Empaths are sensitive, caring and compassionate people — they can feel other people’s emotions and absorb their energy. Because of this, they have to actively shield themselves from negative or overwhelming situations so they won’t get overwhelmed or drained out. In an interview with UpJourney, Kimberly Lackey shares her insights on how to deal with being an empath and what you can do to help yourself.
Surround yourself with people that remind you of who you are
Being an empath is an incredible gift and, at the same time, can often feel like a curse. When coming from an empowered space—meaning boundaries are established, knowing your needs, trusting yourself, manifesting, being surrounded by respectful people and relationships—life can feel beautiful, alive, and electric.
When unempowered, life is often exhausting, draining, full of constant negotiating needs, people-pleasing, and feelings of being manipulated that can quickly lead to very dark places.
With a world full of constant distractions and opportunities for sensory overload, the only way to stay empowered is to stick with a very clear plan of self-care and creative pursuits. It can often feel selfish to an empath to mandate time to take care of themselves.
However, a true empath knows the risks of ignoring their needs. Physical illness, depression, and severe loneliness can set in quickly, which all may have life-threatening consequences.
While many people can likely understand or identify with these feelings and emotions, an empath experiences these things to an extreme. They may feel misunderstood and out of place, and this is often the toughest part. Many empaths sense and feel everything, even other’s pain.
While you can learn how to manage this, it is the times that work gets busy, or you haven’t had enough sleep or eaten properly, that out of nowhere, an empath can get hit with completely debilitating overwhelm. In this space, empaths are still sensing and feeling everything, yet it’s so much that you can’t ground yourself to make a true connection.
The genuine connection is what grounds many empaths to heal and shift out
Surround yourself with people that remind you of who you are, your true potential, and of your healing capabilities so that when you are stuck in a situation that throws you for a loop, you have preset tools in place that can help you get back on track as quickly as possible.
Dating challenges as an empath
Dating can be a particularly tough spot for an empath. Connecting with someone on an intimate level brings up plenty of attachment issues for anyone, and for an empath, these attachments can be overwhelming and anxiety-fueled.
Many times, it feels better to just be alone because risking the heartache of someone being untruthful or unkind can be too much to bear.
Empaths’ hearts break daily; it can be something as simple as seeing an elderly woman struggling to walk home with her groceries unassisted or a dog that looks thirsty with no caretaker in sight. So, when it comes to opening their heart to a relationship, this is something very serious to an empath.
The tough part is the beginning of a relationship because it is often light, fun, and carefree, yet to an empath, this is a place of deep discovery of trust, safety, and security. It takes a certain kind of person to fall in love with and weather the empath’s deep desires for solving problems and passionate pursuits.
But if you become the object of their desire and are open to exploring with them, being a part of their wild ride provides an ever-expanding list of opportunities for adventure and growth.