Now Reading
Are You an Emotional Empath?

Are You an Emotional Empath?

emotional empath OMTimes

Are you overly “sensitive”? Perhaps you are an Emotional Empath!

How to Determine if You Are an Emotional Empath

Empaths are highly sensitive, finely tuned instruments when it comes to emotions. They feel everything, sometimes to an extreme, and are less apt to intellectualize feelings. Intuition is the filter through which they experience the world. Empaths are naturally giving, spiritually attuned, and good listeners. If you want heart, empaths have got it. Through thick and thin, they’re there for you, world-class nurturers.

The trademark of empaths is that they know where you’re coming from. Some can do this without taking on people’s feelings. However, for better or worse, others, like myself and many of my patients, can become angst-sucking sponges. This often overrides the sublime capacity to absorb positive emotions and all that is beautiful. If empaths are around peace and love, their bodies assimilate these and flourish. Negativity, though, often feels assaultive, exhausting. Thus, they’re particularly easy marks for emotional vampires, whose fear or rage can ravage empaths. As a subconscious defense, they may gain weight as a buffer. When thin, they’re more vulnerable to negativity, a missing cause of overeating explored in my book Positive Energy. Plus, an empath’s sensitivity can be overwhelming in romantic relationships; many stay single since they haven’t learned to negotiate their special cohabitation needs with a partner.

When empaths absorb the impact of stressful emotions, it can trigger panic attacks, depression, food, sex and drug binges, and a plethora of physical symptoms that defy traditional medical diagnosis from fatigue to agorophobia. Since I’m an empath, I want to help all my empath-patients cultivate this capacity and be comfortable with it.




Empathy doesn’t have to make you feel too much all the time. Now that I can center myself and refrain from shouldering civilization’s discontents, empathy continues to make me freer, igniting my compassion, vitality, and sense of the miraculous. To determine whether you’re an emotional empath, take the following quiz.

 

QUIZ: AM I AN EMOTIONAL EMPATH?

Ask yourself:

*   Have I been labeled as “too emotional” or overly sensitive?

*   If a friend is distraught, do I start feeling it too?

*   Are my feelings easily hurt?

*   Am I emotionally drained by crowds, require time alone to revive?

*   Do my nerves get frayed by noise, smells, or excessive talk?

*   Do I prefer taking my own car places so that I can leave when I please?

*   Do I overeat to cope with emotional stress?

*   Am I afraid of becoming engulfed by intimate relationships?

If you answer “yes” to 1-3 of these questions, you’re at least part empath. Responding “yes” to more than 3 indicates that you’ve found your emotional type.

Recognizing that you’re an empath is the first step in taking charge of your emotions instead of constantly drowning in them. Staying on top of empathy will improve your self-care and relationships.



Emotional Action Step. How To Find Balance

Practice these strategies to center yourself.

*   Allow quiet time to emotionally decompress. Get in the habit of taking calming mini-breaks throughout the day. Breathe in some fresh air. Stretch. Take a short walk around the office. These interludes will reduce the excessive stimulation of going non-stop.

*   Practice guerilla meditation. To counter emotional overload, act fast and meditate for a few minutes. This centers your energy so you don’t take it on from others.

*   Define and honor your empathic needs. Safeguard your sensitivities.

See Also

*   Carve out private space at home. Then you won’t be stricken by the feeling of too much togetherness.

Here’s how:

*   If someone asks too much of you, politely tell them “no.” It’s not necessary to explain why. As the saying goes, “No is a complete sentence.”

*   If your comfort level is three hours max for socializing–even if you adore the people–take your own car or have an alternate transportation plan so you’re +   not stranded.

*   If crowds are overwhelming, eat a high-protein meal beforehand (this grounds you) and sit in the far corner of, say, a theatre or party, not dead center.

*   If you feel nuked by perfume, nicely request that your friends refrain from wearing it around you. If you can’t avoid it, stand near a window or take frequent breaks to catch a breath of fresh air outdoors.

*   If you overeat to numb negative emotions, practice the guerilla meditation mentioned above, before you’re lured to the refrigerator, a potential vortex of temptation. As an emergency measure, keep a cushion by the fridge so you can be poised to meditate instead of binge.

Click HERE to Connect with your Daily Horoscope!

You will also enjoy 5 Ways to Know if You Are an Empathetic or Sympathetic Person

About the Author

Dr. Orloff is a best-selling author, a psychiatrist, an empath, and is on the UCLA Psychiatric Clinical Faculty. She synthesizes the pearls of traditional medicine with cutting edge knowledge of intuition, energy, and spirituality. Dr. Orloff also specializes in treating empaths and highly sensitive people in her private practice.  drjudithorloff.com


View Comments (20)
  • How can I block the negative energy? I’ve tried surrounding myself with all kinds of bubbles, layers of diamonds, mirrored covers to reflect the negative back. But none works consistently. And there is one person I try and avoid at all costs who is so dark, she might as well stab me with a knife. Horrible. Awful.

  • I’m a 50 year old woman and I’m just learning about HSP’s & Empaths, I’ve always known I was more sensitive than others around me but didn’t know why until now. I’ve been trying to absorb as much as I can about energy. meditation, healing with sound,and trying to harness my energy, read as much as I can, and just trying to find balance for the first time in my life. My problem is I feel like I lost so much time not knowing why I felt more and couldn’t handle things like other people that now I feel like I have to learn everything at once and it’s Extremely overwhelming. Sometimes when I try things i see on the internet or go to a crystal bowl healing ceramony I feel worse. I feel heavy, drained, unbalanced and confused.
    What can I do to keep this from happening, and how do I begin this journey without hurting myself more? Please, if you have any advice you can contact me at tammys121363@gmail,com.

    Sincerely, Desperate for balance

  • Patience and persistence are invaluable when learning to balance your emotional state of being. Its easy for an empath
    to become lost in the currents of other peoples emotions and
    consequently lose sense of their own emotional state which can be
    devastating as many empaths just emotionally shut down from sheer
    overload. Meditation is an empaths best friend. Find a quiet place where
    you have time to silence and center the mind. After practicing this for a while and the mind quiets begin to focus on your emotional emotional state during meditation. With time, patience
    and persistence anything is possible. Lastly, if you find it difficult
    to quiet your mind I find soft music or focusing on the sounds of nature
    invaluable aids during meditations.

    My best regards,
    c.aaron.cuadra@gmail.com

  • I read in an article from the Lonerwolf blog that instead of putting up blocks, dont judge what you feel, just love & accept what you feel Try the S.O.A.R method is one way to help get through negative emotions. It’s a type of mindful awareness of your emotions. SOAR = Surrender > Observe > Accept > Release.

Leave a Reply

©2009-2023 OMTimes Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This website is a Soul Service-oriented Outreach.  May all sentient beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering and know only everlasting bliss.

Scroll To Top