Dealing with being an Empath

When you realize that you are an Empath, it can be a wonderful revelation as things start to make sense and fall into place, and you can move forward in the process of learning how to work with your gifts. If you are an Empath (like me) and didn’t know it for years (like me) then it’s likely that it was not an easy path. Without going too much into my own story, I will share some of what happened (and sometimes still happens) to me, and how being an Empath affected my life.

Empaths pick up on the energy of others without the need to try, and often without knowing they are doing it. This can result in erratic mood swings and behaviour, and the empath may not realise what the cause of these are. For me when I was young I was a very angry person, but didn’t know why. I was quite angry at my father a lot of the time, as he had quite a temper and I was picking up on his energy and thus didn’t like being around him much. Another typical trait of an Empath I displayed (and very much still do) is that if others in the same house/office are unhappy, arguing or distressed, I feel the same way and find that I can’t help but try to help them. So much so that I can’t focus or relax if they aren’t.

So why are we like this? Why do Empaths go through so much turmoil due to the emotions of others? Surely there must be a positive point to being an empath, and there certainly is. One aspect of grounding, is connecting to mother earth and releasing any negative emotions to her, where she sends them to where they are needed, or transmutes them into positive ones instead. Empaths are agents of mother earth, having a strong connection to her, they pick up on the emotions of others so that they may ground them and help people release negative emotions, and transmute them into positives. Unfortunately due to the troubles often faced by empaths, they can shut them self away from people to stop the feelings effecting them, which also shuts down their connection to mother earth. This means the negative emotions have nowhere to go, and the empath ends up feeling worse

How to make being an Empath a positive experience?

Empaths have a very special gift, which helps them be more compassionate and caring, and to get along with many different types of people. When you become aware that you are an Empath, you can not only deal with it, but embrace your gifts and use them to help yourself and others. There are many techniques out there, both for Empaths and others that will work, but keep in mind that some may not be ‘strong’ enough for the intensity of feelings that Empaths can pick up over time.

Here are a few techniques that I have heard of, most of which I use myself:

• Grounding- When grounding, imagine a cord or tree root that extends down into mother earth, but make sure to go deep. I recommend connecting with her core or heart.
• Protection- Some protection simply doesn’t work for most Empaths, for example a bubble of energy surrounding you, will often be simply absorbed by you, leaving you open after a few minutes. Rather than trying to block out others, let their feelings and energy in, and imagine that they go straight through you and down to mother earth, without affecting you. You can also allow mother earth to transmute it to positive energy that you then bring back up and out to the people around you. Seriously try this and see how it changes the energy in the space and people around you.
• Clearing excess emotions- If you do find that you are feeling down, drained or perhaps irritable after being around people, water is a great way to clear the excess or negative energy. A bath with some rock or sea salt works a treat, the ocean is magical, and a shower can work too in a pinch to clear away and release the negative energy. You will feel clean physically and energetically.
• Crystals- Some crystals that I find helpful are grounding and protective stones such as Hematite and Tourmaline (especially black and brown), to ensure I am always grounded and don’t hold excess emotional energy. Also Tiger’s eye (or tiger’s iron) and Flourite help keep me focused on what I’m doing and not get as easily affected by others. There are many more crystals, but remember you won’t need any that increase empathy since you have it in bucket-loads. Instead use crystals that help you go about your day without the negative effects being an Empath can occasionally bring.

Positive effects of being Empathic

Luckily it’s not all hard work being an Empath, there are a few handy skills that often come along for the ride. Since you are attuned to the energy of other people, most Empaths are quite psychic, they are able to sense not only the emotions of others, but their energy and so can pick up information through this energetic connection. Also being attuned to energy of others means that all forms of energetic healing are usually picked up quite easily. The most Empathic people are also the strongest mediums, able to see, hear, and feel loved ones that have crossed over, and other energies such as angels and guides.