What Is A Spiritual Empath

A spiritual empath is someone who is very sensitive of other people's emotions and sentiments. They're also acutely aware of their own internal emotional condition, which some may describe as finely tuned intuition or gut instinct.

A spiritual empath may look into the soul of another person. This can be a wonderful gift as well as a source of immense anguish if they get overwhelmed by what they see.

A spiritual empath may also be able to perceive more information than the normal person. People's thoughts, feelings, intentions, and emotions can be included in ways that appear to be psychic powers.

The ability to perceive more information than the average individual can. This includes perceiving other realms' presences or energies. These could be interpreted as psychic powers or “vibes.”

A spiritual empath is someone who has a strong sense of empathy and understands others better than the average person. They have an instinctive desire to assist them in healing when they are harmed, which happens frequently! They'll put in the effort to understand one another so that everyone feels heard and understood.

What Is a Spiritual Empath Like?

People with this kind of empathy are more likely to feel deeply and comprehend a lot more than the normal person.

They will frequently be called upon to assist and heal others. As a result, empaths have a difficult time making friends or forming relationships. This is because they are more concerned with helping others than with helping themselves.

A spiritual empath is a person who has emotional intuition and sensitivity that extends beyond the physical sphere. These are two of the most important characteristics to be aware of in empathic people!

Pisces (February 19 – March 10)

It's difficult enough to be a people pleaser, but you're also a true empath, and the combination of the two puts you in a constant state of restlessness and worry.

When members of your family are in emotional distress, you hover around them to soak up the negativity – not because you want to, but because you feel compelled to help. When Pisces senses suffering, their natural talent and desire to help emerges.

Most of the time, your presence is desired since it is quiet and pleasant. You feel the weight of the world on your shoulders, and you try hard not to show it to other empaths.

What are empaths bad at?

One of the disadvantages of being an empath is that you are more sensitive to pain. Researchers at McGill University's McGill Centre for Research on Pain discovered that when people with the highest empathy scores were exposed to a heat stimulus after watching someone else experience the same unpleasant stimulus, they felt more physical pain than those with the lowest empathy scores. “Empaths feel things first, then think,” explains Dr. Orloff, “which is the antithesis of how most people function.” “We can hear what they don't say because empaths perceive other people's emotions in our body without the typical filters.”

One in every five persons is said to be highly sensitive, and many of these people are empaths as well. Being an empath isn't a diagnosis in the DSM-5, the most comprehensive guide to psychiatric diseases, thus it's “frequently misunderstood as social anxiety,” according to Dr. Orloff. “There are people who empathize with those who have social anxiety, but social anxiety is more of a symptom than a source of symptoms.” The mirror neuron system in the brain — a particular set of cells responsible for compassion — is hyperactive in empaths.”

Empaths take other people's feelings, energies, and emotions into their own bodies as a result of this neural hyperactivity. Dr. Orloff explains, “It's a different wiring of the neurological system.” Greater intuition, compassion, creativity, and a closer connection with other people are all advantages of being an empath. However, staying in this sensitive condition has its drawbacks, such as being easily overwhelmed, overstimulated, or fatigued, or absorbing stress and negativity from others. Given these dangers, it's no surprise that empaths are more prone to despair, anxiety, emotional exhaustion, and addictions than other people.

According to Dr. Orloff, some empaths try to numb their sensitivity with alcohol, drugs, food, sex, or shopping. “It's really prevalent – empathic awareness is frequently a missing piece in addictions.” If you're an empath, one of the most important things you can do to safeguard your physical and emotional health is to avoid absorbing too much of other people's stress and negative energy. According to Dr. Orloff, there are a variety of tactics that can aid in this regard. “The best way to find out which ones work best for you is to experiment.”

What are the 3 types of empaths?

While each empath has a unique experience, Orloff's book distinguishes and categorizes three primary sorts of empaths.

1. Empathic Physical

You are particularly sensitive to other people's physical ailments and are prone to absorbing them into your own body. You can also be energised by someone else's happiness. If a physical empath's acquaintance is experiencing strong stomach aches, the physical empath may experience a comparable agony in their own body.

2. Empathic Empathic Empathic Empathic Empathic Empathic

You mostly pick up on other people's emotions and can become a sponge for their happy and unhappy sentiments. Orloff uses the following example to illustrate what an emotional empath is: “They can sit next to an unhappy individual while seeing a comedy and feel depressed when they leave the theater. How? Throughout the film, the energy fields of the other person and the empath merge.”

3. Empathic Intuition

You have unusual perceptions such as heightened intuition, telepathy, dream communications, animal and plant communication, and touch with the other side. These seven sorts of intuitive empaths can be split down further (warning: this is more spiritual than scientific):

• Intuitive information about others is received by telepathic empaths in real time.
• While waking or sleeping, Precognitive Empaths receive premonitions about the future.
• Dream Empaths are dreamers that are able to get intuitive knowledge from their dreams that can aid others and guide them in their own life.
• Earth Empaths are sensitive to changes in our planet's atmosphere, solar system, and weather.

Does any of the above ring a bell? If you think you could be an empath, look for these 11 telltale indicators, then read Orloff's book to discover how to make the most of your empathic abilities.

Learn How To Set Healthy Boundaries

Setting limits in one's interactions with others and with oneself is beneficial to everyone, but empaths especially appreciate the freedom that boundary-setting provides. Empaths should restrict their time with those that trigger or drain them, according to Routh. “Empaths can have more productive but shorter contacts with people rather than being overwhelmed and withdrawing during lengthier encounters, which is a sign of respect for the self and the other person.” She also suggests giving consent for conversations you aren't emotionally prepared to have, noting that this can be difficult “It's a nice way to tell someone that while you may not be able to fully understand what they're trying to say, you appreciate the conversation and will be more likely to get the message in the future.”

Avoid Common Triggers for Empaths

Empaths must be especially aware of what triggers them in order to prevent feeling overwhelmed, as Routh points out “On a subconscious level, they are aware of and sensitive to others.” She continues, “Physical contact and proximity might have an impact on how an empath receives energy. Specific people and situations can also elicit stronger emotional responses than others, and empaths should learn to pace themselves and set clear time and commitment boundaries during potentially triggering interactions.”

Practice Empath-Friendly Self-Care

Routh advises empaths to develop confidence in recognizing and naming their own emotions, as well as where they come from and how they manifest “empowers the individual to be able to discern their own emotions from those of others.” Self-care for empaths also entails understanding what can cause an emotional reaction, with Routh pointing to factors like too much caffeine, a lack of sleep, and hormone swings as possible culprits. She suggests maintaining a journal to document daily thoughts and emotions since it can help you connect the dots between major feelings and external causes. She also believes that “To assist balance emotional overwhelm, taking time to rest, limiting screen time, unplugging from social media, and allowing yourself to be silent in a tranquil location without overstimulation is crucial.”

Protect Your Energy

Learning how to preserve your energy as an empath is critical for your mental health and well-being. Empaths must first take ownership of how they respond to external stimuli that impact their feelings and behaviors, according to Routh. She suggests using the coping skills listed below to efficiently manage absorbed energy and process it in a healthy manner.

Routh advises learning to process external energy in a way that is both receptive and controlled. “She says,” she adds “One approach to achieve this is to be curious about how the other person expresses themselves and their motivations for discussing the topic, rather than allowing the topic to take center stage right away.”

Try it out “To avoid sensory overload, “shielding” is used. “Shielding is a technique in which an empath visualizes themselves being shielded by white light, a bubble, armor, or other means that deflects any unpleasant feelings or excessive emotions transmitted onto them by others,” according to Routh.

When you start to sense heightened emotions, utilize grounding to reconnect with your mind and body “Techniques for grounding yourself before, during, and after talks with people are also beneficial. Empaths can stay present and focused by planting their feet on the floor, consciously breathing, and checking in with their body feelings.”

Kristen Routh is a licensed marriage and family therapist in many states, as well as a certified mental health integrative medicine provider and a PhD student in sport and performance psychology. Kristen is also a certified personal trainer, group fitness instructor, and mind-body fitness educator with a national certification. She is a clinical fellow with the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, and she works with a variety of mental health and performance difficulties. Her background in exercise science and sport psychology, as well as her own competitive athletics and fitness expertise, enables her to assist athletes, first responders, and military service members in honing their mental training skills.

What is special about empaths?

Empaths have the rare capacity to perceive and absorb other people's emotions, making them naturally sympathetic, sensitive, and understanding. Empaths are able to see things from another person's point of view.

Is empathy a gift?

Empathy is a gift. Empathy for others, from the perspective of an outsider, allows people to trust you. It gives the people you care about a shoulder to cry on, a crutch to lean on, and an open ear to listen. People that emanate empathy are the ones to whom others turn when they have troubles or difficulties.

Do empaths have anxiety?

While there is a lot of study on empathy, there are just a few studies that specifically look at empaths. According to research findings, empaths are likely to have hyper-responsive mirror neurons, which are a type of brain cell that triggers responses like compassion. This enables someone to be particularly sensitive to the electromagnetic fields generated by a person's brain and heart, as well as to infer the emotions felt by those around them. The energy of a raucous crowd or a group of sad people can be felt deep within an empath's body.

Introverted empaths may be more sensitive to the brain chemical dopamine, which is responsible for feelings of pleasure. When there is too much stimuli, an empath can become overwhelmed. Empaths can be programmed to avoid or require very little external stimulus to feel pleased over time. Exhaustion, overload, despair, and anxiety are all common side effects of hypersensitivity, whether or not a person is introverted. When these feelings come, it's often beneficial to have a quiet room at home or a favorite outdoor spot where you can recover.

Empaths who are overwhelmed by intense emotions may experience anxiety, panic attacks, despair, and weariness, as well as bodily symptoms like a racing heart and a headache. This is because they internalize other people's sentiments and pain without being able to tell them apart from their own. Empaths should try to separate their own thoughts and feelings from those of others as much as possible to help them cope with these overwhelming periods.

Do Empaths have a dark side?

The dark side of being an empath is that they have two warring voices within their thoughts that are always yelling at each other. Constantly experiencing both good and bad, negative and positive emotions, to the point of becoming overwhelmed.

Empaths are more vulnerable to life's bad forces. Their extraordinary ability to feel is unable to shield them from the world's deep-seated horrors. Their profound awareness of how the universe works and exists is enough to perplex and depress them. They don't comprehend why this kind of energy exists in the first place if it only serves to harm others.

Being an empath has a negative side: you're continuously drained and fatigued by the energies you absorb. But you'd never guess. Because the empath never loses control or breaks down. They observe, acknowledge, and feel softly.

Empaths, like so many others, desire to be loved and accepted for who they are. However, it is their generosity and friendliness that frequently sees them exploited by others who just take and never offer. Empaths are ‘givers' in every sense of the word, always willing to help others in need.

The bad side of being an empath is not realizing that being so altruistic imposes a huge burden on one's own shoulders. Even empaths who are aware of their selflessness's heavy nature prefer to disregard it since carrying that weight is more meaningful than letting it fall on someone else's shoulders.

Knowing that you willfully disregard both your body and intellect for the sake of others is the dark side of being an empath. A lack of attention that accumulates over time, culminating in the need to go soul-searching once more, a technique we only engage in when we are fully lost.

The dark side of being an empath is that they never truly fall in love, even when they do. They simply aren't capable of giving someone else their entire heart. They understand that if they attempted, the intensity of the passion would be too much for them and their partners to handle.

That's why they keep a small part of themselves hidden from the rest of the world. They keep their guard up out of need, even though all they want is to let it down and give in to overpowering love.

The bad side of being an empath is the internal battle that is always going on. The battle they fight against despair, gloom, and the tragic side of themselves that is constantly attempting to rear its ugly head and lead them down the path of self-destruction.

Only by learning to discriminate between their own feelings and imposter emotional energies entering from the outside will they be able to successfully combat this. Empaths require individuals who understand them, with whom they can communicate and who will listen.

Empaths must be able to break through the barriers they've put up around their emotions in order to allow their empathic selves to make a positive impact in their own lives.

Otherwise, empaths will be doomed to a never-ending battle within themselves.