very strong. I deal with dogs all the time and I have never been felt something so strong. Maybe you don’t know but I thought I might try
Yes, that is completely possible. Empaths can pick up on both spiritual energy and residual energy.
This post may better help you understand:
Hope it helps. 🙂
Yes, it’s not that uncommon as it goes.
This article was wonderful. I am 40 yrs old and always thought there was something deeply wrong with me, and after months of research it turns out I am an empath. The relief to finally understand myself, and my journey, is great but also deeply sad. I truly need some words of wisdom, because I feel done, I am tired and alone, and so deeply sad, that no one understands me. I have never, ever felt sorry for myself because there are people in life going through must worst things, in fact I rarely if at all talk about my woes, and am always deeply positive. Day in, day out I am kind, I look after people, i encourage them, I help them to be better, i inspire them. Yet because of this, I have to stay strong, I have to hide how I am feeling, because they look to me for strength. I have just just come out of my 4th long term relationship. As all relationships before, I have a strong desire to help and repair people, this time round it turns out he was bi polar, I wanted so badly to repair and help him, because I loved him and in the process I have damaged myself. For the first time in my life, i have no faith, I am so tired of repairing people, because who repairs me. The world is becoming unrecognisable to me, each and every day I feel my only way out is isolation, yet I know deep down I bring people joy. Last week I told my 2 closest friends that I was am empath, and they looked at me as though I was mad. I am so tired of telling people I feel things, I can’t help it, I always know what people are thinking, and the saddest thing is, people can’t handle being in a relationship with someone like that, and I don’t blame them, they can’t escape, they can’t lie or think, because I always, always know what they are thinking. I am tired of knowing when someone is thinking bad things about me, i am just so tired of thinking, and knowing all the time, and I am just so tired of having no one to talk to about this, because how do you explain this, we just come across as overly dramatic and of course overly sensitive. Everyone keeps saying put a wall around you, but I Don’t want to block people out and be synical. A logical thing would be stop trying to help people, but that is who I am.
I understand exactly what you’re going through. As an Empath we want to be honest and talk our truth but when we know/see/feel it is not accepted or understood by others, we end up hiding it. This means we are living a lie.
A big part of an Empath’s journey is acceptance. Much of the world is not ready for our Knowing ways. This can feel like a punishment, but once we accept it life is not such a battle.
Just remember you are never alone. There are many of us out here, going through the same.
It sounds like you need some serious downtime. Time just for you. Where you can offload, be listened to without the feeling of being judged and get pampered at the same time. A great way to do this is by seeing a holistic therapist.
Reflexologists, crystal therapists, reiki practitioners, aromatherapists, etc. not only offer healing or relaxing services but also give an ear to those in need. Holistic therapists tend to be open, aware and understanding. When you have a treatment it is all about you and this is what is so beneficial. What you talk about remains private and you will receive a fabulous treatment at the same time.
An internet search will show you practitioners in your area.
Hope this helps. Thanks for sharing.
I agree with Diane that you should take time to take care of yourself. Your journey at this moment may be finding ways to nourish your soul. Once you are able to understand how to tap into the source of your strength, you will enjoy a dance between appreciating the joy that brings you and then putting that back out into the universe. For some people, its meditation, for some its nature. Sometimes different things work at different times. Once you are able to take care of yourself, you will naturally be able to appreciate the sadness as well as the joy.
I find a lot of peace from a type of meditation called Vipassana. They have free courses through the centers set up by devotees of Goenka. The wonderful thing for me about their courses is that they provide a space for you to be silent and alone while being quietly supported by a wonderful community. And the technique is a source of strength for me. It is a rigorous practice, but the result is very worthwhile.
The other piece of advice for you may be that you need to put your energy into giving healing to those in your life with whom there are natural boundaries (for example, through volunteer work or a job where you can go home at the end of a day). Helping to heal someone with whom you have a primary relationship is a very difficult task if there is not an equal amount of energy coming back your way.
Hi Kim
Your not alone being an empath can often feel like a curse…it can be a tough journey.completely agree with you on many levels and yes you do feel alone..even when surrounded by people..you can’t bear upsets or violence my head pounds often when you have picked up negativty and you blame that on yourself because your not quite sure.I personally have had 5 breakdowns in 14 yrs due to pure neglect of the self as iv put others before and got overload..have drank too much at times, smoke trying to knock that one! All to escape my emotional state as never felt inner peace.Helping others is the only way for me as it’s rewarding in ways money isn’t it seems a natural path have always been a pleaser fixer the urge to help is overwhelming..but leaves you weak and vulnerable if you don’t take care of you too.
H
I’ve read articles before about being an empath, but never one that so aptly describes me. It feels like you followed me around, got into my head and heart and then wrote this article ! 🙂 There are a few variants for me, like being in crowds but I think the difference is, if I am in a crowd, doing something I really enjoy, like dancing to my favourite music, or listening to a band i love at a live concert, the people don’t bother me. Either way, everything you’ve said is true. Thank you for sharing. ❤
You’re very welcome. 🙂
Yaasss. Ty
Wow! Just had the most overwhelming aha moment! I have always had this consuming ability to draw out emotions from people that didn’t even realize themselves were there. From the most random strangers to my closest companions usually feel the need to confess their deepest laid secrets, thoughts and worries to me without even thinking twice about it. After a two hour conversation I hear them say things like “I can’t believe i just told you all that, no one knows that” or “I’ve never said that out loud before”. If I am in a group of people and someone is acting out of sorts I am always the one to pinpoint and dissect that person and their feelings at the moment. It’s so strong there are days where I truly feel like I have been through an entire whirlwind of different emotions in a very short time span. The only way i’ve been able to describe it is to imagine being at a fair or carnival, and someone turns the speed of life up about 30 notches and you feel as if your getting off one ride head still spinning and immediately getting onto the next one. Makes no difference whether your going straight from feeling the calm cool serenity of a Ferris wheel to jumping right onto a fast flying down hill roller coaster, then over to the haunted house for a terrifying run through scary emotions, and right onto the soaring swings feeling like your flying! All in fast forward motion. I recently moved from Florida where I spent the majority of my life at the water soaking up as much of the sand, sun, and salt water I possibly could, to here in North Eastern Pennsylvania. I’m finding myself connecting with the mountains, the trails, and the wind. I take my dog for a run through the woods in the middle of the night with only the vast moonlight shining down where others would be so scared of the surroundings and atmosphere I almost crave it now after being here for a few months. It’s like I need the feeling it gives me to breathe. When its cold and others want to go hide inside I feel myself taking the deepest breathes as if I can’t get enough of it before i’m forced to go indoors and have it sucked right back out of me from everyone else around. Most days people say I give them an emotional high, like when i’m in a great mood I almost force them without even trying to confide in me about whats bothering them until they’ve gotten it off their mind and start to do what I personally call “leveling out” . To me its as if a balance has been restored inside them back to a level that is tolerable for me to be around. Anything above or below this imaginary level line makes me feel extreme emotions until its brought back to that even plane. Does any of this make sense to you? If so how can I better improve the rate at which I restore normalcy? I have a tendency to wait for the person to open up to me and I’m wondering should I approach these situations head on myself rather then waiting for the moment to present itself to me before I jump in. For example…lets say I walk out to the kitchen in the morning and my roommate is clearly having a rough time, I immediately sense her negative energy and ask if everything is ok? She responds with “yeah i’m fine” and continues on with her morning. All the hours that follow I feel this gut wrenching sensation in my stomach knowing that something is wrong but while throwing out subtle hints that i’m there to listen when shes ready she doesn’t take advantage. This leaves me in silent agony most of the afternoon until i finally she bursts out with it or I have to sit her down mid-day and say I know somethings bothering you so just talk to me. Then out pours the crisis that has been weighing on her mind all day. Floods me until shes gotten it all out and feels better. After walking away i feel like i’ve now absorbed all that was bothering her and find myself having to do things like excuse myself to take a walk after or something to expel everything I just took on. No one around me understands how I can be so bubbly happy one moment and the next i’m needing to excuse myself for a moment alone. I wish I could learn to control the way these emotions consume me better. I feel I have a pretty good sense of when they are coming on, however at that point i’m not sure what to do to prepare myself for the inevitable next step in the process and get through it as quickly as it presented. Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated. And again, thank you for writing a perfectly worded explanation to my most intimate kept secret.
Hi Kasamarie,
I find when in situations that involve other people and their ‘life problems’ it is always better listening to what your intuition is telling you. For example you will sometimes get an overwhelming urge to uncover what their pain is, when around one who is in emotional turmoil. This is often your intuition telling you the time is now to speak. If you ignore it, it will eat you up. Other times you will know there is a problem with a friend or family member but have no pull to discover what it is. Again your intuition is telling you now is not the time.
Take a good look around this blog, there is lots of info on how to stay grounded and better deal with the emotions of others etc. Also look out for my new book which is being released next month (announcement and links will be made shortly). It will be in print form and ebook. My book goes into great detail as to why Empaths experience all they do and explains the steps to take to get back in control of our gift.
Hope this helps and thanks for sharing. 🙂
Could you help me with blocking it?
If I don’t block every impulse of every one around me I take it all in. And with it all I mean every little nook and cranny of someone’s mind.
I’ve had this happen a few times before and it took me a couple of months every time to recover
I can also tell where someone is standing in a room or a house or practically where ever. Same for animals and bugs, so long as it has brain activity.
It’s not pleasant. It is a way of coming every day. I depend on it and I can rely on it. I would just verry mutch like to be able to block it off completely whenever I want to.
I can’t let my guard down at any time. And I fear that acceptance isn’t the key. If really fear that if I completely give in to be able to control it that I wouldn’t be able to resurface my own thoughts and drown. Just thinking of completely giving in really scares me to death.
Can you help me in any way? Do you have advice? I would love to hear it, I can use any inside information I can get. This article was like looking into a mirror. I really recognize every little detail.
Thank you in advance for your help and effort 🙂
Hi Piewack,
Could I ask what steps you take to protect yourself from the energy you pick up from others? It will help determine what other steps you could try.
As Empaths we are always going to feel the energy of others, but it does not have to always take us down.
What works for one, at protecting/blocking the negative side of emotional energy, will not always work for another. We keep having to work at it (I know, not fair).
Keep your eyes peeled for my post on how to get instant relief from emotional/energetic overwhelm, but for now check out this post:
https://theknowing1.wordpress.com/2015/09/15/10-ways-empaths-can-protect-themselves-from-other-peoples-energy/
Hope it helps 🙂
After reading this, I believe that I have most or nearly all of these traits. I used to have many premonitions in my sleep when I was child and now that I am older, I believe that I have blocked this ability. As of now, I get a “sense” or “feeling” that something is going to happen and I am almost always right. Last week at work, my coworker almost burst into tears and I literally felt like crying with her at that moment, for no reason!!! I noticed that when I am in really big crowds I feel anxious and overwhelmed. I am 20 years old and work as a Certified Nurses Assistant at a hospital. In some time, I will become a nurse. I really enjoy taking care of people and I find satisfaction in making people feel better. I just want to know if i am indeed an Empath and ways to be a better Empath, so that I can heal others. A part of me is scared because I do not really know what I am getting myself into, but the other part of me wants to use this gift, if I truly have it. Any advice would be great from anyone!!
If you find yourself drawn to healing it will be for a reason.
Learning to stay protected and grounded is essential if you want to develop your healing abilities. There are lots of posts on this site that can help with that but perhaps start with this one
If you feel scared, you don’t need to feel rushed or pressured. It is a life-journey where you will continue to develop day by day, month by month and year by year. Go at your own pace and follow your intuition.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Um wow I’m blown away with this I always wondered why i felt that i was different and every single one of these fit me to a t with the exception of the meat. I am very picky about the meat I eat though like I have to pick the pack up before I can buy it usually picking up 3 or so packs but the feelings and sickness all makes sense somehow. But now what? And is it common for our kids to experience this as well?
Yes, these traits are often passed through the family line. In children it is usually noticed early on and will develop with age. 🙂
I do not think I am an empath after reading this anymore. I can not really feel emotions I kinda don’t really like the way I act I get upset easily. I do not really know what I am or if I try to be something I am not. I am do not know who I am and I do not really like myself. I see soo many amazing things people see or can sense or do. I do not really do anything but see and feel evil as well as once in awhile hear. I get attacked I sadly always have. I just got attacked about a few minutes ago while reading this sadly as well. I get attacked because the bad spirits don’t like when I seek for help. I pray I am all these nice happy things but I am not. I see orbs and I see sparkles and static at all time. I am nothing special though I am just normal in everything I do. Though I care and I strive to please people I think. I question myself a lot I do not know who I am I am very confused with everything. All I know is I need spiritual help and guidance from God and others. As well as I know I want to help others. I hope I can find out what I am or who I am one day. Though I think I may be an empath because I feel spiritual energy. I also love singing, dancing, art, writing, fairytales,princesses just everything good, happy and beautiful. I know I like little girl things but in my opinion I love the things I love and the way I act because I love being childlike. When your childlike theres happiness and love everywhere and I strive to make the world better even if it’s one little thing at a time. I also do love animals though I do not know if they love me I can’t connect well I guess. Its sadly like nothing likes me sadly I wish I knew why. I am sorry I talked so much I just hope and pray to God I find out who or what I am. I know I will never be good enough or the way I dream of but its ok as long as I make others happy.
Whether or not you are an Empath you are certainly Sensitive. And you are certainly already good enough. Being confused about our path is all part of the spiritual journey. It keeps us looking for the answers and moving forward. This path eventually brings us to a higher vibrating space and to the answers we are searching for.
🙂 🙂 🙂
I am sorry I get really confused about spiritual things because I am just learning. Thank you for being nice to me it made me feel better. If I may ask the reason I am confused is because sadly there is a lot going on. I get attacked by demonic forces and have since I can remember. I see them but I have only seen five. Though I see orbs, static, sparkles and floaters in the sky and at home even in the dark. I used to think it was an eye condition because I see them when my eyea are closed but I do not know if it is or not still. I know I am senaitive but O do not know all of what I am. I am not very strong in feeling things unless its spiritual. Or in one case my mommy was with this man and my dad and me ran into him at the park and I felt so much evil from him and I asked my daddy if he was the one who was with my mom. Though it was normal to be like that when you meet a stranger I am sure. I have been told I have a block because of all the spiritual problems I have as well whuch confesses me very much. I wish I could just ask God or someone who is like me or more advanced spiritually can ask God what I am or who I am. I feel like I am changing for the worst or maybe I just always have been evil because I see and feel evil.
Negative energy can feel nasty but it does not mean it is evil. Many Empaths feel negative energy powerfully. They also feel positive energy but often take little notice of it. Painful emotions such as sadness, grief, anger or insecurity can feel dark and negative. Empaths often mistake these feelings as their own.
Take a look at this post: and this one:
They both contain information on how to stay protected and in balance.
Hope they help and thanks for sharing. 🙂
Thank you so very much for helping me. If I may ask what do you think I am. You said empath though I do not know what I am. I promise this is my last question. Thank you for helping me and I will practice balancing. I hope when I do I can be a not so terrible person as I am now.
You are clearly Sensitive but being an Empath is generally something we just know within ourselves because of the way we feel. There are many levels of Sensitive and traits of an Empath can change over the course of our lives. Perhaps it would be a good idea to keep a journal and note down what you feel and with whom. This will give you an idea of just how much you pick up off others, how the energy of a building or place feels and also how your intuition works.
🙂 🙂 🙂
I noticed i do change a lot and i am a very mixed up person though i do not know if its because i want to fit in or i just change do to me being an empath. I wish I knew but i don’t
As with most who post on here, this article has been a discovery of ‘what is wrong with me’ and ‘why do I feel different from other people’. I would like to ask if anyone has had these experiences with being an empath (or maybe it is something different)…
I’ve always felt like I am living parallel to everyone else…like I am in one dimension, while they are in another. It’s strange. But I’ve always questioned why they can’t ‘see’ what I ‘see’ or ‘feel’ what I ‘feel’.
Second…aside from feeling others emotions, I can walk into a room and KNOW when something is out of place. If a coaster has been moved one inch to the right, I’ll know it. And it irritates me. I’ve described this as walking in a room and there’s a massive big red ball sitting in the middle of the floor, but no one else sees it.
Then there are the other sensitivities that I’m not sure are related to being an empath…smells, sounds and lights. I can smell things other people can’t. I can go into a store and know that someone ate a specific type of food. Or just random odors will come to me and I can’t place where they are coming from.
I’m sensitive to light. I have to wear sunglasses, I can’t look towards sunlight, and I often get migraines from the light.
And often I am sensitive to loud sounds…and soft softs. Meaning, a loud tv will drive me crazy; but at the same time, I may not hear someone who speaks in their normal voice.
Is this normal for an empath? Is is something else? Does anyone else share these experiences?
Hi Robin,
Many Empaths also experience heightened senses. It is known as sensory processing disorder where the human senses are heightened beyond what most others experience. The typical traits of an Empath are having strong empathy and an ability to feel what others are feeling, even thought they are not experiencing it themselves, heightened emotions, intuition and sensing the world around them powerfully.
There are lots of posts on this blog explaining the ways and how’s of an Empath. Hope they help.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Robin, everything you said relates to me, and as for feeling like nobody else can see what you see, I always seem to find money! Its weird, people seem to walk right over money with out ever seeing it and to me its like ‘ what the hell? how could you not see that ten bucks or whatever, I find most people I meet, 99%, seem to be in some sort of a personal bubble and not ‘switched on’ like me, You are not alone! John
It feels very weird to be an empath.. But I am getting used to it. I am just keeping it in myself and just act normal although it’s like I am having a free access to their thoughts… Sadly, I have no one to talk to about it…and when I am trying to, they are just ignoring me.. probably thinking that I am just acting crazy..
It is difficult talking to others about being an Empath, especially if they have no knowledge about it. It is hard for them to understand that another can feel their energy, or have insights they don’t.
There are Empath groups on-line and on facebook where you can get in touch with other Empaths.
Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Hello
I am very confused.
I can’t say I fit the classic mold of being an empath. I don’t know what ppl in a room are feeling . I don’t get overwhelmed at social events.
However, I started my search a few days ago bc I know I am called to do something . To work for God in some pleasing way. I have no idea what I’m supposed to do as a career helping people.
The only thing I knew is that I feel people’s pain on some level that is not normal. But it’s not out of any intuition. Once they tell me and I can see their heart break. After they leave me, I cry deeply . As if it was my pain . It’s not normal . These ppl were strangers that I ran into doing prayers at church . I have been very scared of working or volunteering in a place where I might feel someone’s pain bc I am scared that I might become depressed.
Now that read all of this about empaths. I remember when I was very young, about 5th grade , I remember being in a classroom . It was quite time. I used my time to pray and ask God . Beg him really , to feel what my sister was feeling. She was a young teen and going through her first teen struggles. I remember an inexplicable feeling of sadness come over me. Like a rush or a quilt over me. I can’t explain it but I felt it come onto me.
I also believe I saw St Therese when I wS a child. I know I am her care.
So there, I know I am to serve God, I know have felt pain, I am willing to feel again but I’m scared it will stay with me. I believe I saw St Therese for a reason.
I also had a dream that said first to wash my hands before I start , then to hold people’s hands.
I believe I am called to use all of this to help people but I have know idea where I can be successful in doing so. And how does this fit within the frame of strict catholic traditions .
I can not go to card readers or even do yoga because I am a very strict catholic .
Hi Lin
This post may help you understand your path a little more: https://theknowing1.wordpress.com/2015/10/15/what-is-an-empaths-purpose-in-life/
It is written with the Empath in mind but it applies to anyone who wants to be of service.
It sounds to me like you are probably a healer and maybe you could do some research on that in regards to your religion.
Anyone who experiences other people’s emotional pain knows how traumatic it is. My new book, which I’m hoping will be released soon, explains exactly why we experience other’s pain and what simple steps we need to take to stop it from taking us down. So keep an eye out for its announcement on this blog.
Hope this helps and good luck. 🙂
Everything I have read in the post I am experiencing to an extreme right now and I honestly have no idea what to do or where to even begin to help myself..
Being an Empath can be very overwhelming but also very rewarding. The unlayering begins the second we discover we are Sensitive and the steps we need to take are shown to us gradually.
There are lots of posts on here to help with grounding, protecting and the health of the body, mind and spirit. Hope you find something that helps.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Me too man i don’t know to do I wanna help but how and where to begin.
Fantastic!! Glad to hear one anothers experiences!
Im not exactly sure what to say about myself or my personal experiences, but, what I can say is that there sure is a great deal of comfort in such expressions and experiences.
I don’t really know if this jives with others personal experience, but earlier in my life is the feeling of the pain of the world as if knowing internally how things should be (perhaps from pre ‘hall pass’). I say pre hall pass because I feel as though I’ve signed up for this journey, and for what purpose I haven’t a clue hahaha. I’ve often wished to be back home, to be back from where I came. Feeling that maybe I had bitten off more than I could chew.
For the most part that feeling has subsided after acknowledging that I shall serve the purpose for which I’ve been sent, no matter what ‘feelings’ or ‘difficulty’ are encountered. Its evident to myself, and not some sort of delusion, that I have a sort of purpose to be accomplished (large or small it matters not) that is integral to the larger and mysterious part of the plan. Perhaps at one time I knew its complexity and entirety, however, its generally unimportant for the most part. What is important, now, is the level of awareness and what you do with it.
It generally adds a level of difficulty to ones life due to the fact that you no longer see things at face value but look beyond the veil so to speak. Strange part is that one assumes that others see things from the same viewpoint because we see everyone on the same plane or level of consciousness; it becomes apparent were all at different levels. For me, thats a general level of acceptance as no two are built the same.
On a personal level, I don’t know what I am exactly, nor do I know, or care, exactly in what capacity. I do know however that the road I walk has been a detriment to relationships. Its almost as though one finds themselves manifesting their own destiny. Which begs the question “Did I cause this?” or did things sadly go exactly the way you perceived? Then.. The big question. If I was able to see exactly how this was going to play out, why didn’t I do exactly what was necessary prior in order to change the outcome? This happened recently, and I was left saying to myself ‘I should have just…’.
Who really wants to go through a breakup? Even if you know its not going to work later on down the road. Its good for now.
Confusing times we live in.. Confusing times….
Thanks for sharing, Ben. 🙂
I can totally relate Ben!!
Hi!
Do you have to identify with everything on the list? Because 3 & 6 I’ve learned to control better, 11 I do not have an addictive personality, also anything mind altering freaks me out, 21 I’ve learned to declutter over the years, I avoid the news and hate suffering of any kind, bully, manipulation but I do watch Supernatural and that is a pretty violent show, but I know it’s all acting and it has comic relief, and 28 I’ve learned to be careful what I touch in an antique store because I personally love that stuff. Oh and I do eat meat for the most part.
The rest sounds on target. Also I’ve taken the Myers-Briggs test and every time I’ve gotten INFJ.
Thanks!
Hiya,
No, not at all. The strongest trait of an Empath is feeling what others are going through emotionally, even though one is not experiencing the same. Certain traits may also strengthen or weaken over the years, we can even develop traits we didn’t have previously.
Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I’m 15 turning 16 in November but I have had these traits since I was little plus I dream about people who will die soon and recent births which freak me out a little I don’t get why I had to come with these traits but I do know that my mom is an empath which also includes the fact that my mother was being taught Wicca when she was younger including the fact that they had cloaking rituals in the place where she was taught but on 1 of her cloaking days she was given a Wiccan name which I won’t disclose here but strange things went on that gave her the name my mom’s cloaks were burned by her grandfather who killed her grandmother; anyways I got off track Its hard to believe I could be an empath but almost all of the traits except 1 of them is exactly how I am.
Wow……. To have found an answer to my ever wondering question of “why do i feel so different”, is just about the most wonderful thing in the world. I have always had these “feelings” that are so strong I couldn’t possibly understand where they were coming from. For example, I am the type of person who has no problems admitting when I am wrong, and can easily accept a truth, so long as it IS the truth. But there are times when my husband (with a spectacular poker face) tells me something, and I can just FEEL how wrong it is. Or when we are just sitting here watching tv, i will get a very overwhelming feeling, like something is just off. And I’m staring at him with this intense feeling that i don’t even know where is coming from, and he is asking what is wrong and all I can say is idk, but I know its something. And he will say he is just fine, that there is nothing wrong right now, but no matter what I can’t believe it. And I mean I trust him, its nothing like that, its more like I feel that he is thinking or feeling something and he doesn’t want to share it with me (which is totally fine) but no matter what he says the feeling does not go away. There has been a few times when I have had weird thoughts or ideas, like when I was 14 and my mom got in a car wreck. I was sitting in my room when the phone rang, and immediately I had a “thought” that my mom was in a car wreck. A few rings later my dad answers the phone, and she told him she wrecked, totaling the car. There has been another situation like that recently (im 28 now) where i predicted the unpredictable.
I feel energies in the room, if something out of the ordinary or stressful has happened, say, in my living room one day, the room will FEEL different. I have tried to explain to my husband/best friend about these “feelings”, these intuitions, just this internal gauge of energies that feel 100% right, no matter how much my rational mind will say IMPOSSIBLE.
Now that I have found what feels RIGHT as an answer to me, I have to be honest and say I have no idea where to go from here, and Im a bit nervous. Any suggestions on first steps or whatever, please let me know!!!
Hi Eva and welcome.
Having an explanation for all that we experience and feel is so uplifting for the Empath.
My suggestions on first steps would be for staying grounded and protected. I’ve attached a couple of posts you may find helpful.
https://theknowing1.wordpress.com/panacea/
https://theknowing1.wordpress.com/2015/09/15/10-ways-empaths-can-protect-themselves-from-other-peoples-energy/
Thanks for sharing.
🙂
Thank you so much! I have no friends because of this, and to be able to reach out to like minded people is amazing. Im so glad I found this!!!
Hi Eva. I’m like you…friends are scarce, if at all. I’ve always thought, ‘It’s so hard to maintain friendships’. It’s like they take too much out of me. So I distance myself. Maybe now I learn to understand why this is so.
For me being an empath is impossible! It’s so hard to live day in and day out with all my sensitivities! I have tried everything to cope, but nothing seems to really help. The one thing I know that helps the most is another person with a similar vibration than mine, similar damaged parts lol. I run into these very special people rarely, but when I do I feel like my soul is renewed! The universe never allows me to stay with them for very long… I end up going back to my hellish life as a damaged empath. Lately this world has been crucifying me!! I feel so much negative energy and my body picks up so many blocks when I go out. My theory is that empaths are the primary emotional processors of the world and we have our plates full right now!! I am always healing blocks, pains, the collective shadow, my own shadow, empathic residue from accidents on the road, dead people wanting me to cross them over, etc. The list goes on and on how much I process and heal. I occasionally get a break and feel good for an evening, but then it’s back to work the next day in empathic hell! It’s super late and I’m trying to write something good. I mostly feel all the mental illness around me. I absorb it and transmute it. The worst are tricker spirits that test you and pretend that they are a friend or family member.
Thank you for this site! I need to come here more often and read and share.
You’re very welcome. 😀
Is there anything that could cause an empathic person to not be able to feel you? I’m attracted to an empathic girl (we’re both in our late teens) but she ended up with someone else because I don’t “feel” right to her (my energy felt wrong). She said it became more apparent when we kissed (Our relationship was still in the experimental stage so it wasn’t really official but we tried). Apparently she can’t seem to sense me the way she can with everyone else. This would be fine except for the fact that it’s odd, even to her, because for some reason, I’m different and neither her nor I know why. This leads me to think that it has something do with me. I’m a genuinely loveing and kind guy so I respect her decision, but can anyone give me ANY reasons as to why its so difficult for her to read me? I just want to understand. I would appreciate it very much.
Joey, I am an empath. I can’t read my husband like I can others. While some would be more comfortable with the familiar “feel” I found it uninteresting that I could sense predictably with others in a relationship – even boring. I much prefer the “challenge”, if you will, or having an “even” playing ground. Having said that, I instantly felt early on in the relationship with my husband that he is the one. I can’t explain very well except to say I had a great sense of calm/peace wash over me being with him and I just knew. We have been together for 24 years. But I still can’t gauge his feelings half the time. I think he is an empath who unconsciously “shuts off” for protection. I’m not sure if he is good at blocking this part of him consciously or not. He has had others say to him they can’t read him. I don’t discuss with him because he says he doesn’t believe in this type of stuff.
I’m a empath and I can’t read my husband of 23 years. I fell that the people I cant read are Angels, I’m sure that sounds crazy.
Doesn’t sound crazy. They have a particular energy and it’s generally not empath friendly. (Angels aren’t all that nice when it comes down to it in my experience. )
That’s interesting Crystal. I would love to hear more on why you feel that way. As with my husband, I have always felt he was more of a protector for me. I know that’s a given with any spouse, but I had several strange dreams where we were in “other lifetimes” & different bodies. The scene is always that I am being chased or very close to being killed, where my family is terminated as well. But somehow this soul is watching over me and helping me and I know it’s him, even though the body is different. I never thought of the term “angel”, but more like a crazy warrior of some kind.
Sometimes the Universe gives you what you “need” and not necessarily what you “want.” Perhaps the theory of Ockham’s Razor applies. “It says the simplest explanation is usually the right one.” She can’t read you because she can’t. Not every Empath can read every single person – we read most. BUT – there are MANY things that are factors in this. The biggest being that we can read PAST all of the superficial B.S. ie, whether we are attracted to someone, whether they appear to be “good” or “bad.” You are not not less desireable, good, respectful, kind or amazing because “she” did not “choose” to be with you over another person. She, too has lessons to learn she doesn’t even know she needs to learn or that she will learn based on choice. Perhaps, she MUST be with another person to learn? Don’t take it “personal.” She is young and if she is truly an Empath, she has barely learned how to hone in her skills. Don’t despair…….you’ve got alot of living to do! Chin up! XO
Omg omg omg omg omg omg I’ve always thought I was diffrent to everyone around me. I feel so free like free free like I’ve never felt befor. This is my story.
Primary school I was a large boy with self confendece issue on the verge of committing . I remember forest gump used to be my favert movie because I could related/ feel what that kid would of been going through witch now know is the gift. I also liked Mrs. Doubt fire , jack, ace Ventura. At this age I wanted to become a actor witch quickly got shut down buy my 5 grade teacher. I had a massive passion for acting at that age but had to change to a more relistic job he said one in a million get to be a actor. I then moved my passion to wanting to be a chef by the end of year 6. From year 6 to 7 we moved houses and I created this force field and become a massive class clown build up on mixed emotion, I was massively outspoken and could make everyone laugh even teaches. I seemed my emotion would get the best of me when it was quiet or we had to have everyone attention on me like as in a speech. After school I got a metals trade, got let go and I’ve been wondering why ever since, I gave honesty 500% on the job and to the workers around me.
I also have a massive passion for music i seem to know everything about most artists, music. Inside it feels like I’m acting like the artist or know there feelings. I get tingles from words and rhythm and beat. I’m a crazy dancer I seem to dance like the guys on the music clip but I haven’t had a lessen in my life. I think my passion has always been for music but have issues with performing. No mater how many good complements I gather on my voice it’s never good enough for me to bite the bullet
In the past few days I have contacted a old school friend who is a dj and I asked him to make music with me our own sound. I’ve wanted to save the world with music since I was little.
I’ve also been spending time with my girl friends brothers kids. I can see there emotions like crazy, there’s 5 kids and I know them all mentally. People tell me there just kids and they don’t know any better. But I can feel when a kids feeling out of place upset sick or hyperactive by there face.
My girlfriend and I have been fighting of late about me feeling the way I do about people and there feelings I seem to read her and most people around me like books.
Tonight there was a fight that caused me to jump into bed and look up- why do I feel people’s feelings? Then after 2 lines of reading I felt a huge rush of peace and calmness.
I’ve now done research to know this is me and happy to find out I’m diffrent in a good way!!!!!! I just want to talk and talk and talk.
From knowing everything about music feeling wise, I seem to sweet talk ladies with music. I’ve been bought up to respect females so I don’t use it offen but I know I could have any female by the music I talk about. Could someone reply to me asap. I would like to hear from someone👻
Hi Tommo,
Your post just made me smile. You certainly have a lot of enthusiasm.
Having an explanation for why you feel how you do is huge and it is a day you will probably always remember.
It certainly sounds like you have a gift and a passion for music. Totally understand the voice inside telling you you’re not ready to ‘bite the bullet’ ;). Self-doubt is something many Sensitives have to deal with, as well as wanting everything to be perfect.
Welcome and good luck 🙂
I would really like more information to be given to those who experience an enormous amount of negativity due to their gifts. As a teenager, I landed in E.R. on several occasions being removed from a stadium (at a concert several times), a “show” at a club, shopping mall, street fair, etc by paramedics. I would literally “pass out” and go unconscious only to have my body have to “re-boot” to re-gain consciousness and then feel compleley fine once removed (aside for whatever damage happened due to me hitting the floor). The energy of MANY shut me off. This is my body’s defense mechanism.I was in the E.R over 10 times in a year thinking I was going to “die” feeling as if I couldn’t breathe or like I was “having a heart attack.” Every test I ever had which included MRI’s, CT scans blood work, EEG’s, EKG, ,nothing…I was more healthy then anyone I knew and was a trememdous athlete. As I got older (in my 20’s) I was debilitated by feeling everyones’ pain and would gravitate to those I felt “needed help.” This was DRAINING and I couldn’t stop because my empathy for others far surpassed my empathy for myself. I could never stop the NEED to try and help others at my own expense. I was blessed with the universe giving me the insight at a pretty young age to know and believe we are SO MUCH MORE then we appear to be. I also experienced more then most people – which lead to many questions and my due diligence to find those answers. (Can’t live without those answers). I am 43 years old now and have just finished a book to which I never mention my gift OR any or my “experiences.” It encompasses my life lessons. I have learned to control much of my absorbed energy of others, but every now and then I have the “get me the hell out of here moment.” I am then forced to leave. I listen to my body these days. People tell me their darkets secrets and their skeletons in the closet. I will also tell you that there are other darker souls who can perceive YOUR GIFT who will SHUT YOU OUT – because they KNOW you know their truth. My gifts have been too much for others. I know when people are lying, hiding things, being dishonest. I know when they are even “THINKING” about lying or doing something shameful. It is a “feeling” I cannot explain. I feel soulmates (which is a most beautiful gift). I also feel the loss of them which is the most horrendous torture to now be here without them. I am still affected GREATLY by the emotional states of those closest to me; husband, children, etc. The other thing I can do is feel others’ PEACE. These are souls I gravitate to! Those beings are like going home! Problem is they are like needles in the haystack. Hence, the book I am now editing. Fantastically, while writing this I just realized WHY I wrote the book. I thought it was to create more goodness in world. While this is true, out of my love for all and the belief that we are ONE, I now realize I wrote it because I LITERALLY NEED all beings’ PEACE to feel peaceful myself. Wow! Words – an amazing tool to find our own truth. This is my life and my truth. My PEACE is dependent on yours.
With Love,
Carla
Can I share your post on my Facebook page?
You absolutely may share my post 🙂 Please do!
Hi Carla, I would love to know more about the souls that make you feel peace. I have only met a handful in my entire life, my husband of 24 yrs being one. I’ve always wondered where these souls came from and why they’re not around? I feel like they are on my wavelength but can’t seem to find them and it makes me feel alone. I’ve always felt alone even with many friends and family around. And misunderstood lol.
I found out I was an empath recently, after another pointed this out. I’ve had 5 yrs of ill health with no real diagnosis. I’ve gone through the countless ER visits. At 43, it’s finally starting to make sense.
I am very sorry about your ill health. (I feel for you, literally). You have to shield yourself to “negative” energy. (There is alot of amazing information on this sight about how to protect yourself).I don’t know if you caught it, but I am also 43. Coincidence? Interesting……Ahhh, the souls that make you feel “at peace.” They are there, but usually never close by. These people (the ones near to us) are the best presents in the entire universe. They are sacred! You have traveled MANY lifetimes with these people and they are the definition of “love” the “right” way- there is no “ego” in these relationships. They surpass all logical thought. They are relationships based on ” soul memory” rather then whether they “make sense” in the world. However, they most definately have purpose. They are a needle in the haystack because we ALL don’t incarnate at the same time in the flesh. (That would make living too easy and we would have no reason to “grow” through our lifetimes). Could you imagine if all you met in your llifetime was a bunch of people you had amazing soul memory of; chemistry, like-mindedness, etc. You would never evolve in the manner you need to. They are there for one reason, as PROOF that you are never alone and you are forever connected to others. Consider yourself lucky. Some people have never felt that in their entire life. But by knowing what you do, you also know that we are more then what we appear to be…..This is a beautiful gift.
Thanks Carla, that makes sense with the soul memory. Somehow these people just resonate unlike any others.
It’s difficult for me to remember just how long I’ve asked myself just who I am. what I am, and what I’m here for. I’ve asked so many questions that have led me to even more questions or simply more confusion. Having been told that I am a medium .. having experienced things that relate to such an environment led me to believe just that.. having experienced feeling people, places, objects, music to the point of being teleported to whatever time such music was first played or such a place was built (as examples) simply has brought a barrage of questions as to why.. and what it all means. sensing peoples feelings, even through a computer screen, feeling their sorroundings, seeing them as they are .. as if I was there with them yet never meeting them in person to begin with. Being bold enough to ask if I was correct.. only to confirm that what I felt was true…I yearn for answers only to give me peace of mind, I yearn for ways to use what I pocess to help understand myself, what sorrounds me and what I can do to help others.. be it to just tell that person.. im sorry.. but are you alright?. I am getting this feeling as if something is bothering you… may I help?.. I’m not a saint or this great human being that is all giving.. im just a normal person who feels different and wishes to feel as if I have purpose and came here because I belong here.. reading through this.. I came to realize that a lot of what was “written” described me. how I felt, how I think , what I want and dont want. Of course I would be lying if I “wrote” everything pertains to me.. a lot of it does not. I’m more of an introvert who struggles to be more sociable . not at all implying I’m anti social .. yet I must admit and be honest to the world and myself that I need to work on being more approachable.. atleast thats what i’ve been told :)… Finally a means to a beginning to find more answers and hopefully with the help of God.. (I’m christian) no disrespect intended to anyone. will finally find closure and what I need to fulfil my duties. forgive the long introduction.. yet its been so long since I got to share this with someone. I feel that here I will be understood.. finally be understood and not looked upon as being wierd or crazy.. or too sensitive to be a man.. thank you.. very much..
Julio,
I have had the same “teleported” type of experiences. I have had movies play in my head and have recalled past life experiences from dreams. I have searched specific words I have been speaking in different languages (in dreams and that I don’t speak) to find they are places or towns in other countries. I have seen myself in different skin. For example, I dreamt I was desperately trying to get to someplece and was saying a word over and over again to find out it was a town in Drama Prefecture Greece that in a 2011 census had 56 people living in it! I was there and I remember. I have come to the conclusion at this point in my life those situations are unique to the other people in them. I have had relationships with several soulmates and they have been in those experiences as well. We don’t get those feelings ALL the time from every single object or person, but there are unique situations where vibrational energies cross paths – it is the energy of your past crossing the energy of your now. It happens – soul memory. You and I just happen to have the abillity to feel those “vibrations” and we remember things most don’t. You are not crazy and far from it. You are “evolved.” And you will NEVER EVER stop asking questions no matter how many answers you get. You may want to get used to this idea. Embrace it! The more you ask, the more you grow! With regard to your feelings about helping people I will also tell you what I have experienced as I have spent my life trying to figure all of this out. You and I and most people on here “see” or “view” SOULS, NOT PEOPLE. We see PAST flesh. This is why there is so much confusion. We are so much more then what we see everyday. (You may want to read up on Edgar Cayce and the Akashic Record). This is a gift and a curse. Why? It is a gift to “know” what is truly at the core of any being. When this is “light” and positive we want to experience that part of the person. This is also a curse when they are incapable of “seeing” or feeling the same things. They carry distorted perceptions of themselves and the world around them. You cannot save these people as much as you may want to. It is much much more then thinking a person needs help or is having a bad day. We don’t read people – we read souls. However, we are ALSO able to read “the energetic vibrations.” You gift has many layers. Each one serves a different purpose. It is your job to fine tune the differences – are you reading an energetic memory? The emotional state of a person in front of you? A collection of energy ie, at an event (with many people)? A soul vibration? There is not one way to “feel” the universe, there is many……See PAST the simplest explanation to the truth of who you are. If you can do this, you can find your purpose and your peace. With Love – C
Well, I believe I finally know what I am now:))
I will second that I to believe that I am finally awakening it will be an awesome journey and it is good to know that I’m going through it with other people
Mhm, I finally feel understood.
This is the first article that I have read on being an empath. My sister told me I should look up the meaning of the word because I really needed to. I did and then I read this article. I have never heard this word previously. I can relate to so much of this that it is crazy. Thank you for all of your input….. really.
I recently went through a spiritual awakening that completely turned my life upside down. In a very real way. I went through about a full month of what I can only describe as, a mental break down. I’ve never experienced anything like it in my life. It was like someone had pulled the rug out from under me. I cried every day for 28 days. It was the deepest hole i’d ever been in. Luckil, I found meditation, and it saved my life. Today though, for the first time since I started meditating I felt a bit of the sadness creeping back in. I soon found myself sobbing; and for the first time in my life asking my higher self, or God, or whoever runs the show, to please direct my life, and show me my purpose. Soon after that out of literally nowhere I found myself googling “Am I an empath”. The even stranger part though is that before this I had no interest in the subject, and only a vague idea of what an empath even was. half way through this article, I again found myself sobbing, but this time tears of joy. All but two of the traits you listed described me perfectly. Its like for the first time, I feel like I understand why so many things in my life have occurred. I felt like you were writing about me. Thank you, for existing, for writing this, for helping me understand my place in this world just a little better.
Wow! I feel so similarly. All of my long held beliefs are being challenged and I was fearing for my sanity. Discovering that I am very likely an empath is exciting! It is helping take away so many fears. Answering so many questions, I didn’t even realize I had! Crying can be good in the long run! We must release those stored feelings to move on. Keep up the good work my friend!
Hey, your comment is exactly my life too.. I was also so sad all day for whole month.. Meditation helping me too. You know.. We have good ability in being happy and worthy. May god bless every one.
Guys, Similar things Happened with me. I had a huge breakdown in April 2015. I cried, I was frustrated and sad. This was a worst breakdown I have ever had. I found meditation, and it saved my life. The sound meditation from Tibet monks. It saved my life and reduced my wrath. In November 2015, I started to read about psychology of feeling out of nowhere and then from there I read one article on Narcissist and Empathetic people and again I cried for almost 4 hours. But this was happiness. I never knew anything about empathy and surprisingly I was one of them and why I did read about psychology that is even more surprising.
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Gosh. This is me. So many things that just fit. I’m at a stage in my life where I can’t find any balance because all the people in my life ‘need’ me, and I sense so much of it. I couldn’t understand why even small things, like just ‘knowing’ what others are thinking/feeling/reacting to, were having such an impact on me. In a group I feel torn because I sense everyone’s perspective all at once, for example. I felt weak for feeling so tired all the time, for only being able to cope with social interaction for a certain length of time, for getting to a point where I need to be completely alone. So, so much I resonate with. What do I do now???
Hi Fran,
There is lots of info on this blog to help you cope with social interactions etc.
Hope it helps.
Thanks for sharing.
Help Please!!!!
I tried twice to subscribe to emails from your site. But I did not get a confirmation either time. Now I tried clicking on the contact us link and they say they have no record of my email address. They also say they are very busy and it would take a long time to get support..
Is there some other way to sign up for email with another address perhaps. ..sli to get an email *
Hi Jane. If you’re after support, you can try empathsupport.com. The response is pretty quick.
Hi Jane,
So sorry about the lateness of this reply. I hadn’t posted for 10 months so you wouldn’t have got a post in that time. I’m back writing now so I hope you’ve now been receiving the posts.
Fingers crossed. 🙂
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This article is me to a “T”. All except I do love antiques and residual energy..as long as the vibes are positive. I also eat meat, but very picky on how it is prepared. Those two things aside, I am everything here. Especially needing that quiet time and vivid dreams .im so very sensitive and I need to be so careful because people will “dump” on me if im not. Ive been a highly intuitive empath my entire life but I wouldnt trade it for anything.
This is me too except for, I prefer used items ie. Antiques, old homes, and used cars. I do eat meat but I prefer it not to have bones so it’s less obvious that it’s an animal.
I came across this article by accident since I was trying to research what makes people so fiercely protective of animals, since I am one of these people.
I have a strong desire to protect the innocent, children, the elderly, animals, and mentally disturbed people.
Everything described in the article fits me so well, it’s a relief to know that I’m not crazy, lazy, or bipolar like I’ve been told in the past.
I’m exactly the same. I LOVE antiques because of their energy. Even me and my husband’s home was built in 1930. Most of the time I get good energy from our home. Sometimes not so good. But if I didn’t like the energy we wouldn’t have bought it.
As for meat, I’m from Kansas City……need I say more?
Everything else, however…..to a T.
I love antiques and meat as well. Everything else fits.
i literally cried while reading this. in report cards my teachers would write their comments on students and often said that i was very “empathetic” and my mother would get angry at me and say that i should never be like that. but its part of who i am, and who everyone else in the comments is as well. you’re a wonderful writer
Bri – That is too bad that your mother responded that way to the teacher’s comments referring to you as being empathetic. However, I think your mother didn’t quite know the meaning of emphatic and confused it with the word pathetic, which has a negative connotation. If your Mom is still here, show her the definition in a dictionary and it will make her feel better, about you as a child, that you weren’t being pitiful, but a kind and understanding child…
Sorry Bri, Third line, the word should be empathetic and not emphatic! Word twisters can be problem!
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I feel strange posting here, but I am amazed how accurate this description is (with the exception of not being artistic in any way). I believe I was much more in tune with my empathetic side when I was younger (especially the paranormal type stuff), but deliberately pushed that away since I believed it to be anti-Judeo-Christian. My father always said my mom and I were witches, because we would just know things. It makes me feel uncomfortable to even type that. Anyway, I have kind of felt bogged down and have “shut down” in the last few years (I am in my late 40s)and I get overwhelmed easily now. Any suggestions on how to open back up and “be me” again would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
I’ve found Witches to be a real thing in recent times. That aside, I’ve found that using Bach Flower Remedies can really help heal and open you safely back up. As to which ones depends on what caused the shut down in the first place. (Usually trauma or being so overwhelmed that you short out.) You can find all the info you need on that and empaths at empathsupport.com
For itsjustme, I’m with you 100%. I never knew there was a name for my unique personality until a few days ago. So maybe it’s time that we stop feeling strange. Have a beautiful day.
Another way to say /spell the word witch is which . As in which choice do i make .if you are an empath and you are trusting your inner guidance then you have intuitive information about a situation that will help you make a choice . I think everyone has empathy to a greater or lesser degree . Those who learn to trust it , listen to it and work with it make wise choices . re-claim what the witch /which means to you .take a look at it away from the dogma – its just a word.
if you have shut down then you are telling yourself to take some time to get in tune with yourself and your own flow of energy.every now and again its good to take some time out and re -invent yourself based upon what you have learned .
i found weekly dead sea salt baths to be helpful for energy clearing as they replace magnesium in the body. also a good multi vitamin to top up can also be incredibly helpful i look after yourself physically and make sure you have enough “fuel in the car” while sorting out your energetic balance.
I am also in my late 40s and am a reiki healer as well as a massage practitioner . The two work surprisingly well together – the reiki training stops me from being drained as i do treatments for others.
i would gently suggest you focus on what you need to do to be true to yourself and work from the ground up .physical (body) ,emotional (feelings) , mental (thoughts and ideas) ,spiritual (energy reserves and wave lengths).
we can take on other peoples emotions , thoughts and energy’s and sorting through which is ours and which is not can take time .
looking back through years of ideas and emotions and associations given to you by others is a good thing to do .Each one is a learning experience and teaches you about yourself .
As much as you love those important people your life, the perspective they live their life from isn’t always the right one for you . and it changes throughout your life. take a look at your beliefs and see what has changed for you. Keep an eye on your own path.
Love does not obliged you to live your life from the perspective others give you. Each of us an individual and unique and free to make your own choices based on our emphatic understanding from our own perspective.
unless someone actually jumps on your back for a piggy back then your not carrying them physically so it’s a good place to begin . walk it out , dance it off ,sing it out.,cry it out if you need to .go to the beach or forest and suck up big deep breaths of fresh clean energy and recharge your batteries . let that stagnant stuff go physically and then top up your fuel. be kind and loving , supporting and understanding to yourself .
This is just my perspective based on what you have written and shared. It is offered with an open heart.. you are free to choose any, all , none of the suggestions i offer .take what is useful to you , pass on what seems best to you , disregard what doesn’t work for you . sending you a gentle loving hug if you choose to receive it. best wishes x
Lol i feel like i just read a description of my personality, aside from the violence and such i like violence movies and games and stuff, but still i just read my freaking personality summary.
Is someone fucking with me here??? Like am i gonna have someone pop out and tell me im in a hidden camera show? or am i gonna be commmited?? I dont beilieve in this stuff but all these things are pointing otherwise, because i would swear this just decribed me almost down to a T.
Exactly the same with me, The “Watching violence, cruelty or tragedy on the TV is unbearable” part is completely untrue, but the rest sums up who i am. The real question is why we came across this site.. i myself was just researching what a sociopath is, one link went to another and i found myself here, this site that pretty much defines who i am… a bit scary a bit comforting. please reply. would like other peoples thoughts.
I have been feeling utterly lost and confused for months. I was beginning to convince myself that I was going legitimately crazy because nobody else was experiencing what I was experiencing. I read this article and was so relieved that I actually cried. I do sway from the norm a bit in the way that I am not deterred by violence and actually strive to be in the military because I feel like that is just what I am meant to do. I came across this article right when I needed to find it the most. I can’t thank you enough for saving my sanity and truly giving me an appreciation for what is going on with me rather than the ever-present feeling that I am not a normal human being and may end up in a square, white box for the rest of my life. Because of this article I can work towards first, helping myself discover the extent of what I am and what potential I possess, and second, learning how to use the gifts I have in order to help people for the rest of my life. Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart.
I did exactly what you did bob. My mother is a sociopath and I have been trying to make sense of that, a lot of people have told me I have the traits of an empath over my entire life so decided to finally research it. That could have been written about me too. Again the violence in movies doesn’t phase me but if I watch a nature documentary and an animal gets hurt or killed it profoundly upsets me! I am just glad I am not the only one that is like this as I can be so difficult at times and extremely confusing with the emotional overhaul each day can bring! My doctors kept ploughing me with anti depressant mess for years even though I knew I didn’t need them and they didn’t help, I knew it was something else, I was picking up others moods- the doctors clearly thought I was nuts! 5 years down the line though I genuinely need them now lol. I hope you know you are not alone!
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i’ve tried to tell my friend that i can feel other’s feeling, if someone touches me i can feel what she/he feels, if she’s miserable i can feel my chest throbbing something like gravity is pulling my chest down but it seemed like she didn’t hear me, i can also sense my friend’s recent feelings eventho we’re apart, she texted me, so we’ve got connection at all XD. BUT still it seemed like she didn’t believe me TSK~ : “please God send me someone that would understand I know something i didn’t know” .. so thats why i’m interested in all things coz i’m ’empath?’
lol.. i may not feelin good after i’ll post this .. why ……
No one believes me either, I have a hard time going to school because I’m overwhelmed with all of the emotions and I don’t socialize outside of school because one on one contact intensifies the other persons feelings, so either way I’m overwhelmed. I try to tell people about it but everyone either calls me crazy, superstitious, stupid, or just weird. The only person that believes me is my mom, who is also an empath, so really empaths are the only people who get it. You gotta experience it to understand it is what I always say, and that applies to just about anything. Except for empaths, we understand pretty much every emotion thanks to our very overwhelming gifts.
This is the problem, however, I believe that there are more empaths around than people realize. You are certainly not alone. http://www.empathsupport.com
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Hi. I never got across this word ’empath’ as there is no similar word in Indian language..n I don’t know Hw I got to this article. BT after reading this I got the meaning. N it’s perfectly wat I m going through. Bt I was searching a way out, coz I m tired of this, lack of energy, body aches , n all things described. Jus want to get hell out of this..don’t want to feel other’s feeling. Jus wan to feel mine..
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Wow. I’m floored by how accurate this article and the last article I read have been, perfectly describing nuances in my life that I thought were only subjective to me. I don’t think there was a single thing mentioned that didn’t have me feeling like this itself was written for me (not in a narcissistic manner!). Amazing job, absolutely amazing!!!
This was me to a “T” !! Finally an answer, especially to the sycronicities mentioned. I feel like I am constantly saying to my husband, wow that was a coincidence or what are the odds? The odds were always good in my world because I described it before my awakening as “weird stuff following me around” I also know my daughter is an empath. She is only 10 and I haven’t tried to explain this to her, but I will know when the time is right or she will come to me when she has an awakening or has questions for me on why she is feeling this way! This is all new to me so it is nice to finally have some answers and aha! moments! Even writing this I feel like I am talking to much about myself and it starts making me uncomfortable because I always feel more comfortable complimenting or helping others so I will end here! Thank you so very very much for such an enlightening read! Love to all!!
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Aha! I see how it works. So I’ll just post it and you can read it first before releasing. That’s all I really wanted anyway, to send it to you privately for you to use as you see fit. I’m only up to Alanna 5/21/13 6:50am so I’ll just keep reading while you can peruse my words.
Nice meeting you finally.
Major problem – this site doesn’t accept colored fonts. So I guess you’ll have to reach out to me. You can see my email yes? Anyway, I’ll just wait until I here from you.
@justpassingthrough. Have you felt this coming? I have a super long post, 7264 words, and before I clutter this wonderful thread more, I thought I’d ask you first since you seem to moderating it. Tell me you think. Thanks.
And to the rest of you…. This is the high school reunion I want to attend.
Thank you so much, Gary.
We have all been there and yes it is scary but there are lots of us that can and will assist you in anyway we can. If you wish to email me feel free to do adviceforempaths2013@yahoo.ca
Just hang in there as the more you learn the easier things get and this is a wonderful gift
Well said 🙂 life is so much more enriching if we just let go and be who n what we are.
Peace, Love & Harmony
Trust your self and your feelings. Never apologize for the feelings that you have. I think as I get older I trust people less to be openminded; about people who see and feel things others do not. I believe we all were born with these gifts and somewhere along the way they were shamed or quieted by people. You have to pick and choose how you use this great gift. It has kept me from harm, it hs helped me send good energy into someone who was sad. This is the power of the universe flowing through us all. Don’t be afraid to be connected to it. Embrace it. It is important to know that people who are not good will feel your strength and try to take it from you as well. Socipaths love empaths. We are their greatest challenge. So as you walk into the rest of your life be careful, but realize that what you have is special and use it to make things better for everyone, that includes you. I use the Ocean to temper all the feelings that build up inside me and I take long walks in nature as I can. Make a village around you of people who will allow you to be who you are. I wish you all well in your journey.- Krii
I had such a crazy day at work already with feeling bosses energy sometimes. .. its so hard to be his assistant… he’s a passive aggressive and I know when he’s not being sincere or not happy, or overwhelmed. ..i pick up all these feelings… and it drives me crazy..and….. it’s very hard to deal with it in a relationships with someone…my boyfriends, he’s going through a real tough time in his life and I can feel on his energy and it’s happened to me before and I wouldn’t know how to deal with these emotions I’m learning
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hey has anyone had a look at the guy that appaers in a lot of peoples dreams.coz i saw it for the first time on Facebook today and i got the shakes and really bad anxiety for about 5 mins wtf.what do others think.
Thank you for sharing all of this, I was going to post this on my blog, then I saw this, as an emerging empath who is just discovering her own abilities, and realizing just how painful it can be to know things and not be able to prove it, I am very lucky to have made a few friends who also are empaths, and my children are as well, my son is especially strong, trying to teach them about how to understand that feeling in your stomach, all of my hunches come from my stomach and when I connect with my mentor, I feel him there. I had asked in my empath group on facebook, how to know if it is your instincts that are telling you or is it your own desires and wishes, they said to me, always listen to your gut, even when your mind says otherwise. I also have been practising my reading abilities of people with the warning that I am just learning and I confirm them as well. I pick up imprints of I guess you would say ghosts on people, I just seem to know things I can’t explain.
So again, awesome blog and thank-you. Love and Light to you.
The path you are on is a wonderous one. The things and abilities you will discover on your journy are truely amazing. This gift we have been givin is just amazing. I encourage you to seek out and grow as an Empath one step at a time. Trust in your gift and use it wisely
Peace, Love & Harmony
Thank you♡♡♡♡
Thank you !
I’ve known since I was young that I was an empath. I often find it painful and depressing, but I wouldn’t want to change. I just can’t imagine being any other way.
hi i have always wondered why i was so overemotional about everything it never really clicked with me.i joined the army and served in Afghanistan and i suffered greatly i kind of new there was something going on with me but did not know what.2 years later i had a missive phsycotic breakdown i ended up in hospital because i went nuts feeling every kind of emotion all at once but then when i started to recover i started seeing images from people words numbers pictures it sent me round the loop i was put on meds which made it 10 times stronger.i told one of my doctors he tested me out and he was so excited by it but i was terrified and still am i stopped the drugs in hole to calm it down again but its been 8 months to no avail i don’t know what to do because now its debilitating the worst person i connected with was a guy in the hospital that was sexually abused as a child and he was the same way it scared me for life .this post is me to a tee every single little detail is me i don’t know what to do.thanks
Hello Nicolas,
I guess the best You could do now is free Yourself from fears, anxiety and other negative emotions. I don’t know what those words, numbers and pictures You “get” from people might mean, but I believe You’ll figure it out within some time.
By now I’d like to post links to some articles I hope You’d find useful:
The Shamanic View of Mental Illness
http://www.jaysongaddis.com/2010/11/the-shamanic-view-of-mental-illness/
Archons – Exposing Our Covert Controllers
http://www.in5d.com/archons-exposing-our-covert-controllers.html
I suggest to use Your intuition while reading those articles to find out whether it resonates with You or not. I believe no one on Earth could tell “the 100% truth” about how “the stuff” works. 😀 I think we all have individually “designed” paths and there might be some differences anyway. 😉
Take good care and best wishes! 🙂
Hi Sandra a massive thanks for those posts it was really confronting reading because thats exactly what i went through in the looney bin.it took me two years to look to the phsycic area for myself, just kept on thinking i was mentally ill .from the get go i new the meds were a bad thing but i continued to take them it just made everything worse but i already said that. but an interesting progress on my behalf . i actually don’t think I’m an empath its stronger than that but i will keep looking for answers. usually i think that all this stuff is a massload of bull@#$% but the only thing that stayed in my head was the fact that when i first told one of my doctors that i think i could read peoples minds well not read but just get the pics and numbers then he tested me out on a few number patterns that he thought up and to my well disgust i got them right and he was so so excited than for some reason he was taken away and then i had a new doc weird huh i mean i am getting control of it because when this stuff happens i will see it and feel it then my mind will just continue and make it into something its not but am learning that when its in my gut its real when its solely in my head it aint haha cheers.
Please try to focus, on what makes you relaxed, content, and most importantly happy.
Me too every detail I just read is exactly how I feel I’m just as lost man.
There are quite a few free resources online nowadays and some great online support communities out there. They are worth checking into.
Gary – empathsupport.com
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I’m starting to think I am an Empath. I have 2 conundrums. 1) I do enjoy antiques. I LOVE history! I actually enjoy (and find peace in) being in any old cemetery. But, I will not live in an old home yet I enjoy exploring old homes…weird right? 2) I am a Christian. I do believe Jesus died for my sins. I can’t reconcile the 2 worlds. Feel really mixed up…
Maybe your empathic gifts are from God and your enjoyment of antiques is in the positive feelings they evoke. I am also a Christian, and learning about being an empathic makes me realize why I have been drawn to all the different volunteer activities I’ve enjoyed. I’m currently volunteering with hospice, visiting those on the last leg of this earthly journey. The key for me not to be overwhelmed is to make sure I have “down time” alone with my cat, my thoughts, and my books. Even positive things such as church and family gatherings leave me drained because of all the intense emotions involved. I have to process my feelings, let go of the things I don’t need to be involved in, feel and learn from those I know I need, and pray constantly for situations and people that come to mind. The Holy Spirit will keep you from false mysticism, and lead you to use your gift to comfort and encourage others in tangible ways and in prayer. What befuddles me is that sometimes I’ll know something is going to happen, then it does, but it seems like the only good it does is to spur prayer. It can be a world event, or the name of a baby to be born in the family, or an idea that becomes popular in the news. Enjoy your gifts, even if they are not as valued by the world as more “productive.”
Hi Paula and Mrs. V,
I appreciate finding your question and answer. I guess I will admit I am an empath…(0:
I finally am at a place in my life where I need to admit this and get a grasp on it because it is driving me nuts. As a Christian my concern has been that I would get deceived into false mysticism…so thank you for reminding me that it is the Holy Spirit that will protect me from that. I turned from this a long time ago because i too would know the future but felt and was powerless to impact it. I seem to be sensitive to sad, grief, etc…..the only answer seemed to be to pray but not seeing the positive impact of prayer ended up being so draining. As such I have found myself withdrawing more and more. I seem to need to embrace this and learn some boundaries….I think I am married to an unaware empath and this might be the answer as to why our marriage seems so….crazy with little relief no matter what we have done to understand and change! I would love to find the blessing side of this……any suggestions? Or direction? Please feel free to email me at buettner6@msn.com.
Thanks!
ok, I have a huge respect for the paranormal and wonder where I “fit” in. My family has a lot of sensitive women in it…. my grandmother and sister can see and interact with spirits and passed family members, my mother can feel and is a healer, my youngest daughter can feel and hear, and me, well I can feel upon meeting a person or going someplace that something is going to happen-good or bad. I will know immediately that a person will have an impact somehow on me, my immediate surroundings, or something will happen to them good or bad and I cannot tell which one it will be. I will meet someone and the feeling is so intense that I will avoid them other than casual conversation (which gets complicated, cause Im naturally a nice talkative person)…but its just gotten to where the bad is so intense it outweighs the good.
Oh, and don’t try to lie to me, I get overwhelmed with feeling and don’t know how to read it other than I know its a lie. I can feel it before they even begin to speak or initially approach me to talk.
I was deployed to Afghanistan and met another soldier for the first time before we deployed together. He didn’t work directly with me but I got such an intense feeling that I avoided him, I could see him from across the base and feel something from there. I kept away, other than for a hello in passing, and then we had a patrol together and an IED hit his vehicle, which was ahead of mine, and he was on top of the vehicle in the gunners hatch. He was air evac’d out, and when I saw him again the overwhelming feeling was GONE. I could talk to him without being comepletely overwhelmed.
Another example is when my husband and I moved to where we live now in AZ. We went to check out a bar and are “happy hour” people so we would go in the afternoon, early evening, sometimes during the week so we would always have Jen, the day bartender. As soon as I walked in for the first time, I got a intense feeling and a sensation of choking. I mean an overwhelming sensation of choking to where it was hard for me to swallow, so I eventually asked Jen if something bad had ever happened there and she said not that she knew of, it was new construction, but she would ask the owner. When I saw her again, she said she asked the owner and nothing had happened, but that her nine year old son had died from choking almost two years earlier.
Those are only two of the bigger examples. Can you help me understand this, and possibly guide me in the right direction to research this and learn how to use and control it
I was confused my whole life on who I was….I have been single my whole life…I see apparition from time to time…I am always tired and drained…always depressed and isolated to myself…saught drugs and acholhol for comfort….since I was 4 I could feel other peoples emotions and I react to it I don’t know how to control it..need help please
I’ll say a prayer for you. Peace man.
– Anthony M.
I’m with you. Today, i can barely move. I really don’t know how to handle this gift.
The majority of this was spot on for me but the one thing I keep wondering about is my love for the city. I don’t like overly crowded parts of the city like Times Square – it is overwhelming and annoying, but I do find myself drawn to the energy of cities and abhorrent to suburbia. I actually have to leave my life in suburbia often to get a “city fix”. The lifestyle and people around me where I live gives me feelings of hopelessness and despair for some reason – and complete boredom as I am an artist and there’s a huge lack of funding and love for the arts where I live. When I am in the city i feel alive & not alone. I feel this energy just being surrounded by complete strangers on the street. Recently i discovered my love for the beach and parks and and it’s relaxing affects and while I still need times of solitude, I am not a nature person at all – hiking, woods, anything in water frightens me.
So is it possible that I am still an empath? I have been told i draw in negative energy into my aura from the people around me and that all seems to dissipate when I am surrounded by the city’s energy.
Hi, hope no one minds if I respond here. This is actually normal. Some empaths love the connection of nature, some love the energy of the city. I find it hard to connect to nature because I’m attuned to city living. Doesn’t mean you don’t respect it. It’s simply what suits your purposes at the time.
Also, remember to cleanse that aura with a daily shower and visualize light coming through your crown and down into your feet, taking all the psychic pollution with it.
I came across this article and it really helped.I am only 14 but this is really overwhelming. I extremely happy to know that someone knows what’s happening to me. Most of my friends believe me crazy or they get wierded out when I ask them why they are upset over a text. There was this one time I felt pressure on my chest and I felt really angry but I didn’t know why and a day later my family had a big fight. I am glad I found this Thanx a bunch it really helps but I have one question. Why do I have an intense urge to run outside and dig my feet in to the earth when its night time and the moon is high? Its scares me a bit because sometimes it almost overwhelmes me. I would just like to know why.
I’ve been feeling really, really depressed lately not only at the position I’m at in my life, but also because I seem to be extraordinarily perceptive to other people’s feelings and thoughts. I’ve had people tell me that it’s almost like I’m reading their minds when they ask me for advice or confide in me about something. I can also tune in to when someone is lying to me, and it’s really frustrating when the person in question denies having done so. All I want is honesty. Why is that so hard for people to understand?
Anyway, I had a friend tell me about being an empath because he believed that I could very well be one. I had never heard of such a thing, so I started doing research about three months or so ago and it’s cleared up a lot for me, but I can’t help but feel even more like my path in life is still very out of focus.
I would love to utilize my natural born abilities as an empath and help people, but I fear that the emotional aspect of it all would take a huge toll on me.
I just feel so lost.
The key to dealing with the emotional part is to connect to the person, take what you need, and disconnect. There is really no need to stay connected. You can then do what you need to do. Most seem to stay connected, which is generally a rookie mistake. 🙂
Thank you, Christel Broederlow for that extremely well written article. I have been passing on the link.
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You bet I’m an Empath. This article is a great find!
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Can i say – hell yeah to the above 🙂 tho ive known im an empath for most of my life its always good seeing it written clearly -certainly the aha moments … One exception i love antiques and old things – the history and artistic creativity gives me a beautiful feeling 🙂 the best thing tho is understanding who and what you are – that gives perspective to life … Tho its so easy to forget at times til the aha moment happens again 🙂
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Here’s another link to some helpful and useful (I hope so 😀 ) information for empaths.
http://mysilentecho.com/dreamtongue1.htm
I haven’t got time to read it all yet, but the beginning sounds interesting.
Hope all of you are well. 🙂
Take care and best wishes!
I am an empath , and I am now experimenting on giving over relaxation vibes and I am getting very good results . I tuned in too my wife to help her relax and every time she got disruptive thoughts I knew it it and was pointing them out telling her to let it go , so I am wondering is there a way I could start doing this professionally .
I would really like to know too. Of you find out sh please email me 😉 mandiwood369@gmail.com
yes,i am an empath too
Not sure if this is related, but often have vivid dreams where I can feel what the other person is feeling. Its not myself in a dream, I become someone else.in the dream, im seems as though I am usually”floating” above watching things happen, but able to feel what that person would. For example, please don’t think I’m a weirdo, I just dreamed about two boys being molested by a boy scout leader. I was floating watching it happen. I could feel the physical and emotional pain of the little boy.what was strange is that I could feel his confusion of not understanding what was happening but knowing it was wrong. This happens a lot and is very emotionally disturbing, I’ll probably think about it all day. I have always been sensitive to energy, from the living and deceased, but not sure what to make of my awful dreams, not even sure anyone here knows what im talking about but im disturbed enough I figured its worth a shot. Sometimes I feel as though im “floating in limbo” I either need to block this sensitivity completely or figure out how to manage it before I go crazy. Thanks!
I have this same experience with my dreaming. Please know you are not alone
I understand the dream, funny thing is I figured everyone dreams like this. Most of the dreams I have I am someone else I am experiencing everything through them. I figured it was a way to teach me how to empathize with people and see something from someone else’s perspective. No, your not a weirdo.lol I have also had dreams where someone was being harmed and knew I was watching it yet I could feel what they were thinking and feeling. It wasn’t until you told your story that I realized I was floating!!!
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Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
This helps me to understand me so much better. I let my husband read it & it helped him to understand why i do a lot of crazy stuff, especially drifting off somewhere while people are talking, my emotional light switch & why do many different people come to me with their problems.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
I think I’m an empath, but I’m not quite sure. I don’t think I feel other people’s physical pain/sickness, but when someone is stressed, I feel it, and I can’t “turn it off. “When someone is angry, i think I feel it, but once it comes into me, it triggers fear on my part, which mostly drowns out the anger. A few days ago I realized that I always feel depressed when I’m with my psr worker. I went to another room for a few minutes, and I felt better, but it came back when I went near my psr worker again. I can also ” feel” people’s personalities. All this applies to animals too. What do you think?
That’s an Empath alright 🙂
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Fantastic article – I resonated with all 30 points…. eerily so. I felt as though you had a window into “me”. I have told a few trusted souls that I can “feel” when someone is thinking/talking negatively or just sending me negative energy. I only ever told a couple of people because I realize it sounds sort of loopy, but to actually read that in #3 was so validating to me. Its nice to know there are many others out there who are like this, I have felt sort of alone/weird my whole life because I see the world sort of differently and on a pretty deep level. But then, on a dime, my laughter can turn to anxiety / sadness. Too much sensory stimulation drains me completely, and I find that I need “alone” time to recover and decompress and basically stop buzzing with other people’s energy. Thank you for this article – I am so glad I stumbled across it.
I always thought there was more to how I was experiencing the world around me- and upon taking the time to hit Google tonight, I think i’m on the path to learning how to make the most of being an Empath. I cry when other people cry. Yesterday I saw and overheard a woman crying on the phone on the train. She had a diary filled with scrap paper, a big bag…was on the phone, sounded like she was without a home. If i’d had a place to stay I would have just offered it to her…instead resorting to giving her half a packet of my tissues. When she thanked me, I looked her in the eyes and my heart just ripped apart and sunk and I could feel myself about to choke as tears started welling in my eyes. Apart from that, I kept hearing a guiding voice tell me to give her the tissues, lol! Separate from my thinking voice. Masculine presence.
Anyhoo- thank you- you’re the first article i’ve taken the time to read! I will be delving more into being an Empath in time to come! Positivity zaps 🙂
It’s pretty amazing isn’t it? I felt like all of you when I read this. Now since it is clearly a gift, not a curse, what is it’s intention.? We must have this so we can use it for good, right? But how?
Make life as simple as possible. Never allow sorrow or anger by fear to universe, it distorts everybody’s lives. Not even take others weak emotions to you. Be happy no matter what is happening around you. And because they don’t trust themselves and ignore their real brave hearts of love and joy, they become depended to you thinking themselves as victims. So be happy, be healer, be creator and universal. For more information check this:
http://www.deliberateblog.com/2012/01/26/are-you-an-empath-techniques-to-help-you-live-a-normal-life/ this website made it so simple and explained well positively. 🙂
Finally be self-less same time if lie or wrong is happening never allow to become victim of that, just be your-self and be confident. You are beyond human and form. You are light warrior and love of god. & age or time is illusion. We are all immortal awakened beings. We are here for service and heal our mother planet. No vaccination or drugs or helpers we need, we are that helpers and if possible even god send guiders who are like us got awakened. Heal your DNA by right thoughts and happy feelings believe in it. God is energy it is everywhere and you are already in it. Realize see this:
thesecret.tv … & Quantum physics by “Assaraf” 🙂
You need no-bodies approval. Always fallow your intuition. I became vegetarian, my mother don’t know as she never understood herself. When she bring any non-veg food, i either taste just curry or veg. She tells me you should eat else you become week. They will not understand what perception and intuitive i am. How much enlightenment to universe you are (the real you or god in you). But for sake of your mom, killing and exploiting a living creature in universe or through you is like sending distorted or wrong(lack of positive & love energy) to universe & is what makes you slave and victim too. So be grateful of it. Share this with everyone and those who need that. People having hard time to trust themselves. Problem is they concentrated only on problem but not solution. As by buddha thoughts become things, people should believe them selves not others and stupid people who show their weakness. Think good, speak good and see good. this is secret of universe. It is “REAL” YOU ………. ” 😀 ” bad, good is “nothing” just matter of fact, but “cause” is beyond that, it is “peace” and “joy”. We are game boards not players. & Every game knew its play. There real smartness lies.
1st they rule on you, bully you, demand you for their satisfaction by fear, and then finally they make statues of you as great legend
I discovered your blog a few days ago. It’s a blessing for me. The thirty traits are me. Now I know why I have felt miserable for most of my life. The past year, I sank into a deep depression and was on the verge of asking my doctor to give me a stronger anti-depressant. I had to spend all of my weekends in bed so I could make it to work. I was at the point that I could no longer be around people except for my husband. I have not felt this alive in such a long time. Thank you so much.
So glad it has helped.
🙂
Bless you!!! I am very aware that I have many spiritual capabilities, far beyond my own understanding at times. Thank you sooooo much for this post, it has brought so much clarity to why I am the way I am. This literally describes me to a T!!!! I can’t think you enough love.
✌❤&💡
DUDE. DUDE. Whoa blogger…that completely fits. Seriously- I have been looking online being skeptical, and this is the only thing I have read that completely fits (except for the ‘children not supposed to be heard’ thing). Not only does it fit- it really really really fits, which is crazy….its blowing my mind 😛 Thank you, you’ve made me a very happy person today! I think I shall take this knowledge and move forward. Daaaaaaaaaang. I really can’t believe how spot on you were. When I got to the family historian part I just bust out laughing…lol. Big smiles from my end 😀
I need help. The term empath is a recent discovery for me, but have had all of these feelings listed above all my life, plus some. I’m sick of people telling me I’m too sensitive. The world is too heavy anymore. I’ve seen psychologists, psychiatrists, they put me on meds that never really work and I feel like I’m spiraling. I feel everything & can’t control anything. What do I do with this so-called gift. It doesn’t feel like a gift at all, it feels like a curse. I can’t watch the news or anything that is cruel. Started watching Black Fish, nearly kiled me among many other documentaries that show this type of cruelty. I feel people right away and animals & children are drawn to me. I can pick up or pet aninals that people can’t touch. I know things that…well, I just know. I know who is calling before I pick up the phone & my friends phones. I can’t feel me though. Supernatural occurrences occur often in my life. I’m tired, in fact I’m exhausted & feel so heavy most of the time. I hide in my house I can’t handle crowds of any type. I cry at the drop of a hat, I try so hard not to, but it comes. I’m told often that I’m the ‘most magnetic’ person they’ve ever met, and people tell me the craziest deepest things. I’d never betray their words, however. Ugh, I’m so damn tired, please, help me what can I do? Who can I call?
Hi, Jamie, you are not alone. So many feel and say the same things. If you are seeking others who are like yourself and are after resources, the Empathsupport.com site has been created for such a purpose.
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Hello. My name is Allison. I am 35 years old and I am an introvert, INFJ, and just realized that I am also a HSP and an Empath. I know, it’s not a surprise because most empaths are INFJs. I feel like I finally figured out who I am and things now finally make sense. I have always been different and have even had a few NDE’s, even when I was first born (I wasn’t “supposed” to make it).
I just had a MAJOR déjà vu or realization when I reading this info on empaths. I few years ago I started to write a book (but only finished about 3 chapters) because I had this awesome idea of this young woman who was dropped into this alternate universe and couldn’t communicate with the people because of they spoke different languages. I just realized that this young woman is me. She looks like me, talks like me and I am surrounded my family and friends who are mostly extroverts. It’s like they’re talking a different language than I am.. It’s really frustrating sometimes and I just wish they could feel what I do…just once…
I would really appreciate any advice, comments, whatever.
Thanks for reading my ramblings…
The issue with paranormal claims and supposed esp is that to gain acceptance it must be backed up with scientific empirical data. I would encourage any “brave” em path to look into em sensing and what nature has to offer and physics. Geese. I am willing to entertain the idea that some can perhaps sense something more than the base five senses. It will remain the realm of pseudo science until the time the community steps up.
Well Hello
I read your comment and it’s kind of the same thing for me except that i am not writing a book
Seems like whatever’s on this blog is true
In fact I’m replying to you to tell you that i could help you with ideas for your book if you’re at loss of ideas
I’ll be glad to do it because I just feel the need to you know let my emotions go a little…
i’m so like closed sometime its difficult for me to converse with my mom sometimes because i know that our discussion will end up with a fight(It’s always like that)
I just see things in another way so I thought that maybe if i talk with an empath like me i might feel less lonely and your project about this book seems fascinating
I love the idea
Do reply soon 😀
Hi. I was not thinking about a book on this subject much.. Short version for a learning. Logic over emotion. Cooling down, control and breathing over the perceived/felt connection. Then explore that connection if your logic says it is good for you.
Thank you for this piece.
Over the years, I can put a tick to each of the 30 points mentioned.
Being on the spiritual path for the past 2 years, I can now put a tick to all of the above. Especially with the experience I am having now (after my recent spiritual retreat).
Never occurred to me that my experience is that of an empath.
This explains many things, I am very enlightened.
Hello,
I found this blog while looking in google for help. The article above seems like my biography! You have described me better than I would describe myself. I have been going through a turmoil for months now and I feel lost. I feel alone, but I am surrounded by family and friends. I feel I lack fulfillment at work, when what i do is important for others. I feel like a lost soul that doesn’t know what is their life purpose.
My emotions are taking me on a roller coaster ride. I feel happy and laughing and then in matter of seconds I am the complete opposite. I try not to show my sad emotions to people and keep them to myself but sometimes i take it out on my parents in the form of subtle anger because i feel that i can be myself at home.
I can be perceptive without knowing it. few weeks back i found a note from my ex-boyfriend hidden between my things and when i read it i remembered the negative emotions i had with him before breaking up and I thought to myself “I can’t believe I was with him that long let me throw this out amongst other stuff that I kept for keepsake”. Few days later I discovered that on that exact day he got engaged to someone. As if some bigger power was looking to protect me from the news that might make me upset. This keeps on happening to me having a thought about someone and later i discover that something important happened to them whether its good or bad.
I feel i need to find love and start family, but i have been unsuccessful and thus feel a big empty space in my life. I, also, feel I need to find a mentor for work or life to guide me because I don’t feel grounded enough.
I have a strong personality yet very understanding of others. I would move mountains if I thought this would bring happiness to someone i care about.
I need someone to help me find solutions for not carrying other people’s emotions and making them my own and how can I find peace within myself ?
Can someone help me ? I feel as if I’m imploding:(
Hi Shafi!
I listened to the Voice in my head to go ahead and leave a reply. I could go on and on about lot’s of things but what I was guided to write was my most recent discovery, Tao Te Jing (pronounced dow da jing). Actually it was Dr Wayne Dyer who i learned about it from. I was guided to watch this movie called The Shift on youtube. Great stuff when it comes to your Life’s Purpose!
Right so this is brief and also the first time I ever used my phone to make any kind of posting before :D. Good Luck!
Benjamin
Whoops!
Tao Te Ching!
Apologies for rushing haha
Hi Shafi,
You sounds just like me. I discovered the empath term and this forum last Spring and it was a bit of a shock to the system. I really wanted to find a mentor to talk to personally, I didn’t want to read books, as I want the interaction of someone who will understand.I spent a while researching potential coaches and reading and listening to their stuff.
I heard Michael Smith on a webinar, he sounded like he fitted the bill. I looked him up and liked that he has the academic and professional credentials of Psychology and Counselling, as well as highly developed spirituality. It’s not cheap and he gets booked up months in advance, but I have booked a session with him in May as I would prefer to spend the money wisely with someone who really appears to be at the top of his game. Here’s his website which you might like to review yourself:
http://www.empathconnection.com/
There was a psychic by the name of Sylvia Browne who wrote about life paths and the meaning of our life….etc. There was a lot of controversy surrounding this woman over her predictions but her life books were pretty easy to understand. You might find something she wrote beneficial in finding your questioning to the meaning of your life.
HI, Shaif,
Lots of information on empaths out there plus a few free useful books written especially for the empath.
you are not alone.
I can relate with your emotions as i work on daly basis with patients in a deep transhealing and after they feel fress but the next day they might get bone og muskular pain for some hours and total O mindfulness.
I did not know about my abilities until i retired at 60 after working with public in law enforcement for 43 years and never had problems. From the day i started it has been like a roller coster ride going back in time looking in the patients past to find the source for the illness and the longest 56 years.
Sent to India Agra 2007 to connegt with my helpers and on my home padge ther is a detaild article from this trip. There is a photograp on the front padge of me taken in an old church in Budapest 2007 and i sent it to Germany for aura reading with these new hi tec photo analyser. The resaults were amazing strong beam of blue combined with white lite emenating from my heart station and the reading with it was that my head chakra and the heart chakra are combined as one it would be needed for me as the bearer off light to have it.
love and light
thor
Hi, Shafi, I feel you deeply. You do indeed need strong protection from all the energy that is barraging you. Here is one thing I just found when I googled:
http://www.psychicinsights.org/white_light_of_protection
There are many great videos and other resources online that can help you ground yourself. One site I’ve recently discovered is igodmind.com. Check it out. Just trust whatever resonates with your spirit.
I had a psychic tell me years ago, that I was an empath and would be attracting spirits, both in the physical world and otherwise, and that I would need protection, but at the time I did not completely understand that.
For help with your empath abilities, I would recommend you contact a person experienced in such abilities, and for your life path, I would recommend a holistic life coach. These people can help you understand that you are heard and you are important and you are not crazy… and that the answers you seek are inside you.
I personally have just enrolled in a school for holistic life coaching/wellness. I am only beginning to discover my own path — it has taken me many years, largely due to being around the wrong people.
I know you want to find a partner and have a family, but the most important thing is to know yourself. Otherwise, you may find yourself linked with a person who is not right from you and may steal your energy. Wait for it … know yourself, love yourself completely, and then it will happen when the time is right.
Love & light
Delan
punkee007@gmail.com
Hahahahahahaha I Love Ye All!! *nods to beyonder33* -my golden sphere has always been my most powerfull shield.
Hi everyone. I’ve been an empath for my whole life (I’m 37 now). It’s gotten stronger as I’ve gotten older, so I can’t handle public places too well. Luckily I’m color blind lol. So the colors aren’t too much of an issue. My 17-year-old son is taking on the same traits and I believe he also is an empath. Anyone have tips on grounding for a teen boy? Right now he is having trouble at school and being sick to his stomach in the mornings. I think this is a result of the turmoil of other people’s feelings at school although he doesn’t understand why 😦 he has quit playing on his hockey team and now is not doing well at school. How can he ground when he starts feeling this way in public? Any help would be appreciated!
Key to being grounded is self confidence and setting your boundaries. Can be quite a challenge for teens when they are trying to find who they are and pick up on everything around them.
Personally, I’ve found using Bach Flower Remedies to help me and I believe they would help any Empath.
@Aubrey
I am an empath/spiritual healer/medium/intuitive
And though I’m still learning how to better grasp all of the above I will share with you a few things that help me stay centered and help repel people’s/places negative energy.
1. Absolutely do meditate. And when I say meditate I don’t just mean sitting with your legs crossed going om for 20 minutes no.
I mean meditate/visualize a protective set of shields/lights surround your home as well as yourself and loved ones(especially your Son-this is called bubble meditation). Do this daily/ or whenever you’re about to head out/before he goes to school. But don’t just visualize it, know it.
It’s a state of knowing and being that once you become use to you will not have to do as often.
I can be around crowds and have a block on their negative energy because of this.
2. Avoid the news. Especially your local news. News is depressing and induces feelings of despair, sadness and negative feelings as mentioned above.
3. Now for your Son. I suggest you going to youtube.com and researching ‘bubble meditation’ which is my absolute most used technique(as mentioned above). As it helps you by keeping you in a state of knowing that you are protected at all times(him also). And if you cannot get him to follow these rules but know he must follow them in order to regain some normalcy then I suggest sitting down and having a talk with him.
A lot of times we pick up on people’s energies, take it on and whether it’s emotional or physical can cause a lot of energy drainage.
He might find it all weird but if he truly wants to gain a hold of his own senses again then he needs to learn how to ground himself.
Here’s an fb group dedicated to empaths like all of us here.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Empath-Connection/134926033194344?fref=ts
And here is a group that shares information about all things spiritual. Not just for empaths:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Beyond/446849658717175?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crystal-Moon/169338363235767
Check their photos and files with the subjects that pertain to you most. They may have more in debth information that could help you figure out better ways of helping not just yourself but your Son.
I hope this helps some what.
Love and light
Beyonder 🙂
I’m 18 and I’ve been aware of my empathetic skills for about 4 years. It’s odd your son and I went through similar things as far as the grades and hockey go. I was very ungrounded for a long time because of my lifestyle and it had a lot of detrimental effects on my social life and feelings toward others . Get him back on the hockey team, sports and exercise are great grounding activities. If you can spend more time outside with nature,go on hikes, start a garden. You can also guide him through grounding meditations (very helpful). Any way that you can connect with the earth will strongly aid in keeping grounded. Let him know there’s thousands of kids out there going through similar situations. Kids our age can feel really isolated sometimes.
Read your comment and i thing the same thing might be happening to me along with that i’m very much sensible to other’s comment about me
Sometimes it just gets difficult for me to be around others i feel like no one cares for me
this is to ask you if ever you are able to cope with these feelings of being an empath could you tell me how please?
thank you a lot
Take the young man on a walk to where homeless people live. Show compassion and explain that our society is driven by trade, and he should be part of that trade. His life span will hopefully be full and he will need to have an economic base. Place what you can for him in a savings fund and refresh it monthly. Peace.
Mis post my apologies I was channeling lol. This was for the man who was having issues with his son.. Peace
Take the young man on a walk to where homeless people live. Show compassion and explain that our society is driven by trade, and he should be part of that trade. His life span will hopefully be full and he will need to have an economic base. Place what you can for him in a savings fund and refresh it monthly. Peace
My daughter is only 13. Everything I have read in the last 10 minutes is her. Everything. How do I help her cope?
Hi, Christa, if that were me, I’d be looking into Bach Flower Remedies. They are really an Empath’s best friend.
Wow, marvelous weblog format! How lengthy have you been running a blog for?
you made blogging glance easy. The total glance of your
web site is fantastic, let alone the content material!
Does anyone ever have issues when going into a mall or supermarket that the colors today are screaming at you and they literally do you in? thanks
hi I believe I am a Empathy. please keep me updated with information thank you.
Thank you so much for this article and the good energy you have shared in my reading of this. I’ve always known I was an empath, from a very young age I’ve been able to feel and know exactly what people are thinking and feeling and often growing up was amazed, shocked and frustrated that no one else in my family seemed to be. After a life time of souls searching I am finally giving my empathic lineage the respect it is due and trying to change my life and career towards nurturing and developing my skills to help heal a childhood of trauma and help heal others in the world. Reading this, in particular Christel’s detailed description has brought such wholeness and feelings of joy I can not describe!! It as if you’ve just written with insight about my entire life. And at the biggest toughest choice point of my life yet! Talk about the universe giving you what you need! Thanks, light & love xxx
Please if you know anyone who gives guidance or coaching for Empaths, particularly about careers email me: vp_leo@hotmail.com
I just hate picking up on negative energy from someone that I love(d)
Example: My ex Boyfriend. We’re only broken up about 2 weeks.
The deal with that was a few weeks before the break up I could sense something was off about Him. Like I just knew in my gut that he’d been seeing someone else even though he completely denied it.
About a week or 2 before that I felt like things were improving because I was able to express sentiments a little more.
But he was NEVER expressive, always detached and never very communicative.
We were together almost a year and a half.
And just a few days before I could initiate the break up I was already in the mourning phase.
Crying myself throughout the night, unable to sleep. Making myself sick to my stomach.
I did have some evidence of him possibly cheating. But there were Red Flags since the beginning that I let go because I wanted things to work out between us so bad. I think he knew it wasn’t working out because he was avoiding seeing me. I wanted to confront him face to face but we spoke on the phone finally. He NEVER talked on the phone with me. He only ever texted.
I opted for a break. Silly of me when he said it was time to say goodbye. I didn’t want to believe it though. I mean even if he tried to come back to me the trust is completely gone.
Any way I don’t need to go into more details.
I do send him off with love and light. This relationship we had wasn’t going any where any how.
I was hopeful at one point though
Beyonder33, yours is a very touching story. Totally identify. A feeling, a sense that Somebody is right for you, but yet…something is not quite matching up, but you can’t quite put your finger on but still connected, right? Empath meets logical. Logical cannot deal with emotions. Logical and emotions collide. They do not sit well together. Logical runs to be safe, hey those feelings frighten me, I am off. Empath is still wondering and still hoping that Logical will return and see the world as she does but he is so scared, he distances. Logical is actually in love with Emotion, but does not know how to deal with It, it is such a strange thing. It is so far away from his safe, detached world. Tell me all about it !
Hi Lilie
It’s funny that as empaths we are also very forgiving and compassionate
On that note I took him back(for the 3rd time)
But it’s same shi7 different toilet. I’m giving him some time to get his act together b4 calling it quits. I don’t like the idea of it but his communication has to improve otherwise it cannot work. The only thing I want/need for security from him IS communication and if he cannot afford to give me that then I cannot stay with him.
I love him and I feel like we are Twin Souls. But maybe like a friend said: It’s not a good time for ‘US’ to be together. I’ve always been very patient and even feel at times I’m not patient enough but, I also feel that other normal chicks WOULD NOT put up with a guy that is so aloof, distant and detached as he is!
He’s aquarius by the way :p lol
Hello Beyonder, yes, your story struck a cord with me as I went through something similar. Was with a guy for a few years and like yours, he was not very communicative, not very expressive
and kept things mostly to himself and yes red flags too but not glaring ones, just little telling things but it is often the little things that people do that give you the most information about them.
On the empath part of the story. Last time I saw him was in mid- December, all fine, well as fine as it ever was with him lol. Text exchange, still ok and then one of his silence gaps. This time I felt, really felt there was something wrong. I was right because around 22 December the bombshell dropped and he left me, virtually!!. Well all that day, I was in such a state as if I was waiting for something bad to happen, well more like it had already happened and I was already feeling it as if had occurred, if you know what I mean. Sorry if I sound odd. So the day went by and I thought I was off the hook but around midnight (there are some times and dates you never forget) I got the message (yes pathetic I know, a BBMsge).
Now stranger than that, maybe I should have broken down after I read it, called a friend, called him but I just went to bed and slept normally and it was only the next day it hit me. I think I may have been broken up with but I am not sure. He couldn’t even get that straight ha ha. And then, I decided that never again would I contact him and that is where it is today, I was so attached to him and so distraught that he would have done this and in this way. Then come his birthday, strange again as I toyed all day about wishing him a happy birthday (it was 7 Feb) but decided not too but instead lit a candle for him, it was the only thing I could think of doing to let him know I was thinking of him, a sort of silent reaching out.That same night I had the most vivid dream about him on a large plasma screeen! (won’t go into the details as they are personal to me) but it told me that he was a guy in much anguish. That’s my story, sad but true. And yes, I do believe I am an empath, I tick most of the boxes and I am far too sensitive for my own good. As for you, I can only imagine that he has a lot more to learn from you that you from him!
Yep like I said: Mine is aquarius and so is yours right? lol
That’s how they do. Makes you sure they’re with someone else. i hate that ugh
Does anyone know of a good Christian empath who gives very deep enlightenment? Thank you
Hope You’ll find this one inspiring- http://youtu.be/VYYXq1Ox4sk
Take good care and best wishes! 🙂
Yes ann, i do contact me coopergibson1957@gmail.com.this is my personal email named after mydog! I have a website starting shortly named forget-me-not. I am an older lady, a devout christian who has walked this path, peace, joy and blessings
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I went through a similar experience only the person I had a soul tie with was a serious drug addict. I had to endure “no contact” and though extremely painful, emotional and spending three months practically paralyzed I overcame it. You will too, I promise.
Perhaps it’s a soul call?
Thanks Gary, I’ve been reading a bit on your forum, and I’m not sure if I know how to differentiate between a soul mate and a soul call. This guy is married. I know his marriage is just not right. I have been trying to be a friend but removed enough so he sorts himself out. He suffers from depression. Yes, he sounds like a nightmare, especially considering we both come from broken families (and neither of us want to do that) and my father is manic depressive schizophrenic. All the things I should stay away from which weren’t obvious when we were first friends and have come apparent over time. But I undoubtably have a strong pull but the question is whether it’s true love or a lesson for one or both of us? Confused! All I know is I always miss him.
It’s quite likely you have a deep soul connection with this person. If that is the case and you can’t be with them there is really only one solution and that is the “no contact” rule. None whatsoever. It’s difficult but it works. No contact of any sort…phone, text, email, physical…nothing. There are sites concerning soul ties that might help.
Thanks CherryLipGloss, there is for sure a strong and deep connection, the biggest of my life (41 years) to date. Usually I prefer to be on my own, i find relationships too claustrophobic. But with this guy I just want to be with him. The thought of no contact makes me feel like I stop breathing. It worries me this is unhealthy 😦
Can anyone help?
I discovered this page last Spring, it came as a lightbulb moment, suddenly my life and struggles all made sense. After immediate relief, I experienced confusion, read and read, was quite overwhelmed by the realisation and am slowly learning to deal with it. I’ve got into meditation, done more yoga, and am trying to prioritise self care.
One thing I’m struggling with is a strong love connection. I had a ‘penny drop’ moment with someone about a year ago, that this was the person for me, he instantly gives me peace of mind and makes me feel safe. but the context means we cannot be together. But without him, I experience massive panic, for days I am in a fog of anxiety. Just a quick few words connection is enough to completely calm me again.
I’d really like to know how I cut off that attachment, if indeed I can whilst being in touch with him, or whether for my own sanity I have to NOT be in touch because it’s too much. If in touch, I have to be careful of overfunctioning, which I often do because I ‘just know’, when other people need to catch up, and I end up scaring them off because I’m a step ahead! I need to be detached but don’t want to mess this up.
How the hell else does anyone deal with issues of love?!
My husband and my Mother are both super empaths/healers – very gifted people as I am, but it sure makes it very hard to all be in the same place everyday. I would appreciate any advise. We pick up on each other’s emotions, pains,etc..it can be very debilitating to say the least. Thanks.
Bubble Meditation/google it/youtube it!
Thanks – will give it a try !
Avoid dramas if you can. Define your own boundaries and remain grounded. The key to grounding is self confidence. And for god sakes, communicate, especially when you’re feeling something is wrong. Empaths tend to immediately think it’s something they’ve done when it’s rarely the case.
Empaths in the same space are a bad combination if they have unresolved fears and issues.
Also, if you google The Empath Guidebook, you can find the free ebook on the subject.
Hope this helps.
Hi! This list is so much like me – it is eerie. How did you develop it?
Thank you!
This article really “made sense” to me and I recognized myself (very strongly) in all but 2-3 of the main traits of an empath you have described. It’s given me a sense of belonging that I don’t often get and it is some relief to know that I am not alone with being “emotionally sensitive”, as a brief example, I can become teary at really strange times and nearly overwhelmed with emotion, while at other times, I feel I have entirely shut down from people (I suppose shut out is more accurate). Myself and friends who have similar traits, cover it by describing ourselves as “sensitive souls”, but empath is much more accurate and encompasses all the variations of being sensitive and compassionate and perhaps more attuned to the energies we can’t see but feel so powerfully sometimes. I don’t want to repeat what others have said already, but your writing has brought some real clarity and peace to my mind, both with how I view myself and my reactions/actions and others….
I have quoted your blog and 30 Traits of an Empath in my own blog, please see link below, but I’m afraid I couldn’t see your name on the blog, so I have attributed it as best I could. Please let me know if this is ok with you, I am still quite new to blogging and really don’t want to tread on anyone’s toes
http://cheeseplantdiaries.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/traits-of-empath.html
Thank you again for your fantastic clarity and empathy 🙂
Claire
What was In this blog summed it up. I needed this. It doesn’t answer one thing though.
Every time I watch a movie About the paranormal or people talk about it, I start crying and it’s like I can’t breathe. Im not scared, not In the least, but… I don’t know but its like enter heart breaks.
If you could answer this for me I would most pleased.
Thank you, for all.
Hi Samantha! Wow! Can’t (can) believe I am responding to another post so soon after my last. Must be due to the recent energy changes I have been feeling since I moved. ANYWAY! I am totally not an expert. Bottom line up front…..as we say in my biz. I will throw some heart math out there for you. The Heart. That beautiful organ that beats in our chests is so much more than we ever realized. Well at least myself. In the past couple of months, synchronicity has led me to this topic. I had no idea that the heart is the first organ to manifest into REALITY after cellular division takes place in a mother’s womb. Huh. Right off the bat I’m like……..Pretty significant. Also, we are electro-magnetic beings and the heart gives off 5,000 times more electro-magnetic energy than the brain. AND if that is not enough, new research (no sources to cite now in this quick moment but it’s out there) is showing that we thought of the brain as being in charge and telling the heart to pump etc etc. Yeah. True, got it BUT the heart is doing something to the brain as well. The heart is sending more instructions and information to the brain than vice-versa. Incredible huh? They are saying with the new neural type (I am so not a doctor haha) pathways they are discovering in the heart that it is almost like a mini-brain. So here is my take (ish). The Heart generates our true feelings and that is conveyed to the brain which in turn interprets thru thought. Something along those lines, I am still a work in progress……as we All are.
When it comes to seeing or hearing these things about the paranormal……..your heart is having a reaction……….I have no clue. I’m just typing words right now. But if you want some cheap two cents worth of a tip……..I would suggest going to a very quiet secluded place and have a conversation with your Heart. And then. Just Listen. I’m not saying this is something that can be done overnight. May take weeks, months, who knows. The important thing though is to not force it. Let it in. Do not try and grab it and drag it in. It will come on it’s own. No kicking and screaming necessary :D.
Enjoy this beautiful Sunday!
Benjamin
I am an empath I know it…42yrs old and seem to be having a hard time controlling it….I feel like a freaking sponge most days. …especially when we have a full moon or storms…any sugestions
I’ll go with the be brief is best technique here as there is so much. I have no clue what I am doing (in my life). Listening mainly. Going with the Flow. Burning sage and rosemary around the apartment, sea salt scrubs. Nutrition is HUGE (spirulina, if you haven’t heard of it……research it, get it) but trying to be brief AND throw you in a general initial direction. Meditate, meditate, and of course meditate. I have a grounding technique that is very powerful. Imagine yourself as a tree and begin pushing the roots deeper into the ground. Our thoughts are so powerful! I am going on 44 in a week and was just a few short months ago I found my true nature. Found JPT’s blog the next day and have generally been a silent observer……..at least until a couple days ago. And now. Huh. The Voice. Go figure. The Voice told me, Brevity is Best here. Good luck!
Benjamin
Thank you for this list, there is someone very important to me who is an Empath apparently, and this will go a long way helping me to understand and interact with her.
Thank you! This has helped me understand myself and this gift, that has never made a whole lot of sense to me. Thank you!
I just want to know how to get rid of it. It’s ruined my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was wondering if someone could help me develop my abilities as an Empath, maybe even offer me guidance or even just moral support. I’m having trouble coping with being an Empath. I’m only 21, and not very many of those around me are tolerant of belief in things such as this. My email is charlipitts@yahoo.com. Please contact me if you can help. Thank you for reading this regardless. It helps just to have gotten It out in the open at least.
We could help eachother.. BC Idk much about me I know now I’m a empath..
Thank you for this article. I am 57 and have known for a long time that I am an empath but have always been reluctant to put a label on it. For some reason, perhaps I am ready now, I just connected the irrational anxiety I feel at Christmas time with this and have gone in search of some further understanding, leading me to this site.
No matter how much ‘cheer’ I attempt, I am always struck down with the most intense melancholy at Christmas. I can’t go near the big shopping centres because the emotional strain is so intense I can almost hear people screaming in their heads with worry about money, family, presents, time etc etc.
Even though the holiday period can be a happy time for many families, for a lot of people it is a time of sadness, loneliness and anxiety and if you are an empath it is a time when the collective consciousness is swirling with this energy and you may feel, as I do, extra vulnerable to it. Look after yourself, be kind to yourself, understand and accept why you may be feeling this way and know that soon the energy will clear and if you are like me, I find that January is a time of fresh starts, moving on and new beginnings, so respite is not far away.
Oh no! I just “stumbled” onto your post researching Empaths and now everything makes so much sense. Christmas Eve I was shopping and it put me in a bad mood. Once home, I had a misunderstanding with my daughter. Christmas day, I got into an argument with my boyfriend and now we have broken up. I was so full of anxiety and took it out on everyone around me. Can’t turn the clock back, but I can learn from this incident so it doesn’t happen again.
Good luck Lucie. I believe that being an empath isnt a penalty, its a joy – you just have to manage your spirit when something ‘big’ is happening around you. Not always easy but there are plenty of tips on this site. I use Reiki and surround myself with light before I go to shopping centres etc. (just dont always remember until its too late!!)
Wow I got 27 of them and the other three were even kinda like me but not totally u know I looked this page up cause reasently I told a friend of mine I was an empath we were texting btw and all of a sudden I got this strong feeling of jealousy I was like what in the world I didn’t get it until I finished reading her text saying she was an empath but she didn’t get the feel of one from me so I think she was jelouse that I am an empath and she isn’t witch made me really sad that she was the way about it and lied to me as well kinda hurt but it made me want to verify u know that I am an empath not just some crazy chick
I was searching different self help topics and somebody was talking about “empath”? What the heck is that. I typed in ” what is an empath?” and that lead me to this site. WOW – THANKS! I don’t know if I am a full card carrying member of the Empath Society, however I have many of the traits and this all really makes sense to me. I live in a very desirable and beautiful location – I hate it, my house is for sale but due to the economy one must wait. I wondered what you would have to say about empaths and geography – like where they live, the structure they live in etc. I know I will feel a million, trillion times better when I move. I have lived places before and knew that I just had to move. I can drive through a town and know within a short period of time whether or not I could ever live there. This place was tolerable until my husband died suddenly. I try so hard to be grateful for my gifts, lucky to have a roof over my head etc. etc. but I feel like a caged animal here. I can’t shake it. Would love to hear your thoughts. And thanks again for this – lights came on!! Maybe I’m
not crazy after all…
The funny thing is, I always thought it is because I was an introvert, HSP and INFP. I guess being an Empath is another one I can add to the list. Why is the world so hard for dreamers?
Sandra, that test interested me so I took it myself to see what I would get. I ended up with ISFP. I’m still looking into it and I’ll comment more later ^_^
This frightened me yet put things into prospective! Wow, I definitely understand myself a lot more now. Mood swings; why people come to me so easily for advice or just to vent but are so comfortable doing so; why animals are so comfortable in my presence or they come to me directly… Not gonna lie this shit is cray cray ok?! XD But thank you. I looked this up after hearing about it on one of my favorite shows: A Haunting. I went to look up what the traits were or what passes for an empath and I ended getting blown away. I had to put my phone down several times because I could not believe what I was reading. Me, me, me, ME! On that list, out of 30 points, I made up 18. I’m sure others had way more but, it was amazing and very insightful. Makes me want to sharpen these abilities in me. But overall, thank you. This really, REALLY helped.
Thank you soo much for this great info and you are right because many statemants that you said really made me feel such as the same and what i feel bad about specially familly members try to understand me and worst of give a such crap that is just coiscidence about the feeling of spirits present or future knowing of deaths or accidents tru a third party but thank you now i know what i am and try and just managed it and stop soo much to feel not normal.
Yeah, i can relate very deeply. at first people just seemed to overwhelm me whenever i got close to them. I always get their feelings mixed up with mine. i always attracted and was attracted to underdogs. im like a freaking underdog magnet, and the story goes, i burden their emotions and then they leave me so i go burden another persons emotions. Rather disappointing since everyone gets healed while i get stuck with their garbage. its been like this for a long time now and finally i can call it quits. no more empathy from me, ive already wasted a big part of my life and time burdening other peoples shit.
I used to be one but not anymore*^_^*
Not bad a’tall, good job! Understanding what people are saying when they’re unaware it isn’t a blessing, always. Few witness “dawn” making taking trial and error imperative until it’s handled correctly, the right way. Like passion and love and so forth, it’s not what you say that people remember. It’s how you make them feel when you leave the room. Keep up the great work! These things are NOT easy to articulate and simple is a great way to go!
I have to rewrite what I had writen be4!!, arghhhhhh
Anyways today I’m not sure what to call it so I’ll call it ‘odd’ , I was baby sitting my nephew his 1 and 6 months still can’t talk but speaks baby!.
So I love singing and my lil man loves singing (he shouts nd screams but its close enough) so I start dancing ‘end of time’ by beyonce, nd I’m feeling the song my nephew gets up and starts copying me, but I was only doin the footwork so it was easier for him to follow. The weird thing is that today (a hour ago)
I saw a video of a little girl dancing to the same song with her mother which was weird to me cause it reminded me of my nephew , like is linking the two too much or am I over thinking this? .
Ooh is it ‘normal for a empath to be ill and cause others that are close to be ill as well?, the other day I had a leg problem I was limping I hurt it (dancing or when I was playing football/ soccer) and the next day my close friend was limping!, my cousin never gets sick , I once had a bad flu and I stayed away from him but the next day he was as worse as me!, my mother who was on a trip got home that night nd in the morning she was the same as my cousin, and my cousin’s girl friend came to visit that next day and my cousin made sure she didn’t stay long (only one hour). So now whenim unwell I make people go away cause I hate seeing them unwell. I had a backache while I was dancing with my crew it was so bad I could hardly move, but by the end of practice half of the crew had bachaches and I was feeling a little better , I got home and the backache was back and an hour in my house my mother’s back was sore !,
And another thing I ‘know’ when people are going to lose a close loved one. I can’t tell them that I ‘know’ cause it would be wrong , and mean. A year ago my best friend lost her father to cancer and her dad was my dad , so I came to see him and when I left I knew that it would be the last time I saw him and the way he looked at me I think he knew as well even if the docter had said 6 months, I knew it wasn’t the case. I said my last goodbye nd I know that he knew that ,that day was the last day I would see him creepy I know, I also knew when my great aunt would die, a few days earlier , I was reading a book nd the end was so sad the little boy died and then I got this sick feeling in me that I get when some is gonna die or is also dead, I started crying soo much my ex at the time tried to get to stop but I couldn’t . Then an hour later I stopped and I said goodbye to my auntie and the next day she died but I was at my friends house I already knew by the time they called what had happened. I they told me the last day of my visit at my friends house, I told my friend that knew , my friend looked at me and I felt her saddness off her and I stopped the convo.
That’s all ! Hehehe thanks for reading
just, thanks.
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Okay,.. The most creepest thing happened today, its not creepy its just weirding (that’s not a word but it is now) me out , okay so today I was babysitting my nephew as normal on friday afternood for a few hours, so during those few hours I start singing nd my nephew can’t talk but he speaks baby, its really cute,.. Soo I’m singing a beyonce song ‘end of time’ nd I start doin the dance moves , well the footwork she does at the start of her concerts , nd my nephew starts doing what I’m doing with my leg nd tries to copy what I’m doin’… Now!, just now !, I hv just watched a video of a lil girl dancing to beyonce’s song end of time with her mother . I found it weird how that happened plus, my lil munchkin (my nephew) he looks like beyonce’s kid I swear, he is the male version of. Blue ivy nd its creepy , his only a shade lighter but apart from that you’d think they were related ..
Another thing I wanted to say here, is thatwe end up feeling others pains, but with me its the other way around, when I’m sick or ill in some sort of way wheather I’m in pain or sick in bed, people around me start getting effected , they get pains on thr back , they start feeling sore nd what not its weird I find it weird,.. And paranormal, well I can sense death, I know its creepy but I know when someone close to me will lose someone, or I know when a loved one passes, my great aunt I knew a few days that she was gonna pass way that weekend nd she did so I made sure I was far way. Cause I can’t stand the pain from others it hurts me more . Nd when my uncle passed a way a few years ago, I walked home that day, nd half way home, I got this sudden gut feeling that shit hit the fan and it did when I got home, nd the saddness in the house cause the most painful headache.
Also I don’t know about this but when I was like 10 or 11 I started meditating and I’d end up in this state of mind where my body is in the room but I wasn’t their . Then I could see the house house I went out side and I’d go any where, but it would suck the energy out of me that the only thing I could do was go sleep .
My mother called me her lucky charm then that day I found this site! .
I know that we as empaths have our own paths.
We are all going through our own dillemas and experiencing the same things at different times
In the past 2 years I’ve gone through some spiritual changes.
My Spirituality went from it’s peak to almost not existing
I went from feeling happy around Family and so open to socializing
to not wanting nothing to do with my Family and wanting to just stay home
Not stressing about other people’s problems.
Maybe that’s the problem.
Being an empath, medium and intuitive.
I’ve literally blocked my gifts sort of.
Not because I don’t feel I deserve them but because I’ve gone through so much I don’t feel that I can handle it.
Yet.I recently began having Migraines on a regular basis.
And though I know that they are based on several factors, I have a relative who has suffered from migraines for years.
I think that I sense her from the distance. Her stress and emotions and am being made a vessel to harbor her stress.
I can handle it to a certain degree but I really truly wish to be healthy.
I know Diet is a big factor,
Keeping up on Doctor’s appoinments.
Taking allergy and asthma meds when needed.
Because when I get a migraine it’s not just a headache.
It feels like 3 plus things happening at the same time.
Sinus pressure, throbbing pain that moves all around my head, Gas, chills
Nauseau
It’s not cool at all
Especially when they make you puke
I hope none of you have to go through this bc it’s a pita
Any how I guess all these changes that we are going through are the earth’s/God’s/spirit’s way of preparing us for what’s to come.
The only thing we can do to stay sane, focused, healthy and in tune is to take time for ourselves.
Stop worrying so much about others even tho that in of itself can be very hard.
We as empaths tend to care a little too much about other pple’s well being and totally forget to take care of ourselves. This is why we sometimes tend to have health issues. Ignoring our own and tending to others.
Please Take time to meditate, exercise and take some times to take care of yourselves.
The best is yet to come!
Beyonder
I had about 21/30 out of the above.
I’ve always felt like I get too caught up with other people’s emotions and that when I let myself, I connect TOO deeply with other people.
My thing is that I don’t even have to have met or know a person. I can be thinking about kids my age who’s families don’t have money for Christmas and how all they are asking for through the angel tree is money for their lunch account and a pair of jeans and I’ll get incredibly sad, to the point where I want to cry. I don’t know if that makes me an empath or just an overly sensitive person… if I don’t let myself think about something at a deeper level I am fine, like with picking a kid off of the angel tree. At first I was just going to pick a kid who was asking for things that it seemed like my class could provide the funds for and I was fine, but then I started reading all of them and thinking about what would happen to the kids that didn’t get picked, and about how selfish I am to be asking for money for my Europe trip when their are kids who only request some lunch money for Christmas and I felt absolutely terrible all day. I don’t think that is normal, but again, I could just be an overly sensitive person.
I also have days where I just feel really emotionally and physically sensitive, which is how I have felt for the last few days (I picked a child off of the angel tree yesterday). I’ll be walking down the hallways at school and it’s like my nerve endings are sensitive and I don’t want anyone touching me and just people talking loudly makes me cringe even though it doesn’t physically cause me pain I kind of feel overwhelmed and just want to be at home curled up in a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt either reading or sleeping. I also will randomly get flu like symptoms where my body aches, and I feel cold, tired, and sad.
I do feel like the ‘vibes’ of people around me affect how I feel.
And while sometimes I can connect wholly to a person and their situations emotionally and physically, other times I find it almost impossible; like there is a block. So it’s like I either have to let it all in or block it all out.
For the past few months it seems like I am always exhausted and have been run through the mill even if I didn’t do much that day.
I have also had extremely frequent headaches the last few months (since school started in August)
I also always feel stressed and overwhelmed and my back and shoulders are always tense due to it.
Any tips would be awesome, I’m just tired of feeling all over the place and want to know if there is anything to help and if maybe me just not being grounded has something to do with it.
Hi Alys
I think it would be in your best interest to begin meditating if you haven’t begun already.
I realized that when we do this we can better control our level of empathy.
Not to mention stress.
I would search youtube for anything related to the above mentioned. Even classical music could help. These are only suggestions.
Also you should look up the Bubble Meditation. It helps you visualize a protective array of lights or light around your body, thus feeling protected. It helps repel negative feelings and keeps the positive ones going. Hope this helps. Let me know
Beyonder
hello people of the earth, hehe umm i am 25/30 in the checklist i made in being an empath and i truly believe now (seeing this blog) that i am an empath and kind of thanked god for making me unique but there are some things in me that differ in being an empath should i be worried or something please tell me
This really described me and the part about the déjà vu and near death experiences made me cry I get déjà vu and something life changing always happens right after, I had several near death experiences , one almost drowning as a child, as I went under I felt something in my hand as my arms went up, and was able to get out of the water. I was only 8 , I can’t be around crowds unless they are in a collective good mood and are not really paying me attention, or I had a few drinks. I tried to get into chakras only because I heard it helped with absorbing the energy of others, it did not help, just couldn’t get into it. Being overly exposed to the emotions of others seems to be desensitizing me and making me emotionless , I know they say empaths show a great deal of emotion, but for me I’m starting to feel drained of my own
There seems to definitely be a learning curve when trying to figure out which emotions are actually ours and which are not. The problem then becomes the fact that we can begin to negate all feelings in an attempt to not be led around by them. My process has led me through 15 years of healing modalities, simplifying my life and giving myself permission to get off of the hamster wheel we’ve been programmed to “survive” by. Studying Buddhism and the nature of our collective “illness” and how to become non-attached has helped along with learning to love and honor myself and have compassion for myself FIRST… which means feeling my emotions as signposts to guide me away from destructive situations and energies. Yoga, Tai Chi, STOPPING drinking (which exacerbates the emotional roller coaster once the numbing wares off) and allowing myself to be the introvert that I naturally am… have all been vital in finding peace within and a deep and growing trust that I can honor who I am AND be fully supported by the universe. Have the courage to begin making new choices that honor and nurture YOU, because when you are well and happy… those vibrations ripple out into the universe and affect everyone for the better. Blessings on your journey ❤
Good morning Mo,
Thank you for that. This was a great little piece (and Peace 😉 ) to begin my day. You virtually nailed that to a T for myself. Bring on the Love and Light!
@Alm
I swear YOU just described what has been happening to me for the past 1-2 years. To the T.
Like you just explained who I am and what I’m going through!
I cannot thank you enough for writing this! I have finally discovered why i’ve felt out of place from everyone I know, but in a very unusual way. All the pieces fit together!
I have always been an empath, as I get older (I’m now 51) my empathic and psychic abilities get stronger. These 30 traits are me to a T!
Wanted to share a link to an interesting personality test I found yesterday. It helped me to look at the traits from a different perspective and demystify the “label” a bit. 😀 I scored as INFJ.
Hoping you’ll enjoy the test! 🙂
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp
Hi Sandra,
Is it the Briggs/Myers test you took? It determines if you’re an introvert or extrovert.
Apparently, at least 70% of Empaths are introverts, which totally resonates with me.
I am reading a book at the moment by Susan Cain called Quiet. It is about introverts living in an ‘extrovert world’. It’s very interesting and worth a read.
Hi, Justpassingthrough!
It’s called Jung Typology test, based on Carl Jung’s and Isabel Briggs Myers’ typological approach to personality. The results include much more than introvert/extovert thing. All I can say- it was a very interesting read for me. 🙂 I was surprised that by googling the 4 letter combination there’s much more to read- internet is full of different information. There are 16 different types of personalities and INFJ is somehow “tied to” empaths. That’s why I shared it here (I hope You don’t mind 😉 ).
No, not at all. I find the correlation between Empaths and introverts fascinating and a subject well worth us all looking into.
Thanks for sharing it
Susan Cain is awesome!
Sandra, I am an INFJ~~~I took this test a year or so ago. A few months ago I joined a healing FB page and some people were talking about ‘Empaths’ my eyes bugged out. That brought me here~~I am 23 out of the 30 above~~I have always known that I feel differently than most I am around, my DH has always just called me a ‘free spirit’. I am thinking, I am an empath forsure;) Love it I am 65 and finding out I really am not a kooky/trippy as people have told me~~
Sandra, Mo and Jackie, I just took the test an am an INFJ as well. I am 29 and have just discovered in the last week that I am an Empath, and what a relief it is to know that I’m not just the “strange bird” of the bunch. It is a comfort to know there is a community of people with the same attributes out there. Thank you for all of the information you’ve provided. It is amazing to read things that describe so much of what you’ve experienced your whole life. To be honest, until my 20’s, I didn’t really understand how I differed from others, only that I didn’t fit in. I have grown now to understand the gifts more and more. I am looking forward to researching further and following your recommendations for grounding and controlling the skills.
Holy ****, I’m definitely an Empath. Thank you for posting this, I can’t express to you how much this has helped me already. I’ve felt like something is wrong with me for my entire life based on how others view my behavior and the way I react to things a little differently than they do, while also always knowing in the back of my mind that there is truthfully nothing wrong with me at all. about 95% of what you have on this site is congruent to who I am and how I react to my environment.
Me also Ryan~~I have always been treated oddly in my family circle, almost like I was just not right in the head;)
Ditto .. Holly *** – Although I’ve always known I was overly empathetic, reading your experience and others clarifies many of the things I’ve done through out my life. From backpacking the Appalachian trail for 3 months alone in the winter after quitting my job as a funeral director; to living on an Island working on a shrimp boat when I was 29. I quit the shrimp boat abruptly based on a sense of darkness that overwhelmed me. Less than a week later, my friend and captain of the boat drowned.
Embrace it and as suggested, meditate and find quite time outdoors to stay grounded.
If you do so you’ll find great benefit. I can remember any face to face conversation I have verbatim. I have no need to take notes when in meetings at work.
When I was in grad school I worked as a doorman at several large night clubs in Pittsburgh. I was not a bouncer, the term would be cooler. I could sense before anyone else when there was tension in the air. So much so that there was never an altercation in while I worked. I considered my job to change the vibe from tense to happy.
Ryan, I’ve learned over the years how to make the most of this ability and hope you do as well. If you or anyone else would like to share experiences please feel email me at mdellost@gmail.com.
I have had every type of dream possible. I often dream of the future. My ancestors come in dreams and reality. I don’t see ghosts. But, I know they are there. Whether good or bad. I also can speak with them. As well as loved ones who have passed on. I am also a stigmatic. I also see and speak with Jesus and Mary at times. Usually, when things are tough for me. I have seen heaven in my dreams. I also see angels and demons. I not only feel others emotions but hear their thoughts. I also have heard others prayers. I feel others illnesses too. I am also telepathic. I can speak with people who are far from me. I have been troubled because I have been dreaming of a couple people and cannot figure out why. One is Chriss Angel. In my one dream his eyes turned black. This really was upsetting to me. I have many dreams of famous people. Even the president. Most of them come true. It is very rare for a dream not to come true for me. I have many times had dreams of strangers only to see them on the news within days. I also have visions of things. I do not know much about this Empath page. I recently found it. The vegetarian part. Well, I was told as a child to be a vegetarian. I did not listen. Recently, I heard deuteronomy 14: 2 one day when I was upset. I often hear Jesus and words I have never heard before. I know what they mean but still research them. Mary speaks to me the same way. I also have visions and dreams that have colors and light I have never seen. I say this because Mary is like this. Her robe changes color at times. I also speak to my guardian angel. I usually go in my room and close the door. After that I turn the light on close my eyes. I put myself on the beach. I pretend that it is raining small gold flakes. Eventually my angel comes once I am completely calm. Another thing I always pray Now I lay me down to sleep prayer. Once I forgot to pray and things went bad. Very bad. Either way, I was wondering if any of you are anything like me.
Your site explains me to a T. Not only have I had THE exptended abilities you wrote of I too have had a NDE that showed me a mission I am to share, information that must be exposed. I am in the process of completing my manuscript but am in need of an editor.
I have been in contact with Dr.Donald A. Treffert, he wrote Islands of Genius and treated the Rain Man. Dr. Treffert is awaiting my manuscript. He said he has never heard of experiences such a mine. Is it possible to meet with you?
Sincerely
Marietta Forcht
Hi Marietta,
Your work sounds interesting.
If you struggle to find someone to edit your manuscript, there are editors online who you could use. Just needs some Googling.
Thanks for sharing and good luck with your book.
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I posses every trait on the list with the exception of #6. It has always been so hard to feel what others are feeling but never quite knowing how I feel.
I love high places. I live on 10th floor of a condo block but never dare to look down!! Just like most of you, I have a thing about being airborne. I thought I’m insane & borderline suicidal. All the thoughts of others rushing into my head, everyday, every minute. I can’t switch it off. I have all the traits mentioned and more. It freaks me out and I’ll get very depress sometimes. I tried to talk to those close to me about this, they think I need “help”. So I shut my mouth up now & keep it all inside.
These traits nail it right on the head. Reading them made me feel somewhat sad at first because more often than not I feel as if this is a curse.
But knowing I’m not alone does make me feel better
recently realising I was Empathic started a long self realisation. I am still coming to terms with this.
I dream vividly at times. I have always believed in dreams and visions and implemented them totally into my life. So mcuh so that everything I achieve started from a dream or day dream. I make goals and live them out to the very end. I design logos and prochures and see the tiniest of details in the early morning dream before arising. I can stay there for ours pondering details I would have time to consider whilst awake.
I sense things in people I thought I could never verbalise. I thought i was so alone all my life with this knowledge. I lost countless friends sensing how many men lie to themselves over their attraction to other men. It drive me mad at times.
I have recently found alcohol intolerable. I am very sensitive in the liver and kidneys to it now. I have started talking more openly about energies, especially since working as a massage therapist and learning energetic boundaries and taking control of energies in peoples homes etc.
I am obeying my gut instinct more now. I wont allow people into my life unless I am absolutely sure of the connections intent. I am not a base chakra gay man any more and part of me thinks I am not even sexual let alone gay. I am not used to not being sexual. I feel I am in a time of centring and balancing. I have even sought and found an energy healer locally to assist me in balancing my energies.
If I trust I am completely myself but I have pulled back because I have lost so many friends by not caring about others’ feeling in my openness.
life is such a lesson every day. I use law of attraction always and it works!
I could go on and ON!!!
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Empath?? Insane?? Things have occurred in my life since I was very young for example: I remember at around age five, a boy and man would come visit me and we would “fly” to distant places. I would have to jump from a higher place to take off and struggled with wanting to be able to just take off flying from where I was. Visions would flash in my mind like on a TV screen to the point i had to learn to turn them off because I would get no rest. To this day I wonder if I was on the brink of losing touch with reality? Thoughts of being burned at the stake? OK are you still with me here? I know how it sounds.
omg! i have such amazingly similar memories.. there was a particular low wall i had to jump from to get airborne! and i could never get quite high enough to be ‘safe’ … dreams … astral travel… insanity? … The “empath” label covers pretty much all of the weird shit that I’ve been trying to figure out for as long as I can remember…. hope that makes you feel less crazy – your post made me feel a little less insane 🙂
the flying thing… omg. me. same way too. repetitively.
Oh my gosh!!!! The flying thing….I spent my whole life thinking I was the only one until my brother, on his death bed, shared that he did it too. Now I see there are many of us! I am crying with joy.
I have had OBE’s about 3 times now (that I can recall) either I was up above my body or floating around in the air, and no walls or doors opened, I would just go through them….I will never forget being able to go right through the walls, I became particles then whole again….I have never shared that with anyone, the wall part that is ;)…..It’s good finding others who experience phenomenons as we do, helps to feel a little more sane in an insane world…
Thank you Just Passing Through so much for starting this blog. I am extremely grateful to the person on Empath Solutions on Facebook where I was looking to connect with others, like myself, and the link to your site jumped out at me. It is a perfect match for me. Your being so open to share is very encouraging. The comments everyone has made have also played a part in making me feel at home here. Until 2 years ago I had no name for what I have been all my life. It is so wonderful to know that those who have a whole lifetime ahead of them will know they are not alone, have a name for what they are experiencing and will be able to avoid a lifetime on a roller coaster ride that never ends. It is so wonderful to finally be off that roller coaster. Because I relate to so much of what you have written and so many of the comments I would like to reply to some of the comment. The 30 Traits of an Empath is outstanding. The article Traits of an Empath by Christel Broederlow pretty much describes me.
I am so grateful that someone sent me a link to your blog. I’ve learned so much from what you and everyone else has written on here. I didn’t know about the term ’empath’ or what it meant. I do now…and can relate to a lot of what is written here. Thank you for writing the blog and to all who share their experiences as well.
I just found this blog as I was researching negative energy. I’m excited to to have a place where I can learn more about being an empath. I seriously need to learn how to protect myself from taking on other’s negative energy and emotions.. I look forward to following your blog and being in touch with others like me.
When you find out let me know. My anxiety is at an all time high!
Hi, Chris, there are lots of resources out there. It put together a list that has a few links that could lead you to other places. Hope no one minds me putting it here.
http://areyouanempath.com/category/empath-traits-of/support-network-groups/
I feel like this is me. but i have no one to chat to who knows about this. can someone please suggest a chat group or websites that could help me explore this further?
Here yoy go!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Empath-Connection/134926033194344?fref=ts
hi i feel the same way as you,think its the trust thing its so sensitive,
hope you find a space to explore further .
love and light denise .
Thank you so much..I thought I was going crazy!! I also have too much flab around the middle and yes to me it is a comfort blanket. I find it hard feeling other peoples emotions and illnesses. I want to help them but I have never known how. I’ve learned a lot from reading all of these posts so I know now I am on the right road. It’s so good to know that I am not alone.
At 55 I’ve finally found out what’s right with me. So much of this is true to who I am. I had the opportunity at a memorial ceremony for 9/11 to see and then touch a piece of metal I-beam from the World Trade Center. You can’t believe the emotion I experienced. As a child in school, teachers would be teaching and I’d just drift off without realizing. So “healing” to find out the reasons.
Reblogged this on Andrea Cullen and commented:
This is a wonderful article helpful I am sure to so many of my clients. If I can help every empathic patient understand themselves that little bit sooner i feel happy. I know how tumultuous the journey can be xx
I just wanna say tht this article has really helped me…i never knew wat an empath was ill just a couple days ago when i was talkin to a good friend of mine tht i had known for about 18yrs….she is an empath as well n told me she thought i was an empath too…she sent me sites to read so i can learn about who i am ..reading all of these my life is starting to make sense…i too have been diagnosed with bipolar ,depression,severe anxiety ,ptsd a couple other things….my family would always tell me i was crazy n i dnt deserve my children n many other hurtful things so i dnt talk to them…i also have a very addictive personality n i struggke with addiction n reading these 30 steps it makes sense …i can relate to all of them except for num 28…i love antiques n i love goin to yardand garage sales… i don’t watch the news bec of how it affects me..the one step where it stated bout watching movies or tv shows with drama etc n we choke fighting back tears, i never understood why it was so easy for me to break out in tears…its lije i can feel the pain the actors are acting out …its crazy…also i would love to learn more about empaths n how to control it n how to expand my abilities …..do you know of any other websites that could help me with this??? i also have a great interest with the paranormal is tht a trait of an empath n are empaths also able to connect with pple who have crossed over once we learnexcited how to control it n learn exercises to help us
I also wanted to say i attend 2 group counciling sessions a month and well this month there were 2 loss/grieve. grouos n being tht i have lost many loved ones ovver the yrs n never really dealt with it properly, i thought this would b a great start dealing with all of the loss n maybe help me with overcoming my addiction among many other things…well i attended both grieve /loss groups this month n i noticed thy not only did i feel my own pain when sharing my stories but when other pple in the group would talk about wat thy went thru i felt their pain too….when someone else would choke up i would cry….i thought it was just bec i could relate bec of all of my loss in my life but i could actually feel their pain….should i continue this group every month or is it a not so good idea????? i do fel better @ the end of it bec I’m letting out everything i been holding in n i can actually talk n feel comfortable doin so bec I’m surrounded by ppl who r goin thru somewat the same thing….. Also i find myself helping pple in the group as well by giving advice n my input…i find it very rewarding in many ways…the only thing i dnt like tht much is the fact tht i cry for awhile after the group has been done…is tht normal of an empath??? Also, i can rem back to my cousins funeral it was the 1st time i notices feeling othrrs emotions….i had a severe panic attack…i could feel everyone’s pain plus my own n i was in so much pain i couldn’t take it…i felt my aunts pain losing a child i lost my child when he was born, her sister’s pain from losing her sister,her best friends pain her not having her best friend anymore, her ex boyfriend’s pain i lost my ex in a car accident….it was so overwhelming n i couldn’t understand y i was feeling all i was feeling ….i tend to knw when something bad has happened …..i get weird sickening feelings or my body won’t feel rite n i just knw something isn’t right n then the next day or a couple days later i find ouf tht someone i knw n love has either been hurt badly or has passed away….is tht normal for an empath or is. tht something more than just being an empath?????
The trait of crying when someone else does is very prevalent in my life. I could be a human lie detector. I’m never wrong. If someone is fake crying then I don’t cry along with them. Real tears and I lose it. When I watch true crime shows, I always tell my son who did it as soon as the interviews start. He’s amazed at how perceptive I am.
I know exactly what you mean by watching tv and feeling pain. Whenever I watch something that’s true crime or read about a murder I become so overcome with emotions. I cry, sometimes I become physically ill, angry, etc. I feel sometimes like
I may be feeling what the victim was feeling and even what the victim’s family was feeling when they interview them. Its very emotionally and mentally draining for me. I’ve always thought I was just a sensative person but everything on this 30 list fits me except the antiques, I too love them, and eating meat I have no problem with that even though I am a huge animal lover, I just don’t really think about what I’m eating, and I don’t kill to eat, its already dead and somebody else is gonna eat it if I don’t.
Howdy fellow Empaths
I’m 17, and this explains a lot that I’ve been through. I write, read, feel close with nature and in the 3rd grade my teacher put me on ADD medication that made me stop eating. I went back on it I’m 9th, and a few years later I started to have side effects- they blocked out both my emotions and those of the people around me, and I felt sick constantly. I am off them now, and this explains why I am continuing to have emotional episodes. (Though of a different kind). I went to the Pearl Harbor memorial and I had a meltdown. I was crying so hard I couldn’t see, everyone thought I was nuts. I had an equally bad meltdown after watching the cove, and I bake and eat desserts to feel better, though I’m actually unhealthily thin.
Another thing is that though I am religious, I can’t stand to be in most churches. Especially when a pastor starts to go on about the one true path and hell, I can feel something nasty and palpable in the air around me. It’s always made me want to run.
I wonder if that’s because you also sense the lack of truth to what is being said?
Have you considered the possibility that you are discerning the difference between being religious ( organized religion that you have been brought up with) and being in a true personal relationship with God? You state, ” I can feel something nasty and palpable in the air around me. It’s always made me want to run.” Looking at this strictly from a Christian point of view, then this would be the gift of discernment as stated in the Bible. Being aware of what kind of spirit is motivating what is being said will divide the truth from untruth. This is a precious gift to be embraced to help others. Always remember, with the gifts comes much responsibility. Pray that God will direct you in the way He wants you to go. I pray that I was able to express this in a way that will be helpful to you.
I have found that I have to completely avoid all news programs, televised trials and reality tv. I can’t even watch HGTV because I can’t view the interior of other
peoples homes. It truly disturbs me. When I watch true crime shows I am particularly disturbed by the interior of the vicitims homes. Moreso than the bloody crime scenes and deceased bodies.
I avoid almost everything on the internet….particularly all those AOL stories and youtube posts. Even celebrity stories bother me. I can’t watch stars walking the red carpet because I sense their mental issues and addictions.
Animal cop shows are extremely disturbing because of the treatment of helpless animals. I have a really hard time dealing with the dark side of human nature. Even MTV and VH1 videos creep me out.
I find reading, walks in nature, the beach, and time spent with animals to be most uplifting. We have become a society of greed, desire and neglect. My empathic nature finds that unbearable.
And I completely understand your problem with churches. I feel religion is something that should not be proftied from. Sometimes I hear a pastor who seems sincere and reaches me until they start their cd, book and donation pitch. Sad….so sad
…I thINk aLL peoPLe arE emPAths..especiALly girLS/ woMEn
Some are sociopaths. That’s as far from empathy as you can get 🙂
This was very interesting to ready. I can’t wait to read more of your blog. Thank you for sharing!
This is really interesting. I have a blog on WordPress, too, and a lot of the things I’ve written about fit this perfectly, but I never knew there was a name for it. Granted, a lot of things I write about are completely unrelated to this – but the biggest thing that I have always thought was weird about myself and kind of seems to fit this is that I try purposely absorb people’s fears and anger and replace it with my own confidence and joy. I do a lot of visualization of me having wings, and wrapping my wings around someone who needs help, and absorbing the things that are making them need help and replacing it with good things. I was trying to find one of my blog posts where I described it, and this was one of the ones I’ve written about it: http://www.myfoodisproblematic.com/2012/10/11/souls-and-other-things-in-your-body/ I am really glad I found your blog, I “followed” you and will be back!
This is definitely me as well. Everything except disliking old things. Sometimes they have a story to tell. I love finding neglected things and making them right again.
I don’t see anyone else mentioning this but do any of you get “Twinges” where things will just come to you? Feels like your brain is twitching. I’m not sure if it’s an actual physical manifestation of anything or just a feeling, but It’s like poke,poke, jab, jab, twinge, twinge.
Here is something that maybe someone can help me with.
There was a girl who kissed me in the first grade named Mandy. She found me randomly over the internet in 2007 and I went on a couple of dates with her before my spazziness drove her away. I was distraught and broken for a long time. I used to think that Kissing me in the first grade and then finding me again meant something, but I screwed it up so severely that I am not sure anymore.
Fast forward to 2009 and I got my little sister who is also en empath to harass her, waking her up in the middle of the night, keeping her awake because she would not and will not talk to me. This, rather predictably has resulted in nothing good. I was being irresponsible and horrible and I can never seem to find peace regarding this. I will have bouts of intense sadness over her sometimes.
I’d like to find some peace over this and I never seem to be able. Is there a way or do I just deserve to suffer? Nothing has ever caused me as much strife as this. Not even close.
I’m sorry, Mandy.
Until I read this I felt like I was losing my mind. I would see a depressed girl and I would spend the day crying , if someone at work was getting upset or irritated with something I would spend the night starting world war 3 over the littlest things. And if I was around happy people I felt like I was on cloud nine I think I’m finally starting to understand and maybe I can find a way to deal with this before. I go nuts
Oh. Oh wow. First, let me say thank you so much, because I think you have just brought a lot of clarity to my life. I had heard the term empath mentioned a few times, and though I didn’t have much context, I immediately knew it was something I had to look into. I am somewhat skeptical by habit, but after reading just a few of the traits listed, I thought “This is a thing. This is a very real thing, and this is me.”
Probably the trait that has affected me the most is feeling other’s emotions as my own. Whenever someone in my immediate family is stressed, sad, etc, I feel the same way. If someone is angry/almost any other emotion at me I will feel the same way about them. I thought this was genuinely because I was mad/etc at them for feeling that way about me, but even as I write this I am beginning to realize this is not the case. Physical pains have been a real enigma for me lately as well. Not too long ago my mom suffered a slipped disk that resulted in excruciating back pain for her, and during that time I began to have back troubles as well. During car rides, when sitting upright was especially painful for her, I began having sharp twinges, and every time these would happen, though she had no knowledge of what I was experiencing, I would hear her wince in pain.
I have also been the confidant for lots and lots of people- at least 4 close friends, plenty of acquaintances, and a recent anonymous internet encounter in which a man related to me the story of his divorce and his desire to reconnect with his children and their mother. Does the subconscious sensing of an empath by others work over the internet? Even people who have admitted they should not be dumping their problems on me have struggled to not tell me their troubles.
Anyway, I could go on forever about the other traits (especially rooting for the underdog, anxiety attacks in public places, my need for lots of time alone, and the fact that i haven’t watched the news or read the newspaper in months) but I really ought to go to sleep now. Anyway, I at least hope my account of the physical aspects can help somebody as other comments have helped me.
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finally, i am no longer alone
Wow…….. I never thought in a million years that there would be Someone that knows EXACTLY what I go through on a daily basis! At least I know I’m not alone in this gift! And that there are people like me and understand what it’s like to be an empath. I didn’t even know there was a name/word for what I’ve been experiencing! But I understand what I am, and just have to learn how to use this gift!……
Yes! Thank you! I am also an Intuitive Empath. I am able to feel, smell and hear outside of the physical realm, sometimes I have dreams and visions. Some have called me a Kinesthetic Medium, because I can feel the physical and emotional symptoms of my patients in my own body. I really try to avoid this term because as a devout Christian and lover of Jesus, I feel uncomfortable with the word “medium” ( blame my childhood and missionary grandparents. LOL!) I have always been this way, but never knew others like me. My “gifts” intensified after my Mother died and I could no longer ignore them so I sought help from pastors, psychologists and healers from many faith backgrounds. As my spiritual gifts have developed, I began questioning whether I can continue my current profession, at least in the traditional sense. I have not yet learned how to not absorb the physical symptoms or emotions and energy. It has left me often utterly exhausted and in terrible pain. My patients leave the office feeling better, but I may develop a migraine, chest pain, back pain, depression or anxiety. I’m still learning to let the energy flow where it needs to be.
I have become acutely sensitive to smell, sound and even taste. I had increasing migraines. Sometimes I hear or know what someone is going to do or say before they say it. I often feel overwhelmed and consumed by it, because I can’t always figure out what’s “mine” and what’s “theirs”. I used to be afraid, and sought to block and protect myself. I have found fellowship with other Christians who do hands on healing and prayer. I am learning how to use my gifts and let God work through me so it is not me, but Him doing the work. That has really helped me – to know I am not doing the healing, I am simply a conduit for God to work through. When I take my ego out of it, then I am not exhausted or holding on to pain and symptoms.
I have found that the senses are very heightened, smell , senses, sounds and a draining of me around negativity. I have experienced others pain and would love to learn how to let something flow through instead of affecting me. I believe in God, miracles, positive/negative energy, allowing those to believe what they need to. I find people with great pain drawn to me and start letting it out. I also can see past people pain and get along with folks no one else can tolerate. This is the first place that I have come across that experiences some of the things I do. I am grateful to have found this place. Thanks
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Oops sorry, I should have read the entire thread. I’ll ask if the owner can delete my previous comments (and this one while she’s at it.)
Hiya,
I don’t mind leaving your link on to your chat room. It may be of help to others. But I can remove it if you want?
I hope you choose to leave the link. I checked it out immediately and I’m sure others will as well.
Well, I run a group and a chat room if you want to try those.
You can access them at http://www.psi-zone.net (plus lots of info on dealing with being an empath and other resources for the Empath.)
Hopefully the owner doesn’t mind me mentioning these.
Hi Gary – but are you in London with a physical group meeting which is clearly what we are looking for? Thanks, V
It’s not long since I came across the term Empath, suddenly everything made sense, that was what I’d known all long but now it had a name and was a recognised ‘thing’! I felt it was the missing piece of the jigsaw. I’m about 25/30 of the above criteria, and 8 of the first 10.
But while I feel all the jigsaw pieces are now there, they’re not quite put together yet. I’ve read a ton of stuff and I would like the self control to be able to switch on and off the constant mind chatter but feel/know I need some help or mentoring with this. I’m in London, does anyone have any suggestions as to who I could speak to?
Hi Vicky, ive only just learned the name Empath, previously always described myself as Empathetic x a million, as long as I can remember people have come to me with their problems and ssay they feel better after and i was left drained many of the 30 points apply to me, I too am in London, have you found any support groups or i would love to chat with you just to compare notes as such as i dont know any other Empaths personally
Ditto Clara! – haven’t found any groups but would like to! So exhausting, always wiped out! Has anyone else got any suggestions on groups or contacts?
Vicky
Oh my God! I can’t believe I finally have a “blue-print” of who I am! It’s amazing to know, at least a little more anyway, who you are so that you can diagnose problems and more quickly find solutions to inner/outer struggles we may encounter in life. Thank you so much for this blog post! I really, really FEEL that this has helped immensely! 🙂
I have for many years have had a gut feeling, when I would meet someone I would instantly get this strong energy feeling, and know if they where dark or light. The stronger the energy/magnetic the darker or lighter, I could tell if they where a good or bad person. Some of the energy I get is very overwhelming. I scored 27/30. Just trying to understand and learn what I can. For the last 3 months I have become secluded. I spend most of the day alone at home. But I have for the last 3 weeks been drawn outdoors, taking very long walks. I feel complete walking down a wooded path, I’m not one to exercise, but I’m being pulled to it. I can’t stand being around a lot of people, anxiety sets in, then I feel i have to get away. Almost like I’m getting hit with energy from all sides. This has been very helpful, thank you so much. Now I don’t feel like an over sensitive person.
I think a lot of us (empaths) have become more reclusive lately. There are changes taking place…weather, government, religious, and financial changes on a global scale. I know I too have spent more time alone and yet I find peace through grounding which it sounds like you are doing.
I agree.
I do not think being an empath has to do with religion per say. I think if you were Christian you could consider it the gift of discernment and google that. Your religion will help you embrace or reject this gift. Pagan or metaphysics usually gets put on things that are not attributed to any one religion or is rejected by religion thank you for indulging my opinion.
Thank you very much for sharing all these info! I’ve taken a number of psychology tests throughout my life and I’ve never been diagnosed with a mental illness yet. I passed for mild depression but none of it could explain where the kind of emotions and experinces I continuously go through is coming from. I’m very glad to have found this page! Bless you for posting this!
This is a really helpful post. Very strange things happen to me regularly or maybe I just pay more attention to them than other people I’ve talked to. One area that I struggle with is trusting my instincts, for example a while ago I got the feeling that my partner was going to have a gig. He said that he had practice on an unusual day and it just popped in my head to ask. He said no, and even though my instincts told me that he was lying I convinced myself that he wouldn’t lie about it and that I was paranoid. I found out a couple of weeks later from a mutual friend that it had been a gig. I always vow to trust my instincts but then react in the same way. I think that people are creatures of habit, structure is comforting even if it’s a structure of our own creation. I suppose that when people differ from their own norms it’s usually a sign that there is something bubbling under the surface. Does that sort of thing happen to anyone else?
So so grateful for the synchronicity of finding your blog at a time when I thought I was drowning. I’ve ‘known’ since I was a babe and that was decades ago – the only trait I don’t have is what most people on here have commented – the antiques and old stuff. New builds and furniture have chemicals that really affect me.
I’ve had so much difficulty coping with this through life – frequent change of jobs, moving around a lot, became a psychiatric nurse (boy was that the worst job for me, in fact I don’t think I’ve ever recovered from that). These days I live on a remote Scottish island with my lovely husband and two wonderful kids (both grown and left home) and we grow food and keep animals.
The hardest thing to cope with is the loneliness of having to keep people at arms length or on a very superficial level of friendship. I don’t know any other empaths apart from my kids and they’re
in denial. I’m finding this year my worst one yet – now I have a feeling (excuse the pun) that things will be ok, I’m feeling at home already. Thank you :))
Totally understand what you are saying. I too have had difficulty all my life coping with this.I am highly sensitive to petrochemicals, formaldehyde, nickel, allergies to all animals except pigs! Chronic Fatigue 28 yrs and Fibromyalgia. Do not tolerate medication well and if I must can only take infant doses, I am 68. I am so happy you shared about your remote Scottish island, I got such a warm, happy feeling when I read it. I also have been like this all my life and am happy to finally find others like myself. Know what you mean about furniture, everything has to be solid wood. I was able to purchase a slat bed with a special 100% cotton mattress 2 yrs ago and finally can sleep better. Even things that are suppose to be hypo-allergenic bother me. Between the sensitivities to foods, environment, and picking up on emotions etc. . life is a challenge, like you I have to keep everything at arms length. Anything artificial is bad for me. Like you I feel at home already having found this blog.
Well, this freak the sh$&@ out of me. Everything they wrote is e everything I am. It’s creeping me out a lot actully… I think I may need coaching in this thing lol. I am still freak out ha! …
I know what you mean! I have this too except not so much with animals. I can ‘read’ what someone really loves AND what someone fears too. I just ‘know’ what they have to do to get to the thing or person they love. Mostly they have to conquer some fear to get to it. For me ‘reading’ this is simple. It took me years to see that not everyone can do this.
Is it normal for an empath to only be susceptible to one specific emotion? I feel I am extremely vulnerable to love. It makes sense, really…people that are in love seem to be drawn to me, and I believe their love weakens their natural defenses, for it is then easier for me to read their other emotions. I am also quite attached to animals; I can feel their fear and tell their gender without having to check. I just…know. If empathy is simple reading one’s emotions and pain through their energy, then I suppose I read love. Is it normal for someone’s empathic abilities to be so…specific?
Hi Brook27lynne,
I would say if the main emotion you pick up, as an Empath, is love then you are very lucky :). What is normal for one Empath may not be so much for another: one may be more sensitive to sound or smells or some may feel residual energy more than others. And I also think how we individually interpret energy plays a big part in how we read/feel it.
Thanks for sharing
It’s been known for years now that me sister is an empath. When I first found out from her I didn’t believe it until I did some research myself because I didn’t know what an empath was. For a while I believed I was a clairvoyant because I had extreme Déjà vu and would have dreams of things before they happened, but when I was a child I showed every sign of being an empath. I always felt things very deeply and would flip without any known cause or reason between moods (and I still do). My family always says that I take on other peoples problems and that I carry more emotional burden than I should, but I’ve never been able to control it. When I learned what an empath was from my sister, she said I was one, but I didn’t really believe her. When I became very closely connected to her emotionally because of some highly traumatic events a few years ago, I started becoming aware of what she was feeling and I felt it myself, as I had always felt what other people were feeling (I could never explain how I felt what they were feeling and why their feeling became my own). It used to be I was only aware of the emotions of people around me, but I began to feel what my sister was feeling when we were miles away. (An example of that was when I was at school and had a panic attack out of the middle of nowhere. I learned after school that at the same time I was having my panic attack, 9:10AM, my sister was being rushed to the emergency room.) Especially within the last few months whenever something violent has happened around me or in a movie I become very overwhelmed and will have panic attacks and start crying. I also haven’t been able to handle being around large groups of people because of how emotionally overwhelming it is. I’ve been doing more research lately, though, and am starting to learn how to handle being an empath (I still haven’t learned to handle as magnificently as my sister has), but I recently discovered that one of my every close friends is an empath (I’ve only known her for a matter of months, but I’ve been able to talk to her as I’ve never been able to talk to anyone else.). I’ve also learned that my mother is an empath. My research has turned up that, apparently, being an empath can be passed down through family members. I’m wondering if being an empath is genetic. I know that my mom, my sister, and I are empaths, but one of my cousins (on my mom’s side) also shows every external sign of being an empath. I’ve known her since I was a baby and I want to show her this blog and find out if she is an empath. I think she is, but I’m wary about jumping to conclusions.
Hi Jennan,
I would say there is a good chance that the gift of Empathy is passed down genetically, as many gifts are. I have a suspicion that my own Mum is/was an Empath, but sadly she is no longer in a position for me to ask.
You are very lucky to have friends and family around you who you know to be Empaths, as one of the toughest parts of this journey is the feeling of isolation.
Thanks for sharing.
I have to agree with your suspicion that being an empath is passed down through genetics. I came to the realization that I was an empath after my dad mentioned that he was. Soon after I heard mention of it again online, and knew I needed to look into this. I googled empath and here I am! We have talked about it at length (though there is so much left to discuss) and discovered that he was going through many of the same things when he was my age that I am now. We differ in the traits we show but empathic ability is definitely intrinsic in our genes.
Hi,
In my observations genetics is one way, but childhood trauma, where the person is often in a dangerous situation, such as abuse, will also awaken their empathy. They use it to try and detect danger before it happens, however, as most aren’t aware what they are doing, they tend to not have much control over it, or even believe it exists!
I very much believe that these gifts are genetic. I believe mine was passed to me through my father who talks of similar experiences that I have had, he also tells me my aunt (his sister) has gifts though the extent of them I don’t know. Also I believe my eldest daughter who is 16 is an empath, but her gift goes a bit further as she is also clairaudient.
I know that was an ADD type comment :-X but I just really needed to get it out and trust the meaning would get through instead of over thinking the way its worded or formatted. You can see the tangents, its a whole lot of info and possible reasons behind everything in life and wanting to understand so many things that I’m over eager and intrigued but want to understand it the right way through people who have the knowledge base or different experiences. Thank you 🙂 Bless you all. Yea see a tendency to take a sentence and turn it into a paragraph 😛 I think I need to take a vow of silence and just listen. I just feel OVER EAGER AND SUPER STIMULATED… but more at peace because I understand more than I used to *blink blink* 🙂
Why the last few posts make me feel like I need to lose weight. I’ve been BIG all of my life. At 17 I was my smallest after doing a fad diet. I’ve been so physically ill that I believe it has closed my spiritual channel to an extreme extent. Though the past year I feel I’ve had the gift of being able to block negative energy anyway.
I’m getting over pneumonia at the moment and in the past couple days I am suddenly very emotional(chalk it up to my Monthly friend?)
Also swore I was expecting for the past few weeks. But would be afraid for my unborn child having been on all of these med’s for asthma/pneumonia etc.
@Alanna
The last part where you mentioned feeling the love? That is me and my Current Boyfriend. He doesn’t ever need to say it for me to feel it. I just know it. (though it’s nice to hear right?)
Being an empath gifted with extra sensory perception….. I know/see a person’s energy/chi/chakra. I can also tell whether or not someone has good versus bad intentions and or guilt weighing them down.
I’m sure I would be better off living in a woodsy open place but that isn’t my path. Living in a city/urban area I’ve learned how to avoid/who to avoid..and who not to share information with. People are like cats/dogs sometimes. You share a tiny bit and they start gnawing at you for more and more.
No thanks!
Now yesterday.
During those Tornadoes in OK……… I had a vision of a Woman, she had blondish hair. I saw her in the back corner of her home. Stuck under rubble. She was covered in dirt and dust crying for help. I looked thru my fb page to see if I saw her name. I did see a name but couldn’t put a face to her name from my friend’s list. I wanted to help her bc I felt her desperation.
I do have visions sometimes but don’t always share for fear of pple assuming that I’m losing my mind lol
My last SPIRIT encounter was with an old school friend’s deceased Father just a few Nights ago. I still haven’t told her because I’m not 100 percent sure that she would be receptive to the idea. I did consider telling her it was a dream and that he had a message for her…. in this dream.
Oh the Joys of being an empath!
unsettled premonition
do empaths love the night, (or are we all just different) it seems like I’m more alive at night. I would rather be in the country under the stars than sitting under the sun. Esp because at night things just don’t seem so busy and overwhelming. I feel like I have a horrible time articulating…. its so frustrating. I know also that I tell people too much because I want people to understand. I want to be loved as I love people and to reach deeper into someone than the external process that seems to take part in peoples blocked extra personal relationships.
do we tend to over explain things because we have the desire to be understood? Is it the desire to want to help that makes us feel pretentious or hesitant to say things certain ways? HOW DO WE CONNECT !!! It feels like being open results in others thinking you are crazy.. and they get threatened and negative when you approach things (like when we know something we shouldn’t that someone wouldn’t want us to know about) and they push us away. Do you just try to ignore it or do you just keep moving through life trusting that the people who matter will understand and appreciate that honesty. Honesty scares people, and some people seem afraid to get to close and keep their guard up.
why do we want to doubt our instinct
is it possible to take a bad energy that you sense from a distance like in the woods and determine if it is exactly what it feels… this sounds crazy like a cannibal or twisted soul stalking you or could it be a cougar? It was unlike anything vibe or energy Id ever gotten and the more I pay attention and trust myself with energy perception and intuition the more sick those feelings can make me feel. I guess it could mean a lot of things right. Someone just wanting to hurt you maybe. All I know is it felt like death and I say cannibal because if it was a human it wasn’t a peeping tom or some weirdo but more twisted and demented. evil energy doesn’t even seem to fit. It was something unnatural and it was something that wouldn’t have only hurt us but taken pleasure in the demented ways it did it. What I’m wondering is the stronger your gift gets and the more open you are to those energies is it difficult to misinterpret what you are feeling, or is that specific feeling in fact exactly was it seems or feels.
Are all empaths open channels meaning we have to constantly fight evil and protect ourselves. Do they have more than just intuition is it always clairvoyant tendencies. Fighting evil I mean to say we could be in huge trouble if we let down our guard if we give into the human impure or evil thoughts? I know I don’t feel put together or strong when I’m not true with myself or following a righteous path. I shut down for a few years because i couldn’t handle feeling anything anymore and everything that found me during that time was evil and it was constant. I have no idea how I got out of it but I know I’m still trapped with my physical limitations. I need to cleanse my body and keep my mind crystal clear to be impartial loving patient and kind to everyone including myself. I hate feeling as though I am a victim of the environment.
wow as i write this there is a cow bellowing, SCREAMING a couple properties down it feels hungry or thirsty and upset like neglected. Maybe its giving birth? I just wonder if our human mind our conscious tries to put meaning to feelings in a ways that misinterpret. just like communications through words seems inadequate, like sensing love as opposed to hearing the words. I just don’t know if we get that energy and apply human bias to it or if we actually understand and have the intuition about it as we feel it.
I would just like to reply to your comment by saying to be sure to trust your instinct. It sounds like you may live or are drawn to remote areas and if you get the feeling that evil is present please take it seriously. Evil has a very strong presence and it’s energy is far reaching. I am very sensitive to evil as well and have to avoid it sometimes to the point of staying out of public arenas. Perhaps the feeling of cannibals was the fact that someone was viewing you as prey. Whatever it may have been, don’t stay in an area that you feel such a strong presence of evil. Trust yourself
I’m pretty much with all the comments left here, though I’ve known and had self-confidence and doubt emotionally beat into me in the past. It’s a special gift and I sometimes feel undeserving, even with its downsides. My own baggage probably.
As with others, I fit everything, except I love old things, don’t have any diagnosed digestive problems and only occasional back and shoulder pain and I frequently need help remembering what day/day of the week it is when I have no reason to remember it (especially if the routine of others changes, like my husband works on one of his days off).
I think perhaps the dislike of old things should be edited a bit to reflect the split I’m seeing in comments (no offense). For example, either a love of old things (many of us seem fascinated by the stories we feel in them…my reason as well as many others I’ve seen in comments), or an avoidance (using the original text). It does seem to be about an even split with us 😀 Since the second article notes many of us love story-telling, it also supports that exact reason for some of us loving old things. I have yet to see an ambivalent opinion on old things (but I’m sure it likely exists).
However, in that, there are particular old things I would never purchase. Immediately offhand, I’d rather have a cheap (and I do, a simple 3-ring interlocking “friendship ring”), but meaningful NEW wedding ring, engagement ring, promise ring, etc. than select a beautiful piece given to a pawn shop…or his grandmother’s ring from a failed marriage (or loveless one). Then there are the things with negative energy, which fascinate my story-teller side, but I simply commit them to memory and avoid, rather than handle or purchase them. I digress. My point is, I think some of us with the story-teller trait in the 2nd article like old things for that reason. Their stories.
With the rule about food, I almost don’t fit that, but I’ve realized I have a great empathy for plants too, so, even though you don’t need to kill the whole plant to eat it…I still have a lot of practice blocking that off with whatever I eat or I’d starve. I once visited a section of woods behind my college campus daily because it had a history of animal sacrifices. There was an area I would not sit or spend a lot of time in, with a fallen tree and long-neglected piles of stones (the sacrifices had been stopped long ago but nobody ever went in there).
I suppose a lot of empaths would avoid it, but I didn’t know its history, it was lovely and it felt lonely, so I would walk around, off and on the deer trails appreciating it, sometimes singing to it. I felt it greet me happily every day. Then I learned about its history. That, all at once, explained both why all the plants felt lonely and unloved (I now think of a song I recently found by Blackmore’s Night called “The Old Hanging Tree” when I think of that section of woods), eager for a friend, and why I went out of my way to avoid that clearing in the middle, despite most paths connecting to it.
None of this at all is why I started writing my comment, actually, but as many empaths, who I can share those feelings with and not sound crazy, is very limited and I find I miss my woodsy friend tonight (I moved several US states away). I still feel…pretentious when I talk about it ^^”
Anywho my original intent in this comment, other than to thank you for your post, was to inquire about #24. I am prone to being overweight, and I even realized a few years ago that I don’t want to lose weight, though I want approval and to look good for my husband. I realized it makes me feel safe. I drew other conclusions about that from my past, but then saw it mentioned as a trait for protection. Does this have something to do with the chakra you mentioned? I am super curious about how that works, what protection it offers and why.
Thanks!
Hi Saronai,
I’d say the extra weight round the solar plexus region of the belly is just extra padding to stop as many of the external emotions hitting the area as had, with it being the seat of emotions. It’s the place we feel the most. Another way we pad this area, without even realizing it, is folding our arms over our tummy. I tend to do that all the time when in public places.
Thanks for sharing
Thanks for responding so quickly!
I thought it might be something like that and was hoping for some insight regarding it. Now that you mention it though, since the years I’ve put on weight (and even the heavier I get little by little), the easier time I have saying no to huge energy drains, or at least keeping myself distant enough to avoid overpowering negative empathy. I’m still extremely open to pretty much all happy news of every type because that’s the upside to this gift, getting to share someone else’s buzz for a recharging energy lift. I chalked it up to simply being more experienced at saying no and proceeding with caution around negative emotions (while remaining helpful and trying to improve the mental and spiritual health of those around me). Could still be both.
I wonder, if I learn proper blocking (I hate shutting it off entirely), if I’ll finally be able to still feel safe enough to shed some of my extra weight…so far it’s been pretty stubborn at this exact weight the last two years no matter how much (or little) I exercise, nor how well, or badly I eat. Even if it only has a little to do with that, thanks for sharing that point. It never at all occurred to me that my persistent chub was helping me block emotions.
It all makes sense now
It was always hard, as a scientist, to try to understand why I could do the things that I did. I kept trying to like make sense of it from what I’ve learned from physics and whatnot. I always felt like it was something that had to do with energy- considering that everything is energy (matter is just condensed energy). Still, in my head, all I want to know is how it works…
I never knew what I was but I was able to answer YES on all but 2 of your list and Christel hit the nail right on the head. I have never been able to understand what it was about me that made me be able to KNOW things about perfect strangers that I couldn’t explain. It’s like I get pictures in my head that tell me their story or something that they are struggling with. People have called me their Guardian Angel for YEARS of my life. I thought it was just because they felt like I understood them in some way. Now I see that it was probably because they knew that i not only understood but that I could FEEL with them. Thank you so much for this and I look forward to learning more about this.
may I reblog your wisdom please ? 🙂
Yes indeedy.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I am finally beginning to see that I am not alone. I am on a road to recovering from pretending to be normal for almost 20 years. I trust the best is yet to come. I hope to be able to teach and heal others who still have to deal with this.
loved this find . Thank you so much . So many greatfull people sometimes it is calming just to know you are not alone. I have a question about energies When I think about antiques or non living things I do react to the energy around it , visual feedback and the way touching the object makes me feel either draws me in and moves me away. So what am I tuning in to? Is the energy like a residual imprint? How does energy maintain the source when the source is removed? Info about this will either help me or give me a whole pile more questions I am intrigued 🙂
Hey Kayl,
I would say it will be the latter. But hey, that’s what Empaths are all about…searching for the answers.
Yes, you are correct in saying you are tuning into a residual imprint. Can’t say I completely understand for what reason an Empath will pick up on this residual energy or why it can linger so long after the source has been removed (perhaps another reader here may further enlighten you on that), but it just goes to show the power in the vibrations we all emit. The stronger the emotional energies (vibrations), positive or negative, left behind the more an Empath can feel or tune into it.
Hope this helps
Thank you for adding to my research about myself!! I’ve known I was an Empath, but I guess I wasn’t too clear on what all was involved with that. This blog has me to a T and my partner and I actually learned quite a bit from it. I think she understands more of what I’m going through now. Again Thank you!!
Thank you note taken. I am going to do a blog talk about you are these articles. Thanks for sharing. I’ll let you know when it will air. Would you like to be a guest speaker?
Let us all know the air date and time if possible. Thank you!
Thanks for asking, Katrina, but I’m more of a behind the scenes kind of girl. It’s what works for me. Feel free to use what you want from this blog. Most of the writings are mine unless otherwise stated.
Thanks
A friend, Aubrianna Hunter, shared this post on Facebook. Thank you Bree! I’m so glad the posting led me to your blog, Christel.
My experience as an empath doesn’t match item for item, but it’s incredibly helpful to share the commonalities. Here’s one I can add: You drink a cup of coffee, I get a buzz! True story, verified over and over. It’s fun, because when you leave, the buzz wears off and I can still get to sleep that night. Yeah!
I agree that these days are challenging. Not only are we shedding our own barriers, but we are experiencing the shedding of barriers by others.
Hug! I’ve printed out this post and put it on the wall! Thank you again, Christel. I’ll be a frequent visitor.
Carole
Hi Carolemy,
Thanks for your comment. I just have to let you know this is not Christel Broederlow’s blog. I shared Christal’s article on my ‘Are you an Empath’ page, alongside my (Just Be) ’30 Traits of an Empath’, because it’s a perfect description of an Empath, as well as being brilliantly written.
Sorry if this caused confusion. I have re-worded some of the page to avoid any future misunderstandings.
Thanks for bringing my attention to this.
Absolutely beautifully written article. I would love to use it on my blogtalkradio.com/prosperitylifecoach the show is entitled Positively Affirmative, it airs every Sunday at 6:30pm. I would definitely give you credit and direct people to your website. You are very insightful. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Katrina,
Yes, that would be fine.
Thanks
Hi Katrina,
Just to let you know that I (here at Just Be) can only lay claim to having written: ‘At a Glance 30 Traits of an Empath,’ the other article on this page was written by Christel Broederlow.
Thanks
Six planets in Virgo… completely blown away by the detail, accuracy and confirmation of 30 Traits of an Empath… tears in my eyes… THANK YOU ❤
Once I read the first line of this article post in fb, I literally could NOT stop reading. This really does explain a lot of what I have been going through recently…that being said, I’d like to ask if there is any advice or direction that can be shared as far as finding someone who can help me with my new found abilities. I am having great difficulty with certain aspects at times, and I feel as though I need more guidance. I feel so grateful to have found this information, and any assistance to my inquiry would be much appreciated. Thank you very much.
-JT Trivino
I hope the owner of this blog doesn’t mind me replying, but the commenter above you (dianne) included a link to her site and appears to provide services that might be helpful to you.
I’ve studied Empath for a long time now. If you need help, I’d be happy to do so. Also, if you google The Empath Guidebook, you’ll find a free e-book that will explain many of the aspects of being an Empath, and what you can do.
@JT Trivino
My suggestion to you is: If you don’t know how to focus your gift, before you start your day; meditate and visualize yourself being surrounded by a white cloud like light/mist/cloud. I have been doing this for years and it helps. Also watching meditation/relaxation videos via google/youtube etc. There are many videos to help in this aspect. If you come across a supposed video that doesn’t seem to relax you then try another one. There are many out there.
The ‘bubble meditation’ is what has helped me in preventing negative energy from consuming me. The white light meditation keeps negative energy out and positive energy in. Making it MUCH easier for me to be around people. Another thing that empaths may not be aware of is that we have the GIft of healing touch. Focusing on this has helped me tremendously also. Reiki is what it’s called. Look this up if it is of any interest to you. Otherwise My suggestions above should help. You do not have to be religious to meditate regularly. Meditation puts us all in a more relaxed and happy place. Good Luck
thats why you say “Just Be”… patience
I should have read all your blogs before I (verbally spilled all my questions) I started focusing on the energy and the only way I can explain it to people is in that terms…. thats where the people think you are an emotional spazz. Like saying I need to recharge, or your energy is draining me. Maybe I shouldn’t say things like that to people. At the same time I know and can tell when I am projecting or draining someone else’s. I wish I had learned about energy healing sooner. I know now that I had people around me that saw me and understood but wouldn’t tell me too much unless I asked and even then it was almost like they knew I needed to figure it out for myself. I can see now those people I meet, before I thought it was just “genuine” people or grounded or wise people. I see how you guys sound and feel like I’m a giddy high school love crush girl pinging for answers. Did you go through phases? Will I learn not to want to share so much?
Hi Alanna,
You are on a path which is unique to you. And you will most certainly go through many phases: Times when you want to be still and times where you want to share everything you’ve learnt :). You will make you’re own discoveries and find your own answers (part of what makes this journey so interesting). You are your own navigator and you will come to learn when it’s safe to be open with others and when it’s not. But having said that, never be afraid of being yourself.
When others share their stories here it can be such a help to those who are just coming into the understanding of their gift, so thanks for sharing. 😉
I’d like to feature you and this article as a guest blogger on my website. http://ginadianneharding.com. I work with highly energetically aware people or empaths, and I think my readers would find this information valuable. You can let me know if I can use it at dianneharding3@gmail.com. Thanks
Hi Dianne,
Yes, it’s fine to use this post.
Thanks
I have know I’m an empath for quite a while, but it is nice to see a list to check off. I notice that many posters here like antiques, but I do not. I can appreciate the work and artisanship but I cannot bring myself to own them. Give me modern anyday. I do like used clothes though – financially yes, but more so for the reusing quality for that which is already there.
It’s odd about places too. I recently had this conversation with my best friend. As a child, I lived and travelled throughout Europe. It was agony and I hated it. Particularly Germany, sheer and utter agony and rage. Curiously, also the west coast of Canada, still haven’t figured that one out yet. I’m happiest when I’m in Nova Scotia, sigh……
And just a word about feeling others…. I have become a quasi recluse. It just became almost impossible after a while. The other morning, I woke up with a blinding headache and after a bit, realised it wasn’t mine but my girlfriends’, and quickly found relief after five minutes after this revelation.
And lastly, I “know” when others are lying or are projecting false fronts. It’s come in handy at times, but also has been one of those double edged sword kind of things. Many many people I come in contact with are so fear filled or just plain sleazy that I have given up hope for myself for ever wanting to be part of society anymore. It’s just too too painful. Give me animals of babies anyday – they like me and have no agendas……it’s all about the Love baby, all about the Love.
Cheers all you fellow empaths, hope your way has been easier than mine.
We share some similar traits. I, too, have become more reclusive, but May is bringing some relief. There are changes taking place and as empaths we feel them more than others. Peace be with you.
And with you. Nice to know that there are others like me and all of you…..:)
I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to block some Of these traits. I have become more and more sensitive after meditation and I really miss being able to be in social environments and am tired of feeling tired as well
Thank you!!!
Hi MD,
There are some posts on this blog that have suggestions on techniques you could try. As the energies are constantly shifting and changing so must our approach to dealing with them. The energies have really amped up of late (good and bad) and many are really struggling to deal with the onslaught of them.
Hope you find something to help.
The most effective thing I’ve found to help Empaths cope are the Bach Flower Remedies. If you choose the right one, you can neutralize any of the empathic conditions you experience, at least in my experience.
One thing I’ve found about grounding is the key is self confidence.
This is me to the t.
But on top of being an empath, yes I have had a death experience. Over 5 years ago.
I have seen spirits since I was a child and I have the gift of healing touch(aka Reiki)
My other gift has developed over the last year. The gift of being able to BLOCK negative energy from overwhelming me. I am able to be around people and not get overwhelmed by them/their emotions.
However
I went to a Family gathering this past weekend and felt quite comfortable. Until, I came cross 2 fellas whom I have never met. I felt uneasy as soon as I saw them. And that to that me was my gift telling me that they were doing something that their wives would not like. For eg, Cheating/chatting with other Females.
I am also a sensitive intuitive. Late last year something told me to go check on some ‘online’ information to see if I’d find my boyfriend. And there I found him. Long story short. He had an account on a dating site. It had already been active a couple of weeks. Now right after I went and did the same thing(I know 2 wrongs don’t make a right) But I felt betrayed.
Shortly after he closed his account down. I believe this was because he didn’t find anyone of interest or he was rejected. And we’ve been doing good ever since. And no I have not brought it up to him. I have no reason to. Unless I want to lose him for making him feel guilty.
I am an extrovert/introvert depending on how I feel.
It is so important to maintain our own health. Both inwardly and outwardly. I do think we have a tendency to focus so much on others that we forget to take care of ourselves.
I started meditating and exercising regularly just recently. It helps a whole lot.
Thank you for this Blog. I know there’s a lot of folks out there like me who may assume they are losing their minds. The last time I had a Spirit encounter I didn’t read the person for fear of them thinking that I was coo coo of course.
Peace & Blessings
I found your article on Facebook and it’s so me!! With a few exceptions (I like vintage & antiques and I sleep to escape – no addictive personality here). I look forward to reading through your blog and discovering grounding techniques when things are overwhelming.
I am so glad I found you – I have been wondering this for a long while and this all makes perfect sense. Thank you so much – I’m on the empath web trail now, thank you xxxx
Nice article. Good to see there is more and more information about Empaths getting out there.
Went through the list.. All but one. Had a friend go through it on my behalf, who knows me well, and he picked all but one. I love vintage and antiques. I’ve always had an eye for things. I can feel the history.. positive or negative and i respect it for its history. Do the same with people. Negative energy with others can be manipulated. I have tried my entire life to change negatives to positives and am greatly effected if i can not. I do not see it as a personal failure but a failure of me being unable to better someone’s life and attitude. Really, I do not know how to explain it. It makes complete sense in my head. 😉 Knowing is a major one for me. Comes in just feeling, sometimes dead on.. Other times almost accurate.. But the details are skewed. I’ve had several dreams that have come true to the exact detail… It’s kind of scary. I know when a person is genuine.. And I know when they are genuine at heart but have been made to mask and front because of ill situations. I’ve never been able to out a name to how I feel, what I am.. It happens naturally and if I force it.. It really doesn’t work. But I think I might just be an empath. Or a seriously empathetic person. I know when someone is thinking of me. Know when they need me. Know when they are going to contact me. I just know. When first meeting someone I vibe off them. I always thought it was strange how I could pick up their emotions, but I think I’ve learned to block most negative emotions. Feel them but make a conscious decision how I can change the emotion and help the person in anyway possible. When I’m around energetic, happy people… I almost become manic with emotion and energy. It’s difficult to explain. Anyway… I could write a mini book on things I can not explain.. I look forward to reading more posts. Thank you! CLS
Thanks for sharing, CLS.
Your post made me smile in that it’s a really good description of an Empath.
You’re welcome. I’m glad I found this blog. When expressing myself to others, I get tired of their apprehension, doubt and the plain look of “you’re cuckoo for coco puffs.” So mostly I keep it to myself. Honestly there’s only a few that understand slightly. It makes me smile when people say “I feel I’ve known you forever.” “I feel so much better talking to you.” Gives me a sense of accomplishment. My father expressed to me a few years ago about his dreams coming true. I just told him me too dad. And both of us dropped it. It’s a crazy life and I’m still skeptical of my own sanity… ;). But the more mature I get, the more accepting i get of things that just can’t be explained and maybe, just maybe I’m part of the unexplainable that uses more than 10% of their brain. :))). Glad to be amongst you wonderful souls!
I, too, have always had a passion for antiques @cls. That was one of the things that threw me off on the list. Although, 22 of the traits were extremely strong in my case. I have to guess that there can be some slight variations. Perhaps it’s possible for antiques to lose their negative energy or I’ve been extremely lucky and purchased things with good energy.
The other trait thay confused me was travel, but then I have always preferred staying in historic cities and historic inns. In most instances my travel has been amazing but recently my experiences have been negative. I told the story above of the cottage which was originally a bell tower above. In the 1920’s it was a summer party place for a wealthy family. I just “know” something ocurred at that spot by my severe reaction.
Also, I have recently been househunting. I immediately detect negative energy in a house and won’t even continue to look at one if it feels “off”. I’ve decided to build at this point even though it is more costly, simply to avoid bad energy.
Coocoo for cocoa puffs, LOL. You’re not crazy, the world is.
I’m just beginning to recognize and develop (and accept) my own gifts and I am feeling a bit coocoo myself, wanting to impart my joy to everybody, but at the same time feeling soooo much negativity barraging me. I have to get busy and start protecting my psychic energy. So many energy vampires out there. At the same time, I can look at a person and see the pain in their eyes and see that they’re a good person and I wish I could help them.
Anyway, know you’re not alone. We’re all going crazy together ….
Delan
punkee007@gmail.com
I first heard the term “Empath” on That Sex Show (mentioned by Dougall Fraser). I knew immediately that the term applied to me. When I read through the 30 Traits list it was confirmed. I’m an Empath! I am fortunate that my friends, family & co-workers already knew & accepted this but none of us knew what to call it. I am a professional organizer & work with clinical hoarders. This gift from God comes in very handy as I can “feel” what they feel towards their possessions and can help them work through it. It can be emotionally exhausting but very rewarding at the same time. I’m really happy to have a proper term to use. Psychic doesn’t fit. Intuitive, sure, but it’s more than that. I’m so glad I found this website!
Being an empath isn’t easy. I’ve been an empath all my life and now it seems overwhelming. I’m so inundated by other people’s feelings that I hate going out. When I turn on tv I know how those people are feeling. Especially if they aren’t acting, for instance when actors are walking the red carpet….it comes over me and I immediately know exactly how they feel in that moment.
I’ve been places that I had to leave because of the feelings that I got. One place in particular, I rented a cottage for a month near the beach. It was originally built in the 1920’s. Something was so off in that place, that I practically ran out, in tears after only a week and never went back. I felt like I was in a bubble and could barely speak. Nothing ever felt better than getting back home and snuggling with my puppy and being around my own surroundings.
I always, always tear up if someone else is crying and they are crying real tears. I’m better than a lie detector. If I don’t cry when someone esle does then you can believe they are faking. Period!
a little p.s.
this was my first time reading and my first time posting. I’d like to continue. It helps knowing there are others. btw I only rated the traits that I had very strongly and there were 22.
I never knew what it was. I work as a Customer Service Rep and people would open up to me. By the end of the call they were feeling so much better and wished they could get me all the time. I knew something was wrong when my Mom had cancer through nightmares. I called her saying I know something is wrong and after not taking another ‘no’ for an answer, she told me she had breast cancer. On my first road trip in Canada (I had lived in Germany so this put off my getting my driver’s license) my Mom and my 2 very young daughters were with me. Mom had asthma but insisted on going. It got bad and I pulled into a restaurant to ask directions to a hospital. I lost my way into the town and with my mother now unconscious i ripped the car into a random driveway and ran inside screaming that I needed an ambulance. It was next door. There was no signage or vehicle. The doctors said 10 more minutes and my Mom would’ve been dead. Her lungs were 3/4 full. I’m very artistic. I feel at home with the ocean, a moody sky, a sunbeam in the forest. I can’t stand malls – pure overload. My dog and I communicate simply by looking at each other. I had a traumatic childhood and suffer depression/anxiety. I seek help for internal storms. Need I go on? I am floored and relieved to have a term. I can feel when it ‘fits’ and when it doesn’t. It makes so many things make sense. Thank you.
Thanks this helped out alot.
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this, finding your page has helped me a lot. I can’t wait to devour it more.
I can relate to practically everything you have written, my experience is the same to most, however, I do have some other things that happen too. I find I am able to really channel a persons energy if I choose to, and discovered this when I was mucking around with a friend doing readings with some tarot cards just for fun. I found I could actually channel the person literally, whether they were there or not and usually best when I didn’t know them at all. I could feel what they were feeling, and sometimes it can be really overwhelming, on a couple of occasions I have burst into tears amongst other things… then once I stopped the reading its as though it never happened. I have also been able to tell people things about their past, present and future. I am a big day dreamer and would get in trouble a lot for doing it when I was little, I love being creative and feel like a loner a lot but don’t mind it. I also have some funny ailments sometimes sharing with both humans and animals. I usually have stomach pain or tension and find I suck in mid section from the tension I hold a lot. Lower back pain is a real problem too.
Interesting fact I found out was that there is a family history, my great grandmother was a Fae and was apart of a church where they would read objects etc.
Despite how accurate I find I can be I still manage to question myself as I don’t want to necessarily label it. It’s really hard to share with people who might not understand or accept it as well. So I would like to be around similar people who can share and give guidance. Do you know of any groups in Australia? Really seeking more knowledge, understanding and growth. Thank you again. D 🙂
Hi D,
Thanks for sharing.
Sorry, but I don’t know of any groups in Australia, although I seem to recall another comment on one of these pages asking if there was anyone interested in starting a group there. There is a support group on Facebook for Empaths. Just type in ’empath support group’ (assuming you’re signed up) and it should hopefully take you to the group page.
Hope this helps and good luck.
I’ve known about being an empath for years. I just wanted to say that your “30 traits of an empath” is one of the better lists I’ve seen. Almost all of them apply to me. Also, the “grounding techniques” page is also good. I already do many of those just to save my sanity, lol. I don’t have any other strong empaths around me right now and my close friends don’t believe in this type of stuff so sometimes it leaves me feeling like I’m insane or something… like I’m the only person around who thinks the way I do or perceives the world the way I do. In some ways I sort of feel like one of the people on X-Men or a similar movie/show… someone who is different from almost everyone else. I feel like an alien a lot of the time. That could be another thing to put on your list… a feeling of being different from almost everyone around you.
I have about 24 out of 30 of these things. I really like this website, I can tell from just 5 minutes on it. Would you think it possible for an empath to try to purposefully absorb the negative energy from their close friends, so that the said close friends won’t have to go through it themselves? Just a curious question from a curious questioner. 🙂
I have a particularly bad case of IBS (It’s actually chronic, if that means anything.) And I really like antique stores, because I think they have a story to tell.
Hi BT,
I have never actually tried to consciously absorb negative energy off another but I can’t say I would recommend trying it either. As an Empath you will already be absorbing/transmuting more negative energies than you will be aware of and taking on more could lead to an overload. Guess we have to trust our energetic and physical bodies on this one, in that they know how much we can handle (even though at times we may feel like our circuits are being fried) 🙂
IBS is very common in Empaths, as is many other stomach ailments. One of the Joys of our gift 😉
There are some Empaths that don’t mind the energy held in antique or second-hand stuff, others can’t tolerate them, especially if an item holds negative energy from the previous owner. I have found as I’ve got older I am more tolerant of antiques but there are still exceptions.
Thanks for sharing.
I am looking to connect with other Christian Empaths. I consider my “Knowing” as a Spiritual Gift that is used for prayer. Always for praying for someone or some part of the earth. Often I have no idea who the person is, I just see a face. It can be difficult when it’s a general area of the earth and I know that a lot of people will be effected. Like this morning I was awake at 3:15 with the need to pray for Taiwan.
I would like to talk with other Christians about how they deal with the sadness of knowing that they cannot stop what is going to happen.
P.S. A few days ago it was Russia I felt the need to pray for and then the meteor struck. Anyone else here had a knowing about that too?
Julie..I had two weeks of restlessness and pacing and felt very jittery. I couldn’t understand why and and had never experienced anything like this before. The feelings were very very strong and quite disturbing. It was threatening. It was the two weeks prior to September 11th.. the bombings of the twin towers. I haven’t experienced anything like it since and I pray I never do.
I am a bit overwhelmed by this page. I just stumbled across it. I knew I was different, I always hid everything. I don’t know if I would be considered a Christian Empath or not. I kinda of try to steer away from being a christian now. It scares me to get to close. I do pray everyday still and before sleep (very important to me). I have experienced extreme religious experiences, signs, dreams, and visions. While sleeping and awake. Things that would probably amaze you. This page is nothing compared to what I have seen and experienced. If you could please pray for me. I am able to talk in tongues (but I don’t usually because of my fear) and I have smelled the sweet savory smell (Philippians 4:18) and also fire. I hope you understand what I am talking about. I have dreams and think of words I have never heard of. They all have meaning. I had a dream about a calypso angel last year, if you could help me on this. It would be much appreciated. Oh, one thing I don’t understand is that you are not to judge people. I have heard certain people talk in bad voices. I see hear feel dream bad and good. I have also seen eyes change color and felt why. I have noone to talk to about this ….. so please get back to me. I left out a lot. One thing I have learned about the bad is if you talk about it …. it comes. I don’t know if this will help you. I found going in a room and closing all doors and windows, turning on a light and putting on a religious song or tv helps. If not just pray. I wish I could tell you more at this point but I can not, I really would appreciate your asistance. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Lisa, I will pray for you. I will pray for you to learn and understand about your gifts and abilities, and that you will feel loved and protected rather than overwhelmed and wanting to hide (been there!). I will pray that God will send you the teachers and friends that you need to grow into your gifts, at just the right time- and for exactly what you need. I am learning that it is when I am living God’s calling and purpose for me, that sometimes that is the very time when I feel the most chaotic and confused and crazy. I believe that when we are working in The Light, that darkness can be very threatened by that. When I feel afraid, I pray and sing and keep my focus on whatever is of God and the light. Feel free to email me if you like.
Wow! How do you know ALL this??? I already know I’m an Empath, but you have more signs than I’ve ever read before…I am all, but close to animals. I am close to nature, but not animals. I’m a beach lover and love rainstorms, thunder and lightening, also…love snow. I love water, in general, and I absolutely prefer washing dishes to using dishwasher because my hands soaking in warm sudsy water is extremely soothing. I can daydream aaalll day. I am a writer. I abhor clutter, and I will NOT buy antiques or second-hand clothes and stuff. I hate yard sales…yuk! I am everyting on this list. Also, I get other people’s illness. When my daughter was in labor, I felt pains in my abdoment for two weeks prior. Went to doctor, had test, they could not find anything. My daughter went into labor…I had pains the entire time (in the room with her). Then, after the baby was born, they stopped for good! There was a lady at my job who was feeling dizzy for a few days. I was feeling dizzy for a few days, then she came up to me and said, “I’ve been feeling so dizzy.” I said, “Really?” Then, I prayed for her healing, and it went away. I prayed for my son’s ear ache to go away, my ear popped as I was praying, he his ear ache went away. I LOVE being an empath, but sometimes, I just don’t know what to do with it. 🙂
Also, I’m a huge seeker of truth. My name even means “truth”. 🙂
I’ve always loved snow too! I’m 17, and I went out into the snowpocolypse and just stayed out there until my mom made me come back in
I used to work in nursing. It was hard because I feel peoples sicknesses too. Cancer is the worst.
Thank you. Really, thank you. All the time I thought I’m overly dramatic and I can’t sort trough all this pile of emotions. I’ve got goosebumps from the text, it was nearly scary how accurate this hole description is. Now I have something to work with 🙂 Thank you so much.
I’m 16 years old, and I guess, thinking about it, it’s a bit odd that i’m so intent on finding myself. I always thought it was simply a personality of mine: my ability to care about people so much that their pain became my own, how I could just step into the car and know if my parents had a bad day… there are so many things that I related to. Especially the part where it was said that we are deemed over-emotional.
there are some parts that I’m unclear about… on other sites it was said that I can read the emotions of other people? because I can’t. I just feel… and you’re right. Sometimes, my mood changes so quickly, and I get so confused as to why.
most times, I feel misunderstood. my friend thinks it can be annoying.
but thank you for the article. maybe I am, maybe I’m not.. but this was very informative.
I love to own vintage and antique things , I think that must be a preference . I like the stories they carry . The history in an object adds to the appeal of it . I feel an aversion to new things because of the cheapness and lack of care that goes into most of them , with exception to certain brands that feel good .
Oh my… I have chills running down my spine. I’ve never been able to put a finger on it, closest I could come was, maybe I’m a psychic and psychics are not what people think they are, or maybe I had multiple personalities… reading this, flashes of my life playing through my head the whole time, I’m almost shaking too hard to write this. I thought “energy vampire” was a phrase I coined many years ago to describe an ex, I must’ve been tapped in to the truth lol. I too feel as tho I have been living on auto and have an intense desire to get my life back in the energy flow. Most people think that means finding a job (I was fired for standing up for myself, and have been unemployed for a year) or going to school (I could never pick between science or music lol), but I just want to find inner peace… that’s never enough tho is it?
It has been very difficult being a teacher and an empath. I am African American and live in the South. Having to stand up in front of a class and sense the scrutiny and negative emotions has been a nightmare. But I can’t find other employment that would put me in the background. Moreover, I realized just today that I have been picking up on the negative emotions of some of my students and sending them right back to them, which is probably not good. Because of all the negativity, I am angry a lot. I am very glad I found this site; it just validates what I have felt my entire life.
Wow.. just wow. Until recently I thought I was the only one feeling what the person next to me in class was feeling, knowing instantly how people felt about me when they met me, picking up other peoples discomforts and pains.. and then I stumble on this word- empath- and see that there are lots of us about! It sort of makes me feel more brave, and I am thinking that there may be more to this… maybe I can control and make use of this, in some other way than supressing the experiences.. maybe I can just let it happen and enjoy the flow of whatever happens..please somebody tell me if I can work on this..gift.. thingie.. and how 🙂 Love to you all out there !! good to know you exist!!
Hi Mezzo,
Finding out that you are an empath is just the beginning of your journey. The road is challenging, has many ups, downs, side to sides, and is chock full of experience.
The best advice I could offer to enhance your gift is to work on yourself by looking after both body and mind, and the rest will follow (please see other posts on this blog). Keeping a quiet mind (through various meditation techniques, exercise and relaxation) will help you discern between energies and emotions that don’t belong to you and therefore helps you to not get caught up in them and take them on as your own.
An empath is always at work (absorbing and transmuting energies), if you realize it or not, and it is really important for us to look after ourselves. I am, hopefully, going to be writing a post in the next day or two regarding foods, that I’ve found beneficial, to eat or avoid. So keep an eye out for it.
Thanks for sharing.
This has been a great help. For exactly understanding myself better. Reading this gave me a huge relief. I almost felt better instantly while reading it. I wondered why I feel so attached and connected to the world and to people in an unexplained way. When i know something, i just know. And i feel like my emotions and feelings and surroundings have actually gotten higher every time something traumatic happens. I know need answers about, when i dream, i dream of how someone feels. When someone lies to the world or close ones how they truly feel. Even to me, i dream how they truly feel, i dream what they won’t say. Or i dream of what people hide. And i don’t know how my role plays in this. And how to deal with my own situation on difficult journey. help?
Hi Genesis,
Thanks for sharing.
The journey of an Empath is not an easy one, we are a rare and unique breed. And although we may understand the way we are, we don’t often understand why or to what purpose it is serving. We are constantly searching for the answers, more often than not, outside ourselves. From what I have learnt on my own path is that the answers lie within. If we listen to that deep inner-knowing we can find that which we seek.
We are in the midst of huge changes on the planet that have been frazzling our circuits, giving us symptoms such as: weird dreams, emotional overload, brain fog, nausea, apathy, unusual pains in the body and much more, so things have been a lot tougher for us to deal with in recent times (like we needed things to get any harder).
Hope this helps.
This does help! It is greatly helpful! So it is safe to say that I’m an empath. It explains why I’m so artistic. I can write for days. But i cannot physically talk, when it comes to my true inner self and feelings. But i can write them, so much more easier. Why people change my mood. Why i always feel the need to save someone. And why i cannot find my purpose in life. I cannot seem to figure out what i want to do or be. But i do know that it must involve helping people. It explains why people i do know or don’t know become instantly attached to me, and they feel the need to tell me their inner thoughts, feelings, and problems. And why i feel over whelmed so much and exhausted, so i often rather be alone then out and about. I guess that’s why I’m into movies. I only watch the ones i like. Its my escape from reality. Everything they feel. I feel even deeper. And i dream the truth. I guess my next task, is to get it under control. And also to find out what i truly want.
This is so relevant to my life. I’ve always knew it but I didn’ t know what to call it.
Wow. There are only maybe 2 things on this list that does not describe me. I’ve recently been questioning whether or not I am an empath. I think this list might of confirmed it. My husband has told me several times that he think I might be an empath, but I had never done any research on what eexactly an empath was until now. One thing that first made me start to think that I was, was when my husband my husband started his new job. He was nervous and anxious, and I could feel his anxiety as if it were my own. It made me look into my past to see if I could pin point other peoples emotions I might of accidentally felt as my own. My husband and I have been trying to get pregnant for over a year now and everytime that I thought that I might be, I.e. I had pregnancy symptoms, I would find out someone close to me was pregnant. This has happened at least 5 times now. I’ve always been very quiet around new people, I get very anxious in large crowds and pretty much everything on that list. One of the things i know I cannot be is a healer. Anytime I see another person is in pain I get physically sick to the stomach and can’t be around them. It’s the same reason I can’t watch gory movies, and its not because all the blood and guts gross me out its because I think I feel what they feel, even when I know it is fiction. One thing that I noticed is not mentioned is reading. I feel all of the characters emotions as if they were my own, I actually love reading cause I feel like it is an escape from real life because it feels so real to me. If that makes any sense. Anyway I just wanted to share my experiences as well. I do think since I now know what been going on with me my entire life, is really like to learn to control it as well as enhance my abilities. Thank you for all those that actually read this entire paragraph, maybe it will help someone else with figuring out their empathic abilities.
I only days ago figured out that I am an Empath. I have always felt so different and most people just don’t take the time to really understand me. I have been trying to figure it out my whole life. I, like many of you have almost all the traits listed above. I, too love old furniture. I feel like certain pieces speak to me. I will only bring home pieces that feel nonthreatening. Also, Jessica, you mentioned how you like to read to escape and feel what the characters feel. I do the exact same thing. I can get lost in a book for hours on end. I also like to watch romantic comedies when I feel down, because it always uplifts me. I take a break from myself and pretend to be that girl who falls in love and gets her guy in the end. It just feels good to feel those feelings, even if it is fiction. I think it’s cool that you brought this other possible trait up. there are probably a myriad of other traits that empaths have in common as well. The possibilities are endless.
Very well said. I too cannot expose myself to TV news, violent programs or reading…it can be hard to be so sensitive!
Wow! The only one that did not discribe me was number 28. I like old things. You can feel their story, ya know like the things that peice of old furniture might have saw and heard if it had eyes and ears.
The comments below the #30 list discribes me perfectly also.
You know, as I was reading through it all I kept thinking how those traits are similar to that of people with ADD/ADHD. I wonder if perhaps a lot of people are wrongly diagnosed with ADD/ADHD when they are really empaths? Or does ADD/ADHD and empathic abilities some how run together?
I have been dignosed with ADD.
I have a hard time finding mature information on empaths without there being some kind of weird beliefs shoved in there. Often what I find appears to be written (I could be wrong) by wanna-be-something folks that like to play and pretend they know and have pyschic abilities, magic or whitchcraft or something like that. I get discouraged at the lack of mature intelligent info on empathic abilities. So, reading your article was encouraging to me and refreshing. I really like it.
I am a Christian. No, dont take that the wrong way and assume I am the sterotypical type of Christian. I know Jesus to be God and to have freed me from many things by dying for my sins. But I am not a rule enforcer or a religious radical. I believe empathic abilities are a gift from God and can be used to help others. One should not ever think they are any better or more special then others because of their empathic abilities. In the Christian culture empaths are often thought to have discernment of some sort. But in the non-Christian culture discernment is called empaths. It appars to be the same thing but just worded different. Sadly most of the info on empaths are geared towards paganism only and do not help those empaths with other spiritual beliefs such as Christians,Jews, muslims and many others. It would be nice to see more info on empaths of the various religious cultures, sects, religions and beliefs. So I seek to find answers. A seeker. Empaths are seekers. The seekers of truth.
Hi BJ,
Yes, you’re right on there: Empaths are most certainly seekers of truth.
I’m afraid I don’t know too much about ADD or ADHD to comment on mis-diagnosis but it’s definitely worth exploring.
Thanks for sharing and hope you get to find more info the religious cultures and empaths… or perhaps you’ll be the one to put the info out there (smile).
D
I just stumbled across your comment when looking for information on Christianity and being an Empath. (because I too want information without eastern mythology mixed in) I have ADD and my boyfriend is an empath. We are both Christians. I always felt like I am the opposite of an Empath because of my ADD. My ADD makes it harder to focus on any one thing, so I have a harder time figuring out what people are thinking and feeling (since my knowledge is solely based on body language, tone of voice, etc. but I pay less attention)
Knowing how easily distracted I am from outside stimuli, I can only imagine how much worse it must be for you to have both. On the other hand, it gives you an advantage that I do not have in social situations.
Ahhhhhhh, I’m home at last <3… All my life I've known I was different. As a matter of fact, I believe my first cognizant thought was actually : "Why am I here?" and up until just recently, I was pondering that very same question…..until now! Oh I tried to be "normal" like everyone else….preoccupied with boys, money, physical appearance etc. etc….but I always found myself wanting….wanting so much more yet never finding it. After enduring and extremely traumatic childhood of ohysical abuse, additction and emotional/mental abuse I THOUGHT that I had come out of it pretty well adjusted and set about growing up and getting on with my life however I never felt that I have been really understaood by anyone…Always being made to feel that I was an alien from another planet and certainly the only one who felt and saw the world as I did. An outcast…a freak and more than what I was worth as a mate. I even tried the Christianity 'thing' and even fell for the brainwashing for a short time but all that resulted in was my severe distaste for organized religion of any kind. I mean, to me, it's just plain arrogant for these religious leaders etc. to claim that They HAVE IT ALL FIGURED OUT and what they don't which is MOST of the time…they chalk up to being Satanic. hahahaha REALLY?!?!
Anyway, when I had children I once again put me on the back burner and actually tried my damnedest to be the normal perfect mom etc….but when I reached approx 35 years of age that's when all the advancements in medical science began…spewing out terms such as bi-polar, manic depressive and such and since no one in my life cared to see past that, I was labeled with each and every one of those and then some. Psycho Mom is the one that's really hurt the most…..and still does but at least I can say today that I'm a few steps closer to figuring out who I am and what I'm supposed to be really be doing here. I still have so many questions and I'm still confused as hell but I am grateful for people like you that are willing to take us newbies by the hand and help guide us through our journey.
There are just a couple questions I wanted to ask then I'll be on my way. I too have a blog but it, like me has been in limbo for the past few years however I think I know now what I shall as well as should write about….I too saw myself unfold through every single one of the 30 traits of empaths you mentioned above except as someone said previously, number 28. I also love antiques because of the history connected. For some reason once I handle a historical object, I feel as though I'm catapulted back in time to when that object originated and know that much more about the people etc. connected with it.
The scariest and I fear hardest thing I have yet to control, channel not even sure of the right words to use is my intense fear that overcomes me in regards to my childrens' welfare. I actually experience the most intense anxiety and panic attacks when I feel my kids 'might' be in danger which is almost ALL the time. 😦 I love them more than my life itself and they are the only family I have left in the world and they are now at the age where they mostly just push me away and leave me to my horrible imagination of the worst and since most of my life I've felt as though I've somehow lost God's love and favor….he will take the only things left that I care about….my kids. The last and most recent thing I've noticed though beside my recent diagnosis of Fibromyalgia is that every single time I touch metal of any sort…..I shock myself silly! Have you ever heard of this sort of phenomena amongst empaths?
Anyway Moi, Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your article/blog. It has served to be quite comforting in knowing I'm NOT crazy nor alone… and for that I will always be grateful.
Sincerely,
Debbie
aka angelheart
http://randomdoseofreality.blogspot.com/
http://randomdoseofreality.wordpress.com/
Welcome to the site. I have those feelings about my children too. I have to talk myself frequently out of having a panic attack. The feeling just instantly consumes me, sometimes I know why, other times I don’t. Most of the times it seems unfounded as my children are healthy and happy.
I sent a request to your wordpress site. It might comes as “hereswhat”. You seem like such a lovely person.
Hi Debbie,
You are very welcome.
In regard to your electric shock treatment :), I too have experienced this on many occasions, over the years, although it never tends to be a consistent thing. I may get shocks from many things I touch, even my dog, for weeks or months at a time and then it just goes. Thinking about, it I’ve not had it for a while (guess I should touch wood there). And the fear you experience is, I would say, very common in Empaths. I do not have children, but I can relate to ‘The Fear’ you are talking about, which goes way beyond worry, it is all encompassing and paralyzing. And it is not helped by an Empath’s incredibly creative imagination (imagining, in the most vivid of colours, all the worst possible case scenarios). However, ‘The Fear’ is something I’ve found I can control through yoga and/or vigorous exercise (it burns the fear off), as well as avoiding caffeine at times of flare-ups. For Sensitives, it’s horrible that when we have such great love for something it can so easily be turned into such great fear.
Thanks for sharing and the best of luck to you.
Hi Debbie,
I relate to so much or what you say. I just want to share with you a great site. I had problems parenting and felt I was going crazy so many times. I am still working on it, and have only just read about Empaths and working all that out too.
Have a look at AHA Parenting by Dr Laura Markham. She has great advice for parents wanting to be the best they can be and parenting with empathy.
Like you, I too have had ‘feelings’ regarding my child. One day I was feeling very ‘antsy and restless’ I didn’t know what was bothering me, but I felt I had to call my daughter. I called her up and asked her where she was. She was 19 at the time. She said she had just gone to the movies on a first date and was getting ready to get into her car and come home. I told her…leave NOW! I was adamant and said to her do not hang around and talk..get home! She listened to me and when she arrived home soon after…the feeling subsided. I asked her about her ‘date’ and she said she was glad I called because it gave her an excuse to leave right away. She said she got a ‘weird vibe’ from him and had already decided not to hang around any longer. I rarely get those ‘feelings’, but was grateful I did that day.
BJ, I love your comments. I agree with you wholeheartedly about finding information that is not only helpful, but can be seen as a spiritual gift in the Christian community. Sometimes it really does seem it’s all about semantics. We call it discernment and it’s OK, but if we call it intuitive or empathic ability, we are almost shunned. So sad.
Hi,
Wow is this spot on. I have always known about being able to feel others all my life ut got to say didn’t understand, just felt different or rather an observer and not belonging or fitting in, which I am mostly ok with not always. I remember at 5 having an out of body experience and have found I can control to some extent. I also feel people. The draining of negativity can bring me scarey low. Like the respondent below I feel electricity and shock alot of things in everything I touch and then its off for a while. like my electrolytes are off. I also find that I can share positivity. I find that really joyous and love sharing good thoughts with others. I do find people a bit overstimulating at times and prefer nature and my dawg and kids. I think I have one daughter that has it and would like to know how to help her understand and rejoice in the gift. She is 10 and I could just imagine how far I would be if I had been helped instead of such bad things happening because of not knowing. My Aunt had this too. She didn’t do so well with this and was shunned but she passed a few decades ago. I wish folks understoodthis, I feel its a gift from God and a great thing to explore and would like to find more info that helps with out the games of evil or satan involved. Labels are not what I am looking to find out, guidance. It has been a difficult journey as I have not always had great experiences and seem to get caught up in drama. Now I feel a whole world opening up to me in a very good way and would like to learn more!!
Sol
WOW…I’m amazed at how I’m seeing myself in all of you. Like you at 52 I started waking up. During my lifetime I’ve had several OBE’s. But the last one rocked my world as far as my Christian belief went. That experience taught me to stop making ourselves separate with labels and just BE while allowing others the same.
Each of us has a different gift and we all use it differently. In the after life there is no religion or separation of beliefs… only the soul. My most recent OBE was to help my dog. He was choking, I went to him and helped him regurgitate…a washrag. I called my roomate the next day and sure enough it happened exactly in detail the way I described it. My pastor wasn’t receptive and I’ve never been back, bless his heart.
I believe in my creator without requiring others to do so. I give others the respect of their individuality and their “personal” relationship. I no longer tell people what they should believe. It must be discovered within. Just like each empath on this board, no one expresses the gift in the same way.
I was created exactly the way I am supposed to be, and so were you. I am no longer hiding or thinking I’m possessed or insane. And I’ve never looked back.
Dear BJ, your considerations and comments on the inquiry about Empaths are so similar to mine that I just needed to make a connection with you. Especially about wanting a more “mature” dialogue v. the “granola, Kumbaya singing, new age” stuff – no offense to those, but just not for me. I have struggled with this my whole life and being an Empath was just recently suggested to me by, of all people, my religious counselor. She is a minister, just not of my church ( i actually do not currently belong to one). I would be interested in corresponding with you on the matter. If you find this agreeable, please let me know. Sincerely, Tina
I was diagnosed with ADD. The medicine gave me terrible side effects and I’m off it now, I think it was shutting off the empathic part of my nature, because I had a huge emotional disconnect.
I also believe the points you brought up should be explored more deeply. Many symptoms described in this article are the symptoms that somehow get our kids into the “ADHD” category.
Being one who writes a lot about Empath stuff, I can tell you that I tend to avoid anything religious because it’s a real minefield and you’re going to knock a lot of noses out of joint.
Not really sure how you would address such things from a Christian point of view, where many things are seeped in fear. 🙂
thank you very much,
im 50yrs old and now i know who and what i am
Me 2. I’ve always been able to tell what motivates anyone and if they have positive or negative intentions. Being around negative attitudes just knocks the energy of of me and can put me in alot of physical as well as mental pain. I cry so easy that my logical mind thinks it ridiculous. This are finally making sense
I’m one but I’ve learned to send others emotions also as well as receive
I feel like someone just wrote down who I am in only 30 traits… haha 🙂
me too
I’ve said this before to many people with the same question because I’ve done it myself. Do a research on bubble meditation. Youtube/google it etc. It helps tramendously! It has helped me!
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