Written by How Being an Empath Can Lead to Getting to Know Yourself
by Abbie Vanessa
Some people are more in tune with their emotions than others. Those people are known as empaths. I believe it is a fantastic quality to be in tune with your emotions and understanding what/how another person is dealing with their life. Have you ever connected to someone so easily it FREAKED you out? People made it seem as a negative thing to be “sensitive” and understand your emotions, but being an empath can lead to getting to know yourself.
“I believe it is a fantastic quality to be in tune with your emotions.”
First of all, fuck everyone who makes us feel like we are less stable for understanding and actually allowing us to experience a beautiful thing…EMOTIONS. Being an empathic person is more common in females, but can also be men.
Certain traits that can make you an empath:
- Always on the lookout for the truth
- Have a heart of gold
- Overwhelmed in crowded places
- Sense when people are lying (I’m not talking about when you caught your boyfriend or girlfriend cheating for the 5th time).
Emotions overwhelm empathic people. These emotions can lead to:
If you don’t learn how to understand it, you can get to a place in life where everything becomes overwhelming. As an empathic person my heart runs heavy almost every day. All of the emotions I feel especially when taking on someone else’s is so overwhelming.
Growing up I was a super sensitive person and was ashamed of it; I hid it very well from everyone. In the last couple of years I realized how easily it was to connect with others as well as feel exactly what they were feeling when they would talk, tell me stories, or even spill their emotions to me. I would not be able to shake it off for days. When I would be around people I would read the energy in the room and know exactly how someone was feeling. It’s so strong I can’t ignore it and I tend to help whomever needs it.
“All of the emotions I feel especially when taking on someone else’s is so overwhelming.”
It’s very hard to watch intense movies or documentaries which is tough for me because I enjoy a lot of crime series. So basically what I’m trying to say is that I cry almost every time there’s a strong crazy scene. Being in the people business I had to learn to leave all of the energy and emotions that I would get from my clients at work. When I get home I just sink into my bed and it feels like I’ve just completed a long hike.
“I had to learn to leave all of the energy and emotions that I would get from my clients at work.”
I first noticed that I was empathic when I analyzed my relationships with people and how it would make me feel. The way I would react and how my emotions would be affected.
Recently, I befriended this girl I had met through another friend and we hit it off so well. We started to text everyday and hang out often. Someone had finally matched my personality until everything got too emotional. This friend started to get very possessive. She demanded me to be there whenever she had an issue, big or small. I felt so low and emotionally drained after all that drama and it was tough because I rarely deal with situations like that. I decided to take a break from this friend because every emotion was too extreme for me to handle. After removing myself from it cold turkey I was back to being calm and happier. I wasn’t crying from panicking too much.
There was a time in my life where I hit a very low point and I just didn’t want to feel anything anymore. I used to admire people who just brushed most things off and went on like nothing happened to them. Literally I held on to all these emotions that didn’t serve me any purpose.
I got so tired of being taken over by my feelings, but also I realized that I wouldn’t want to be the kind of person that is not attuned with her emotions. Finally, I realized that I have to embrace and understand this part of me. My lesson, I realized that I have to be pickier about how I spend my time and with whom. Yoga, meditation, and of course Winston helps me reboot everything and live in the moment.
Afterall, I just needed a place to forget the world and just be in the moment and silence my head. Because that bitch can get way too loud. I learned how to be alone for the first time, which is huge for me. Being around so many people my whole life I became an extroverted person, even the thought of being alone terrified me.
I get overwhelmed if I’m around people 24/7. NOW my alone time is one of the most precious things I have. And no one is worth me sacrificing my “me time.”