Are You Really An Empath?

With the trendy New Age movement, everyone is a self proclaimed empath, healer, and hypersensitive being. The bitter truth that most people fail to admit is that, “Everyone wants to be an Empath, until it's time to FEEL!”

There are many signs that will help you determine if you are indeed an empath. For those who may be wondering what an empath is, empaths are people who feel deeply. They are those who have hypersensitive abilities that allow them to detect the emotions and vibes of people, places, and things around them. Still unsure if this description fits you? Allow me to give you some more examples.

If you are an empath, perhaps you have walked into a room that felt a little tense, and without anyone telling you, subconsciously you already sensed that there was some type of argument or conflict that occurred before you entered. Emotions are energy in motion, and when we look at science we understand that energy transcends time and space due to relativity. When we apply this logic, we understand that empaths also have the capability to pick up on emotions or energies that happened in a different timeline. For instance, empaths may be able to sense a spirit or entity in another dimension.

They can also walk into a house that had something terrible happen in it centuries ago, but it will feel like it just happened yesterday! Have you ever picked up on someone's body language and knew that their words were not adding up to their energy. There is a saying that energy introduces a person before they even speak; empaths are masters of reading people’s energies!

For those who may not know they are empaths, this can be a bit of a problem, because feeling everyone's emotions and confusing them for your own can be exhausting! It takes serious self awareness, grounding, and discernment to properly function in today’s hectic society as an empath. Imagine an empath being an emotion sponge, surrounded in a world full of people with all types of emotions, illnesses, pains, thoughts, and issues. This can be extremely overwhelming for an empath, whether they are properly grounding themselves or not.

Many times people tell empaths to “stop being so emotional, don't be over dramatic, it's not that serious," or use them as emotional dumpsters to put all of their issues onto. It is more important that empaths learn how to set up healthy boundaries and get used to exercising the word "NO!" I'll be honest, when I was younger, I used to have a very hard time saying no and refusing invitations to things because I was a people pleaser. I didn't like to disappoint or upset others because I would literally sense the emotion of sadness or disappointment from them empathically! I HATED that feeling, and wanted to avoid it at all costs. So I sucked it up, and went against my intuition that was screaming for me to refuse, say no, and decline.

Now, as I am mature and wiser, I understand how my energy works and how to properly maintain myself as an empath. I realize that some of the worse places an empath can go is crowded locations (ie malls, concerts, shopping centers), hospitals, graveyards, a sick person’s home, and being around toxic energetic vampires. Understandably, avoiding these places may be difficult depending on your lifestyle and vocation; however, its important to take special precaution to protect your energy at all costs if you MUST go to these types of places or deal with these types of people.

Some excellent methods for protecting your energy is putting a pinch of salt in your shoes before leaving the house, as this will keep you grounded and protected from any type of negative energy. Salt is a natural purifier, and the feet are receptacles for energy. Your feet are your foundation, it takes the first impact when you walk. Without our feet, we would not have a strong foundation or grounding. 

Another useful tip is wearing black tourmaline, hematite, black onyx, obsidian, and selenite. These crystals are wonderful at absorbing unwanted negative energy and the selenite helps transmute harmful energy into beneficial energy. 

Learning how to imagine a gold and white protective energy bubble around you is also great to shield your aura from harmful energies.

If you are wondering what type of careers an empath should pursue, there are plenty! Empaths tend to make excellent mentors, counselors, motivational speakers, therapists, caretakers, veterinarians, chefs, and healers. Empaths connect naturally with nature, animals, and children, so any vocation involving these three elements will come easily. It is essential to mention, that empaths naturally attract energy vampires and people who need healing the most; these people can sense your magnetic healing aura.

Although most empaths are usually introverted and don't proclaim themselves as “people persons'', they have an uncanny ability to draw people to them, and unfortunately, sometimes these people tend to have a lot of issues! Of course, everyone has their own issues, nobody is problem free; however, empaths sometimes are sent here to do healing work, which is why they can naturally tell when someone is not doing well, even when the person denies it! Word of advice: It’s damn near impossible to lie to an empath, so don't even try it! Just thought I should mention that to anyone that may know an empath and reading this article to see how to manipulate them. The only way empaths are manipulated is when they allow others to manipulate them because they would rather keep the peace, than create conflict by calling you out on your bull shit!

Empaths don’t get the recognition they deserve, because without them, the world would lack caring, kind hearted, healing, and nurturing people. The world we live in has become more robotic, desensitized, and cold. We need more love and affectionate people. So next time you meet an empath, be gentle with them, ask them how they are feeling, and try not to burden them so much with your issues, because remember, they have a lot of things to deal with on their own. 

Do you think you’re an empath? Do you resonate with any of these signs? As an empath, what are some helpful methods you use to protect your energy to function in daily life? Let us know in the comments!