Is this common across Reddit or just certain subs? As an older empath, I'm noticing that some communities attract users who seem to thrive on negativity. Even in good subs, there's always someone ready to jump in and nitpick or lecture
As an Empath I have learned that everyone with this gift is taught something through it. Sometimes it’s hard to explain and other times you find yourself wanting to shake people because they just can’t see what you do. What is something you’ve learned?
I’m a widow, as of June 15… almost 2 years ago now. I keep having trouble believing he’s gone because I feel him around. And now I’m growing unemotional and almost Vulcan like. I come from a very long line of Empaths, the line it comes from is connected to the Templar knights. My husband was my grounding rod and now that he’s gone I can’t keep my empath from overloading. Any advice would help… please.
I think one of the fastest ways people emotionally burn out
is constantly being the person others rely on emotionally
without receiving the same support back.
At first,
you don’t really notice it.
You listen.
You understand people.
You stay emotionally available.
But eventually,
you realize something uncomfortable.
You became everyone’s safe place
while quietly having nowhere to put your own emotions.
And after enough time,
something changes psychologically.
You stop opening up as much.
Not because you stopped caring.
But because emotional exhaustion
eventually turns vulnerability into silence.
Lately I’ve been working on my intuition and physical energy and my relationships have been so different. I can immediately feel when someone is an energy vampire or just feels gross, and I feel bad because I’ve ended new friendships over it. I don’t say any of this to them to be nice of course, but its only gotten harder to ignore and most of the time it’s been correct judgement. I’ve felt plenty of good energy from people before too, so I know it isn’t projection (and I’m a recovering people pleaser.) I’m curious if you guys also deal with this? It’s been crazy how some people just feel terrible as soon as I’m near them, and then later do something that explains why they are lol.
Self-proclaimed empaths who constantly project onto others make me so angryyyy ahhh 😭
Like, how do you deal with someone who genuinely believes they are deeply empathetic and highly sensitive to other people’s emotions, but in reality seems really bad at distinguishing between their own emotions/projections and other people’s actual feelings?
They pick up a “vibe” from someone, feel a strong reaction in their body, and instantly assume they know exactly what the other person is truly feeling — often even better than the person themselves. But most of the time they’re just… wrong. And when the other person tries to explain their actual feelings or perspective, the “empath” kind of steamrolls over it because they’re so convinced in their own intuition.
It feels horrible to be on the receiving end of this because you end up feeling judged, misunderstood, and not really listened to. And the weirdest part is that these people often seem completely incapable of considering that they might be projecting or misunderstanding someone. They seem very emotionally reactive, but not actually very good at perspective-taking or understanding others outside of themselves.
At this point I honestly have a difficult relationship with the term “empath” in general because so many self-proclaimed empaths I’ve met were actually not very good listeners at all. Genuinely empathetic people usually don’t constantly need to tell everyone how empathetic they are.
And no, I don’t think this person is narcissistic or malicious. But I genuinely don’t know how to deal with someone like this without constantly feeling emotionally overwritten or misread.
Has anyone else experienced this dynamic?
I just started a beginners acting class and my empathetic nature has had some associations? I feel like it makes it a loooot easier to feel the emotions of the scripts I practice each month.
Any actors/actresses (hobby or professional) here that have noticed an association? If anyone has any notes on this I’m super intrigued!
I generally have anxiety all the time I am 56 and post menopause and I no longer have the capacity to deal with my empathic nature. I have been slow up until this point to figure out how to control my empath abilities.
lack of estrogen is not helping - and yeah I tried HRT different set off issues.
I have had empathic/psychic abilities all my life and never truly realized how much it influence me. To the point of okay who am I. That is fucked up to not know yourself.
I meditated 4 hours Saturday in nature, 2 hours on sunday, 1 hour this morning. I was feeling better. felt like I could function not have adhd anxiety or the need to go eat.
Then I go hit. For me I feel heat all over my body the areas of my body affected. My heart clenches like I am having a heart attack. And My adreline shoots up and races...Then I am eating. Axiety and lost the ability to think or focus at all. Not residing centered in my body.
It is still 5 hours later and still having trouble.
I know consciously it is not mine but my body just reacts and sends me into a state.
Like I am one of those empaths that can pick up on a friend 1200 miles away getting a nooner. But I don't know what that is when I get it. I just get the heart racing, the horniness and eventually when talking to her about it we figured out that the time and date was her getting a nooner. Or my boss walks into the room and I get an instant headache cause she has one.
Knowing who it is has always been an issue. I just experience it.
Then I get spirits, last week I had to experience a man's military death how he died. And god that wasn't not fun. Before I realized what it was I had anxiety all week with heart palpipations.
I am just tired, getting peoples, food cravings, their depression, seeing and feeling sexual or physical abuse, seeing and being in wars, violence in general or feeling someone elses rage.
My body can no longer tolerate it. And I have tried the mirrors, the walls, the cords, crystals (help some), grounding.
But I realized that none of that is going to do any good if I am disassociating and flying out of my body when I get hit. If my internal compass gets off. I need to stay centered. And it seems the more I center the stronger my abilities are.
Still my heart is clinched and adreline hasn't settled from this late morning hit.
I just needed ot say this outloud to the universe and have it witnessed. This soul is tired.
Wish I could find a transpersonal therapist to talk to who knows what this is like.
The Borrowed Compass
It is easier to follow
the hand that points the way
than walk alone through doubt.
But borrowed eyes grow heavy,
and borrowed truths grow small,
until one day the silent self asks:
“What would I have chosen
if I had learned to see?”
I was on my way to a meeting and saw it standing near an outdoor tap among high rise buildings in the rain and cold, I told it that I’d bring it home afterwards my meeting by if it was still there and it was so I brought it home.
Its toes were tangled in hairs badly so it cut it away and gave it a rinse with just water to get surface dirt off. Gave it a blow dry and left it in my cage to rest with a cloth over it and 2 hrs later, it passed. I’m crying right now. This isn’t my first bird rescue, I’ve saved a pigeon, a baby dove and a quail before and they were all fine upon release.
I’ve only had it for 3-4 hrs, I checked on it before and after my hour nap and it was so weak before and now it’s crossed the rainbow bridge and I can’t stop crying.
Im single 40m probably straight, never married no kids and attachment issues, etc.
finally with my age everything is calming down and I can see more and more clearly. Not sure if empath as my empathy kicks just for random people, but I’m definitely very giving person finally with healthy boundaries and self respect.
however I can easily fall in love with anyone who gives me just a little attention and sometimes I am able, just from that, create beautiful charming warm magical mutual feelings. Most of the times I freaked out because of that feelings and I started to feel like ,,how can I deserve it.,,and find explanation that I don’t and after that everything collapsed, me being clingy, overthinking and creepy weird
But now I’m okay as I found peace with myself and everything is more easy so
Yesterday:
My friends and I went for heavy metal event in my hometown and there were playing some amateur bands as usual, but I met there some some cool gals and one of them was very charming and cute I could recognize her from the beginning like there was ,,where is Waldo,, kinda crowded situation but she was somehow luminous to me
I didn’t talk to her and I wasn’t watching her or stalking but could recognize her anytime she went around
Time passed and by the end of the show we met outside and started talking and decided that we should go get something to eat and I started to
feel the magic, we were walking through the empty streets of night while it was pouring rain but it didn’t matter and she and her friend were singing student anthem - kinda something in Latin and something woke up in me.. then I asked her if she’s married and she said yes and started to explain how it was the worst decision she ever made and how is she stuck there with everyday struggle not happy at all but I could feel that she’s lying.
I mean magic was still there and I could see that she is very honest in the rain but also I could feel that her feelings are numb and her husband alone is not the reason of disfunctioning marriage as she was blaming him for not giving her attention she deserves.
Somehow I could see that she’s saying things to me only for me to proceed with her more magic and I did as charming as I could and we danced together in club. And we had the rhythm, there was lights, her eyes and happy face of fulfilling passion and touches very close together. Then we were out again by the entrance smoking cigarettes in rain talking while some cluster of people were fighting each other but we didn’t care about it as we talked.
She asked me if I regret meeting her and I said yes because I know she’s just playing to fulfill her satisfaction but I told her not to worry because I’m used to be that man what she said that she sorry about it but she can’t do more or anything about that..
I called her taxi and she gave me her number.
I walked home, fall asleep, and dreamed about her:
As my friend bought her beautiful diamond ring and she was nicely flattered but her feelings were still numb and then 90s version Prince William came
and gave her diamond big as small pineapple shaped into the swan and she was nicely flattered but somehow still empty. I was scared that to that I cannot compete so I woke up.
I have girlfriend on my own but I haven’t seen her over the year and half and she barely writes me, but she still keeps me alive and
What I’m supposed to do?
Hello, I’m new to this forum.
From the time I was young I was always able to read and feel other people’s emotions among other things. A friend would tell me about something that hurt them and I’d start crying with them. I would get anxiety when anyone would raise their voice or scream, slam things, etc. I grew up in a broken, dysfunctional, household and constantly had to walk on eggshells.
As I got older I learned to distance myself from feelings, because it gets overwhelming and I would be left feeling depleted. It would take me days or weeks to recover. I also hated being vulnerable.
I cry easily when reading or watching anything privately, but in public I do my best to be stoic and neutral. I’ve experienced so much loss that I’m at a point in life that I’m afraid of connection.
Today something happened and I felt moved and connected. It felt special.
As a coworker and I were crossing paths they seemed off. When someone seems off I ask if they’re okay. Most answer with the usual, “I’m good, just tired.” Some will open up. This coworker responded with, “I’m fine, why? Do I not look fine?” Me: “I always ask if people are doing okay. You seem troubled today, so I wanted to make sure you’re okay.” Coworker blurts something out that theyre going through. Me: “do you want to talk about it?” Coworker shares more and is crying. I can feel their pain, so I start tearing up. Later in the day coworker approaches me and asks if I’m busy. I tell them I have a spare moment. They go into more details and I start crying again. They’re not crying this time, but I could still feel their pain and couldn’t control my emotions.
There have been other times that people share things, but show no emotion and I still get emotional. Anyone else?
In the past, when I’ve tried to share my emotions, my family always shut me down for it, telling me I was too sensitive and I had to “man up” (I’m a girl). Out of nowhere, they start dumping their emotional stuff on me, because according to them I’m the “sensitive one” or the “patient one”, but that was the very thing they made fun of me for. Has anyone else been in a similar situation and how did u deal with it?
P.S I am very comfortable with strangers and children opening up to me :). It just hurts that my family put me through a lot of shit and still expect me to show up like normal
I'm a straight M33. I've always been different and people have always noticed. I'm very empathic. You can see it in my eyes. I'm not really acting like a normal masculine man, nor do I look like one. It's been a difficult life so far. I need constant alone time to recharge. Anxious all the time too.
I hate being an empath, it is often seen as a weakness in my country that promotes more traditionally masculine roles.
I just want to switch off my empathy.
I have been deeply empathically bound to a friend. I have become intertwined in a way that is too much. It is to the point that I have been processing their anxiety for them. They did not ask or agree to this and I cannot decouple. Suggestions please???
I am 44. I've known most of my life that I have had abilities, though I have tried to put them in the background and not pay attention to them. I have not researched into what it is to have the abilities that I have or how to address them .
I meant a close friend of mine about 9 years ago who at the time we were just working together. I did not know that she was a median but she read me right away as a very strong empath. I've had multiple conversations with her about things that I am going through. But since she has moved away things have gotten hard and I stopped paying attention to the way I was feeling. I also have abilities to not necessarily see people but I can feel them there, I can feel people who have passed away, I can feel their pain and their suffering. I work with the public a lot especially in older folks homes. The last couple years have been extremely hard on me I have had so much emotional feelings or what I would call an emotional roller coaster and not understanding why.
I don't like to talk to people about what I feel, and my husband doesn't understand that when I'm overwhelmed it doesn't necessarily mean that I understand why I'm overwhelmed. So I am reaching out for help to learn more about what my abilities are and what I can do to protect myself. I'm reaching out for friends that understand what I'm going through.
My husband and I own four different companies Where We Are in people's homes all the time. My husband just recently got a client who is also an empath. I had never met her until just recently when we were invited to her birthday party, I walked into her house and the first thing that she said to me was can I be your friend. She could tell that I was also an empath and since then she's been talking to my husband about the fact that she really wants to meet with me and help me understand, and just keeps telling him that she feels like I need a friend to talk to. Because I'm bottling everything up and not letting out.
I'm so lost on where to go,or what to do, or what to read, I just need help and guidance
Hi everyone! Im 18F, and I’ve always been a huge empath my whole life. I feel peoples emotions and thoughts in a way it consumes me. and my father died a month ago unexpectedly in his sleep, he was very young , 44. Ever since , I’ve been deeply affected, depressed, and anxious, but im pushing through, because I know if I don’t it’s worse off. My mom on the other hand, no showers, no getting out of bed, crying constantly, drinking 24/7 and it’s really affecting me. I can PHYSICALLY feel her pain, even when im not close to her. And it hurts me so bad. I know it sounds selfish, but it’s not, I really am trying everything I can do to help her but I’ve reached a point where I don’t know what to say or do anymore. My anxiety is bad, so im extremely worried for my mom’s mental health, what she might do to herself, or something like that. Her and my dad were best friends, her only friend I would say, so I can imagine how hard this is for her, she’s all alone now. It’s extremely depressing on me too but for some reason I feel like I’m not allowing myself to grieve over it. I found him dead and i haven’t been able to even process this. Never would have I expected this to happen, the worst thing is we don’t even know why he died! Today my mother was drunk and didn’t sleep til 11AM. For some reason this really affected me. I had to leave the house and I couldn’t even function properly because of just imagining my mother’s pain. I don’t know what to do anymore, I feel lost, like I have no one , im too young to be experiencing this. I miss my dad, but I know he’s somewhere happy . I just don’t know what to do anymore. Or if she will ever get better.
There’s a lot of spiritual training out there, and it’s not all equal. What made the difference for you as an empath? What was your personal Hogwarts that gave you control of the gifts you maybe never knew you had?
this has been a bad week
i lost an online friend... and i cried.
for the first time in years, i cried like a baby
recently i feel i have just gotten this sudden surge of empathy
i saw things yet untill now i shed no tears for anyone but myself
not for my grandfather, not for my grandmothers, not for my pets who were run over in front of my eyes
and now i did, for this man, a person i never even seen the face of nor known his real name
and hes gone... he couldnt take living any longer
i felt so, so sorry...
i understood his pain, finally
so my main question is the following
can people really just get empathy all of a sudden? i thought you were either born with it or developed it, not just.. randomly got it
Can anyone relate? If so does this go away?
My mother is a narcissist. I’m starting to see that my dad is so under her spell he only shows emotion (often fear/desperation) in response to her acts (fake crying before breaking into an uncontrollable smile if she thinks it’s working etc)
Combined this meant that from a young age my own emotions, point of view, and perceptions were unacceptable. She’d react with anger or emotion and my dad, desperate to calm her, would get physical with me or scream in my face if I so much as disturbed her with authentic reactions. It kinda broke my spirit.
I really believed it was all my fault, that getting choked on the floor and against walls for stating my point of view was deserved. That the obligations “family” meant for me actually meant anything to my mother. That because we said we loved each other all the time - to end conversations, to have something to say to one another, anything - I was loved.
Dated a narcissist just like my mother in many ways without realizing it. Five year relationship. Actually used to think the fact that my ex would blow up so dramatically and harshly just to act as if nothing happened the next day meant it was love because that’s the love I grew up with.
The only time either of them (my ex or my mom) ever had my back was when I was having issues with the other. It was like a tug of war and I bounced between their influence for years until I recognized it and chose myself.
I try to forgive my mom. It’s easier to forgive my ex because her mom is a lot like mine and I can understand why she’d be terrified to be authentic when her closest connection rules her with shame.
But honestly, my entire nervous system was cultivated to forgive my mom, to make excuses for her behavior, to push my own emotions and so many parts of myself into my “shadow”.
I don’t feel shame anymore. I don’t walk on eggshells for anyone anymore. I recognize manipulative/deceptive people and those that are disingenuous. I call out their behavior.
I’ve learned to recognize that the fact I feel an emotion does not always mean it’s my own - I’ve started noticing context that tells me it’s the feeling of another I’m literally feeling in the absence of any reason to feel it myself.
And now that I’ve started doing that, I see that I feel almost nothing myself. It doesn’t even make me sad. It just is.
I don’t really even care to be honest, I’m trying to teach myself that it’s acceptable to feel emotions for myself, that I’m allowed to feel anger or sadness or happiness outside of the happiness of others without feeling bad for it. Trying to do the shadow work.
But it makes connecting with others harder. I can still tell their emotions and now that I trust my gut I can usually sense their intentions with me. But because of this, it’s hard to care about anyone.
Guess maybe I just need to keep focusing on accepting myself and individuating more bc I don’t always act as if I care about myself.