Empath and highly sensitive person (HSP) are terms that are thrown around a lot in today’s’ society. What exactly are those? Well an empath is someone that can share the feelings of others and a HSP is someone who is very sensitive to the outside world and stimuli. HSP are known to “feel too much” or “feel to deep.” You can be one or the other or you can be both.
These are traits you are usually born with, can be genetic and/or are usually nurtured based on your environment as a child. It is nurtured in both negative environments and positive. Trauma causes us as children that were born as empaths to be more sensitive/empathetic all around from seeing and experience abuse. Positive and loving parents can also teach and nurture you to have your empath side come out. You also may have an empathetic parent.
Life can be more difficult as an empath or HSP. You feel things more intensely and have to be more careful. It is a beautiful gift to have, to feel for others, it can also be a painful one. Here are some signs you are an empath or HSP:
This is the big one that is most hear when speaking of empathy. When someone is expressing their sadness to you, you feel it as if you are the one who’s really sad. When someone is expressing their happiness, you feel as if you are the one experiencing the joy!
Whatever emotion it is, you feel it very deeply. Especially when you go in a room with a lot of different people. You can feel their emotions and energies and it can be hard for it to not affect your mood. It can be hard to let go of negative thoughts or emotions.
I can sense peoples emotions very strongly from their face, their tone and the way they are moving their body. I just feel others emotions intensely like as if they are mine. This can make it difficult because when someone, especially someone you care deeply for is having a hard time or is sad, you can feel that heavy sadness and it can even cause you to go into a depression. That is why being an empath you have to be careful and protect yourself more than someone else.
Ever watch dateline, a dramatic movie or the news and you catch yourself getting really upset, physically sick or need to stay away from that stuff? Do you notice it shifts your mood? That is more proof you are an empath, my friend.
Some people can watch fighting or murder and it may bother them but they are able to forget it rather quickly. When you are an empath its something that can shift your mood for awhile or make you physically sick.
There is a difference between feeling bad for someone which is sympathy, and then feeling bad to the point where you can’t help but want to do something about it. You imagine yourself in that persons shoes, feel their feelings and think about what you would want in that situation that could help.
Because of that, you want to go out of your way to help and be there. You are the shoulder to cry on, you are the one giving things out, you are the one giving your time and energy to help someone else. You make sacrifices for the ones in need.
You ever get the feeling about somebody but you can’t quit put your finger on it? And then you come to find out later you were right? Ever have a feeling about something but ignore it and it winds up happening? Others may not get the same feeling but you just have in explainable gut feelings that something is off. That is that intuition right there!
You understand things without reason. You may get feelings about places/events, people or things that are going to happen. It is not only feelings but your feelings more than not happen to be right. You and your friends may feel like you are psychic. Maybe you are a little psychic! But most likely its just your intuition about things are on point.
Intuition is in between instinct and reason. There is no definite explanation of what intuition is but for now I guess we will just have to write it off as you just have those empathetic powers.
When someone is sick or in pain you may notice yourself feeling similar symptoms. Someone has a headache, now you suddenly have one. Another person is feeling under the weather, now you happen to not feel so good. This can be draining as when you are sensitive to the outside world, it feels like you have everything everyone else has!
A lot of the times empaths pick healing jobs like doctors, nurses, counselors, or literal healers. You just want to heal the world and its wounds. In someones time of need you know what to say to comfort them and bring healing. You have a healing energy to you that can help others heal faster and not only that but a want/need to bring healing. Being around you can be very healing to others.
As an empath or HSP it takes a lot of energy out of you. You may feel like you are being pulled in different directions to try to help everyone. It takes energy not only from being a healer but from feeling everyone else feelings. Each person you come across and every conversation, you get burned out from all the emotions. It can be quit over whelming and feel like a roller coaster!
Not only that but you spend a lot of your energy giving to others. Feeling like the world is on your shoulders and feeling like you need to take care of everyone would burn out anyone!
This especially applies to HSP. You may take things too personally when it isn’t meant to be personal. It may be hard for you to take teasing or jokes about you lightly. Negative emotions may linger longer and you may have a harder time letting things go. It may be hard to hear negative feedback. You may get hurt easily. Some things may apply to you and others may not. But people do usually wind up telling you, you are “too sensitive.”
When people tell you, you are too sensitive they usually are saying it because they get overwhelmed in dealing with your sensitivity. Being “too sensitive” is not necessarily a bad thing. There are positives to being highly sensitive like being in tune with nature and yourself and others!
It can be negative when you are unaware of how it affects you and others and don’t know how to cope through it. The most important part is being aware of your self and your sensitivities and being able to pin point when you feel you are over reacting and taking things too personal.
Because of your caring nature towards others it can be seen as a vulnerability and others will try to take advantage of you. Those people are usually narcissists and abusive people. Empaths are the opposite of narcissists, while empaths feel for others, narcissists do not. Empaths see narcissists as ones who need to be taken care of and narcissist thrive off of empaths need to take care of them.
Narcissists will be on their best behavior at first. They purposely look for empath type people. They will trick you into thinking they are this persona they are trying to sell you. But as time goes on their toxic behaviors such as gaslighting, manipulating and verbal abuse will come out. You as the empath will want to help them, you can see they are clearly hurting or troubled after all to behave in such a manor. As time goes on and you have dealt with their tantrums and abuse, you will eventually come to see they aren’t someone that you can help and the only option left is to leave.
Like I said earlier about being the first one to help and how you are such a giver, you do have a habit of giving too much. You will give to the point that you are now suffering because of it. It is hard for you to say no or to not give because you just want to help others and be there for them.
Money, time, energy, support it doesn’t matter what it is, you will give it to the ones in need. You will notice yourself giving out of an empty wagon or trying to stretch yourself too thin. It is good to be giving but it becomes a problem when you are giving too much to the point where you are suffering the consequences. You can’t continue to give away yourself if there is nothing left to give.
When you are a HSP it isn’t just your emotions and feelings that are very strong. Outside stimuli like lights, noises, touch and smells can be very heightened and in turn over stimulate you.
This also can cause the nervous system to be in overdrive which will cause over stimulation. This is a feedback loop where outside stimuli is heightened and will over stimulate you which will then cause your fight or flight to go off causing things like anxiety which then causes heightened senses.
Your heightened senses may cause physical symptoms like feeling wired and tired, becoming overly emotional or become anxiety ridden when being over stimulated.
Ever walk into a room and feel overwhelmed by the presence of people and their emotions? What they are thinking of you may come across your mind as well. You all of a sudden feel really weird. You feel sad, or angry, or confused and you feel like you just need to escape.
Natural lighting and smells make you feel so much better than the artificial indoor lighting and smells. You feel more in tune with the world when you are outside and it is a breath of fresh air because you feel one with your emotions and not everyone else’s. You can release your burdens.
The sounds in nature are so calming like the birds or the water or the wind. You feel you can focus on yourself and your own energy. Nature is very healing and it helps replenish that natural healer in you.
This is such a gift to have because being understanding is underestimated in today’s society. Understanding others comes easy to you. You can see where all people are coming from and why they may have reacted or did what they did. Because you put yourself in their shoes and imagine how it would have made you feel. People can talk to you and they know they will be heard and understood.
It is really important as an empath or HSP to be aware of yourself and how things affect you. As an empath myself I have had so many tribulations especially when it comes to feeling others emotions so deeply. With the right coping mechanisms which I will talk about in a future post, You can be a happy healthy empath and use your gift in a positive way in your life!
What do you guys think? Do have more to add? What are some traits you’ve noticed as an empath or HSP? Leave it all in the comments below!
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