Psychologists say that one in five people identify as empaths. We have compiled some empath self-care tips and tactics to help you cope with this ability. Find out if you are an empath and learn what you can do to make life easier with this gift.
Do you know the difference between an empath and a clairsentient? Although they are often used interchangeably, they aren’t the same thing. There are important distinctions between them, just as there are between sympathy and empathy. Let’s start by clarifying the meaning of these terms.
Are you an Empath or Clairsentient?
An empath is someone who senses the emotions of others and the energy of places, whether they want to or not. This ability makes them sensitive to the feelings and energy generated by people, places, and even objects. Approximately one in five people have some degree of empathic ability. If this is you, you will want to handle this awareness. It is natural to be curious about how it works.
A clairsentient feels energy like an empath but takes this ability a step further. They have ways of harnessing empathic energy and cultivating empathy traits and abilities. With this heightened level of control, they can reduce the emotional impact while being able to interpret the energy. The clairsentient possesses exceptional intuitive insight. They can find and interpret the cause and source of this emotional energy. This valuable information can help people overcome traumatic experiences or addictions.
People who train to cultivate this energy can often direct it. This is the skill behind the healing practices of Reiki and Pejut. In fact, practicing these healing methods can help empaths learn to control their level of sensitivity.
The actual difference between an empath and a clairsentient is their level of control. By unlocking intuitive potential, both types make excellent therapists and healers. They also benefit from empathic energy clearing practices.
Empaths and Clairsentients have common traits. If you identify with at least four traits, then there’s a good chance you are an empath. If you identify with eight or more, you are likely a clairsentient.
Empath Traits Quiz
1. Highly Sensitive: People with empathic sensitivity are often good listeners. However, their sensitivity makes them vulnerable to feeling the pain of others.
2. Absorb Emotions: You absorb both positive and negative feelings of others and your surroundings.
3. Social Situation Sensitivity: You prefer one-on-one interactions or small groups. You can feel overwhelmed in crowds.
4. Intuitive: You use your intuition it routinely in decision-making.
5. Need for time alone: You need solitude to recharge and avoid emotional overload.
6. Difficulty with boundaries: Do you struggle to set boundaries and can feel drained by the emotions of others?
7. Deep Connection with Nature: Many empaths feel a strong connection to nature and find it soothing.
8. Strong Compassion: They are often compelled to help others and practice compassion in their daily lives.
9. Sensitivity to Sensory Stimuli: Empaths can be sensitive to lights, sounds, and smells.
10. Emotional Reactivity: They may experience strong emotional reactions to movies, books, or stories.
This short empath traits quiz shows you just how common these qualities are. Some cultures and countries value people with these natural inclinations. Unfortunately, Western cultures see sensitivity as a handicap. In cultures dominated by commercialism, these traits are viewed as weaknesses.
Sympathy
Sympathy is an integral part of our social instinct. It prompts emotions such as sorrow, worry, and pity for the pain, misfortune, and hardship of others. It is only natural to feel sympathy and empathize with others in emotional distress. Can you relate?
Empathy
Empathy is the ability to understand and relate to the feelings of others. Cultivating empathy traits is important because they are the platform for healthy relationships. We need people who care about people and the planet. We need people who have the skills and passion to find solutions to global issues.
Empathy and intuition are closely related. Empathy helps us recognize the emotional energy of others, and intuition helps us process this information. Intuition helps us predict why and how others react so we can respond appropriately. Cultivating empathic energy intuition is a way of unlocking intuitive potential. It results in a deeper connection with others.
You may not identify as an empath, but you can still relate. If you have a healthy social instinct, it is natural to feel empathy and sadness for the pain and suffering of others. Healthy people will have sympathy and empathy for people and the planet. However, empathy differs from the experience of the empath. An empath feels the emotions and physical pain of others.
Cultivating empathy will improve your ability to connect with others. Here are a few things anyone can do.
Developing and Cultivating Empathy Traits and Abilities
1. Practice Active Listening: Give people your full attention. Listen without judgment and try to understand their perspective.
2. Switch Your Perspective: Put yourself in someone else’s shoes, and imagine how they feel.
3. Emotional Awareness: Be aware of how your emotions influence your thinking.
4. Non-Judgmental Attitude: Approach others with an open mind, without preconceived notions or biases.
5. Compassionate Action: Respond to your empathy and social compassion. Help others in need.
Cultivating empathy traits is something that everyone benefits from.
The opposite of the Empath is the narcissist. Narcissism is a personality disorder that makes people numb and unsympathetic to the pain of other living things. In fact, they enjoy causing pain.
Empath Self-Care Tips and FAQ
Every empath wants to know how to deal with the sensitivity to energy. You want to find out how to shut it off when it isn’t needed because this level of emotional awareness can be hard to handle. It is hard to explain emotional sensitivity parameters to those who don’t have them, and it is equally mysterious to those who have it. It comes in varying degrees. Above all, this gift or ability makes life interesting.
Are Empath’s Abilities Paranormal or Supernatural?
Do these abilities have a supernatural or paranormal source? Answering this question depends on how you define the paranormal. Most see this as a skill of perception. They do not regard this ability as having a supernatural source.
Organized Religion labels empath sensitivity it as evil, branding it as witchcraft. They do this to make it undesirable because they can’t control or sell it. So, they demonize and call it paranormal or supernatural to make it unacceptable.
The fact is, our empathetic ability naturally grows as we expand our awareness. The growth of our consciousness is a beautiful thing. As we become more aware, we use common sense and logic. When you enhance these abilities, the inequalities and injustices of the culture will be more clear.
When you are more awake and aware, you’ll start questioning the cultural narrative. Cultivating empathy traits shifts your values toward more holistic and positive attributes. The dominant culture does not want us to be inquisitive; they want us to be compliant.
The most powerful social force in our society comes from Western organized religion. So even if you aren’t a follower, you feel the effects of its values and prejudices. The principal concern of Western organized religion is profit. It sells the afterlife, health, and prosperity. But the afterlife is by far their most lucrative scam. There are no customer complaints about this product. It is an unstoppable cash-flow strategy.
For this reason, the culture doesn’t want people who are awake and aware. Awareness leads to people cultivating empathic energy intuition. And this leads to more kindness and compassion. These traits break down the barriers that organized religion works so hard to create. These barriers make people easier to control. Organized religion projects the fallacy that those with empathic abilities are evil. They claim it is a supernatural or paranormal manifestation. This marginalizes empaths, making them outsiders, off-limits, and taboo.
Can You Increase empath abilities?
The ability of the empath is a function of awareness, and you can increase the bandwidth of awareness. Any practice that expands awareness gives you greater access to observation and the senses. So, the answer is yes. Cultivating empathic energy, intuition, and instinctual awareness can be developed. All the tools for spiritual exploration accomplish this goal. The spiritual technologies of this practice fall into three major categories:
— Analytical and Rational Thinking
— Seated and Moving Meditation
— Awareness Expanding Methods
— Healing Methods
These tools stand up to the test of science. They are repeatable processes that allow us to reach higher states. We can measure the physiological properties of these states. They produce unique properties which differ from waking, sleeping, and dreaming.
Are Empaths likely to be a specific personality type?
Are some personality types more likely to be considered empaths? No, this does not appear to be the case. People of all personality types may exhibit these qualities. These findings come from over twenty years of research gathering data with the Enneagram.
We use the Enneagram of Personality in our workshops and research. It’s the best tool for learning about our Ego. Even among the feeling Tri-types, you’d expect there to be a more significant number of empaths. However, this is not the case here either. They appear in the same numbers across all aspects of personality and instinct. So, this sensitivity gift is not an element of our Ego. Where could this sensitivity live? Have you ever heard of our sixth sense?
Is the sixth sense the same as being an Empath?
The sixth sense is the ability to perceive beyond the five senses of hearing, taste, sight, smell, and touch. It is also known as extrasensory perception (ESP). We’ve already discussed energy sensitivity as a special level of perception. The feeling someone or something is watching us could be a latent part of our self-preservation instinct.
The sixth sense is not uncommon; many creatures share this ability. Even those with significant visual impairments can be aware when people are watching them. They sense someone or something is watching them, even though it is physically impossible for them to see. It’s something science can’t yet explain. So, perhaps ESP is a different channel of energy sensitivity?
Some scientists think this sixth sense is part of the hard-wiring of our autonomic nervous system. The sixth sense is connected with our instinctual fight, flight, or freeze, which helps us respond to danger. Animals also share the abilities of an empath.
We train dogs to be emotional support partners because they can sense when the owner needs help before there are any outward signs. Therefore, it is clear many animals share this gift. That’s how they can expect predators. As we increase our awareness, we are also harnessing empathic energy and unlocking intuitive potential.
Are Empaths Introverts and Loners?
People assume that empaths must also be introverts. However, this isn’t the case. People with empathetic sensitivity are just as likely to be extroverts. Some people use the label of an empath as an excuse to isolate or act unsociably. These are signs of mental health issues like depression. Therefore, you should not confuse anti-social personality disorders with emotional sensitivity.
Empaths don’t necessarily need more time alone than others. Everyone needs time alone. Even the most aggressive personality types who are not empaths need time alone. Our modern world is chaotic, so it’s easy to become overwhelmed. Our very nature requires time alone to recharge, contemplate, and normalize. It’s important to meditate. We’ll talk more about this in a moment. If you are an Empath, you aren’t doomed to be alone. You can learn to handle it.
How does being an Empath impact my identity?
If you identify with being an empath, it is ability a significant part of your identity? Do I use it as an excuse to isolate or avoid addressing other problems? Or is it another part of my spiritual toolbox?
The above questions deal with how we see and relate to our self-worth. We live in a culture bombarding us with messages. They tell us we are inadequate unless we buy their product or idea, and we achieve a false sense of self through belonging to a group or buying a product. By harnessing empathic energy, we expand our awareness. So, we are not as easily manipulated by the negative aspects of social media and the cultural narrative.
Are All Empaths Targets for Energy Vampires?
Some people believe empaths are more susceptible to energy vampires. Everyone who comes into their sights is a target. Energy, emotional, and financial vampires seek anyone willing to give them what they desire. Empaths and emotionally vulnerable people can be easier to persuade if they don’t know how to guard their emotional center. We’ll discuss the process to make yourself less of a target in a moment.
The bottom line is that vulnerability and sensitivity are not the problems. The problem is that some people will attempt to prey on cheerful and generous people. You can learn to be kind and still protect yourself.
Do Empaths have greater emotional intelligence?
The short answer is no. Emotional intelligence is a catchphrase for a psychological tool used in business. It is nothing more than the rebranding of psychological manipulation tactics.
This method teaches how to hide your emotional affect while reading the emotions of others. It enables you to take advantage of deception to gain an advantage in communications. This tool, developed by confidence artists dating back to the Middle Ages, is not something we recommend you learn. Instead, we recommend learning to be authentic and honest.
Are Empaths sensitive to places and locations?
Locations like people can give off negative energy. For instance, many people find walking in a garden or forest to help them feel calm and peaceful. Some people get the same relaxed feeling when walking in a cemetery or other sacred sites because these are places that receive an outpouring of love and compassion. Most people have special places which help them feel calm and centered. Do you have a sacred space?
Some places give off negative energy. Some sites are unwelcome and menacing. Again, your sixth sense will tell you something is wrong. We’ll explain the coping strategies for dealing with negative people and places later.
Unlocking Intuitive Potential Harnessing Empathic Energy
Vulnerability is a healthy part of life, but feeling vulnerable all the time is not. If you live a courageous life, you risk yourself. You choose to be vulnerable. Those with a high level of emotional sensitivity must learn to control unwanted vulnerability. Learning the proper coping skills will allow you to function in this hyper, emotionally charged culture.
Empaths must learn to shield their emotions to protect against unwanted sensory input, which gives them more freedom and autonomy. Many with emotional sensitivity struggle. They haven’t learned the proper coping skills. As a result, they go through life feeling like a target for energy vampires. They even have problems going to sleep when their angry neighbor comes home.
Let’s face it. If you are a sensitive and caring person, you will attract needy people. You need to learn the proper skills to spot and cope with emotional vampires. If you use the correct technique to create healthy boundaries, you’ll have more freedom and less stress. Also, some people are sensitive to the negative energy of certain places. The same coping skills will help with these as well.
First start by cultivating empathic energy intuition
The first step in learning to handle this energy is exploring its source and boundaries. We can do this when we are grounded and centered. Grounding helps you be aware of your physical, emotional, and spiritual boundaries.
When we are grounded and centered, it helps to keep our analytical minds online. It makes us more aware. In this way, we make better decisions using reason, logic, and common sense. As a result, we can avoid people or places that are energy, emotional, and material vampires.
One of the best and simplest ways to become grounded is mindfulness meditation, which has two seated and moving forms. Everyone needs to learn and use these techniques. So, use your smartphone. Set a reminder at least four times a day. Take the time to use mindfulness meditation to become grounded and maintain this state throughout the day. This is one of the most important empath self-care tips.
Two, Learn to Spot and Deal with Energy Vampires
Learn to spot energy vampires. To this, you must be grounded. Practice meditation, which allows you to reach the transcendent. This will help you become aware of negative energy in your surroundings. Learning to expand your awareness enables you to spot energy vampires outside of the range where they can latch onto your emotions. You need to be familiar with the signatures of harmful people before they enter your personal space.
Some people know they are energy vampires, and some don’t. Dealing with them involves being grounded to shield yourself and distance. Removing yourself from proximity to them is one of the empath self-care tips that comes naturally.
If an energy vampire slips inside your radar, you can protect your emotional center with the right technique. It’s essential to practice some phrases, enabling you to disengage from a conversation. Excusing yourself to go to the restroom is a favorite.
So trust your gut. It is that sixth sense we talked about earlier. This trigger is telling you that something is not correct. Listen to it. When you identify someone who violates your healthy space, stop and take a break. Find a way to make some physical space. When you do this, chances are, they will know they see through their mask.
Three, use empathic energy clearing practices
These clearing practices help remove emotional and energetic burdens and negative energy. Highly sensitive people (HSPs) can absorb these energies from people and their surroundings.
1. Wash Your Hands: This is simple yet effective. Washing your hands with soap and warm water can symbolize and facilitate the cleansing of your energy.
2. Shower with Salt: Using sea salt or Epsom salt in your shower can help clear negative energy. Many find this helps calm their minds, especially after intense emotional interactions.
3. Salt Baths: Bathing with sea salt or Epsom salt and essential oils like lavender and sage provide a relaxing experience.
4. Water Cleansing Ritual: Mindfully focusing on water’s cleansing effects can help purify your energy. Many religions use ritualistic cleansing to signify spiritual cleansing.
5. Grounding Techniques: Practices like Tai Chi and Qigong help you stay present and ward off negative energy.
6. Visualize Protective Barriers: The basis of prayer is imagining a shield around you. Creative visualization can help prevent you from absorbing negativity.
7. Establish Emotional Boundaries: Maintaining clear boundaries is crucial for managing your energy and emotional well-being.
8. Engage in Energy Clearing: Mindfulness meditation practices help maintain a healthy emotional state.
9. Use a Protective Mantra: A mantra can project a positive shield, enabling you to maintain emotional equilibrium and block unwanted energy. It is one of the most powerful empathic energy clearing practices.
We have a window of consciousness we call our spirit or soul, which defines us as a single entity. We view reality through this window of perception. Some refer to it as the center of our being, soul, or spirit. It doesn’t matter what you call it.
You can tell when something or someone violates this sacred space of awareness. When this happens, it’s time for protective measures.
It pays to memorize it, so it’s ready when you need it. If you encounter an energy vampire, then say this mantra to yourself:
Om Kshraum Naraismhaya Namaha
Literal translation: I salute AND manifest energy that destroys the seemingly indestructible.
Summation
So, everyone who is healthy has these empathic qualities to some extent. Even if you don’t fit the textbook empath definition, it is likely the empath traits quiz showed you that you have some of these qualities. Some people just have a greater sensitivity than most others. If you desire, you can enhance your empathic skills by using techniques to expand your awareness. Harnessing empathic energy is a natural aspect of our growth.