Top Signs You are an Empath (and what to do about it)
Have you ever wondered if you could be an empath?
We all experience empathy for others, but being an empath is different. Empathy describes understanding how someone else is feeling. Empaths experience other people’s emotions as their own. It can be difficult for empaths to separate their feelings from other people’s feelings.
Being an empath is not something you can easily shut off. It is a way of experiencing the world around you.
What exactly does it feel like to be an empath?
you experience other people’s emotional pain
you are deeply affected by the way your environment “feels”
you experience other people’s physical pain
you are moved by small gestures, art, beauty, poetry
you know exactly how people are feeling without them telling you
you can feel what animals are feeling
Who is an empath?
Everyone is an empath to a certain degree. However, some people are more sensitive than others. Hyper-sensitive people could be considered empaths.
Is being an empath a psychic ability?
Being an empath is one facet of psychic ability. Psychics are hyper-sensitve to others’ feelings and to their environment. While you’ve probably heard of psychic ability referred to as the sixth sense, it is actually made up of different senses. One of the psychic senses is called clairsentience. Clairsentience means “clear feeling.” Clairsentience is stronger and more developed in empaths.
What are the benefits of being an empath?
Empaths usually care about other people. They are drawn to helping others. If you’re an empath, you’ll notice that other people open up to you quickly. Even if you’ve just met them, they’ll share intimate details about their lives with you. This makes empaths excellent teachers, doctors, nurses, and social workers. The ability to understand and feel a broad range of emotions makes empaths great artists, storytellers, and musicians.
What are the disadvantages of being an empath?
It can be hard for empaths to set boundaries or to speak up for themselves. Since they feel so much for other people, they will exhaust themselves trying to care for others. Empaths can fall into negative and codependent patterns of behavior.
How can you cope with being an empath?
Practice setting boundaries.
Remember that saying “no” to a request is okay.
Speak up for yourself and vocalize your thoughts and needs.
Spend time alone journalling, meditating, or reflecting.
If you’re picking up on emotions from your environment, notice that it is coming from your environment rather than your own feelings. Separate others’ emotions from your own.
Check in with yourself and ask yourself how you are feeling.
Ground yourself by taking a walk in nature.
Being an empath is a beautiful gift. If you’re an empath, you don’t just see the world around you, you feel it too. Feeling deeply allows you to live your life joyfully and fully. Embrace your gifts.
Blessings,
Danyelle Simone
Recommended reading for empaths: Codependent No More by Melanie Beatty