Empaths and Energy Levels

Many of my clients are empaths. An empath is a person who is able to enter into, or psychologically identify with, the emotions, thoughts, or attitudes of others.

Being an empath can be very useful.  For example, empaths are typically good at reading people.  They have excellent social awareness and strong intuition.  Being highly attuned to the feelings and emotions of those around us can lead to strong, meaningful connections.  

However, being an empath  also has its challenges. As we naturally identify with the thoughts and emotions of others, we are using  a different kind of energy to gather this information.  This can leave us feeling overwhelmed and emotionally drained. Additionally, while it’s common to “mirror” the feelings and emotions of others, this is inadvertently stronger for empaths. For instance, if we are around someone that is sad or frustrated, an empath will take on these feelings and keep them as their own.  Furthermore, energy can also be spent trying to mentally comprehend, solve or fix what others may be feeling.  In extreme cases, this can interfere with our own well-being as we try to make others’ situations better for them, even if we have not been asked to.  

If you can relate to this, there are two tools I use and share with others to allow for using empathetic gifts, but also creating boundaries to keep your energy and personal feelings separate from those being channeled from the people around you.  

The plexiglass wall.  The plexiglass wall allows for listening, feeling, and being there for the other person. However, once I recognize I may be taking on their feelings as my own, I picture a plexiglass wall between us. I mentally say to myself that I’m there for them, but their feelings are their own and stay with them, as they are unable to pass through this wall. This helps with assigning energy ownership and responsibility to stay with the individual that it belongs to.

Clearing energy visualization.  Another tool I use is a visualization of keeping the energy that belongs to me and returning energy that does not.  I use this at the end of the day, after being with a large group or an individual, if I feel my energy running lower. 

For this, I stop for a minute of recognition and an internal thought of Please help me to keep and bring back my energy that belongs to me and please help return energy that does not.  With this, I also may picture a soft, white light leaving me for the energy that is not mine or coming to me for the energy that is.

Being an empath is a gift! These tools can be helpful to better recognize what may be happening when this gift is being utilized.  Retaining your energy allows you to continue to better invest and relate to others with purpose and strength. 

This is you illuminated.