The word “empath” may be a new term for some, but an ever-increasing number of people are reporting that they are sensitive to all types of energy, including that produced by other humans, the environment, electromagnetic frequencies, geophysical stress, and even non-physical beings. Being empathic simply means you are able to pick up on the energy of others—we can all do that to some degree—but some people are so sensitive to the emotional energy of others that it causes disturbances in their health and life. The confusion for empaths comes from not knowing when they are carrying or attached to someone else’s energy field.
Those who offer volunteer or victim protection work, police or detective work, or have compassionate service-oriented careers at hospitals, clinics, or hospice centers tend to deal with an overload of emotional energy from patients they tend to. There are some who rarely go into public because they feel overwhelmed by the energy they pick up. Many of them don’t know they are empaths, but they would love to learn how to stop the emotional and mental turmoil they encounter in a highly stimulating environment.
Although it has not yet been studied and proven, some people seem to have unique variations in their central nervous system that cause them to be intensely affected by stimuli in their environment. They have an unusual sensitivity to light, smell, sound, taste, and touch, as well as extra-sensory perception (ESP) or what we might consider psychic abilities. Many of these highly-intuitive individuals know that something is not quite “normal” about their abilities since not everyone is adversely affected by going into public and not everyone picks up on the thoughts, feelings, or pain of those around them.
In her national bestseller, The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You, author Elaine Aron states that as many as one out of every five people are highly-sensitive. And, no wonder! We live in an age when electronic information in the airwaves bombards us just about anywhere we go. We carry our cell phones, laptops, and other electronic devices with us on a daily basis. Our energetic field is infiltrated with background noise. While most people are able to tune it out or turn it down, some people have a difficult time processing this vast amount of energy. As a result they may have anxiety attacks, feel overwhelmed, tired, depressed, angry, or drained much of the time.
It is especially important for empaths to recognize their own energy and vibration, but many are not able to discern what their own energy feels like enough to know when it has roamed into someone’s territory or when it is being violated. If an empath does not understand what is happening he may think he is suffering from a physical illness or some form of mental distress or disorder. Psychology and psychiatry currently do not recognize empaths or know how to treat them. While I am not a psychologist, I am an empath and this “gift” has both blessed and cursed my life.
There are plenty of well-adjusted and fully-developed empaths including Dr. Caron B. Goode with whom I wrote Whose Stuff Is This? Finding Freedom from the Thoughts, Feelings, and Energy of Those Around You.
Developing intuition and empathic abilities is a journey of self-discovery that can awaken you to an entirely new understanding about life and what you currently believe about yourself. The more we embrace the fact that we are spiritually, mentally, and emotionally connected, the more responsible we must become in managing our personal energy. Everything we think, say, or do affects all of humanity and ultimately our planet. Let’s join together in a better understanding of this connection through developing the gift of empathy and intuition.
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