What Being an Empath Means to me

So, I have had a few messages from friends that are not in the paranormal field, asking me what exactly an Empath is. In all honesty, you could very easily “Google” it and try to get the gist of it with your results. I’m not an expert in it, as it’s only been a few years (what maybe 3, possibly 4) since I even discovered that is what *I* was.

I think there are many similarities between many people that experience true Empathy, but I think there are not only different stages, but different experiences involved. Being an Empath is a form of sensitivity, in the physical, emotional and the metaphysical realm.

I know a lot of my friends aren’t into the paranormal, nor do they believe in scientifically unexplained events such as psychic abilities, medium ship, ESP, and all that is involved with the severely misunderstood and lack of knowledge concerning the powers of the mind, the soul and the spirit within one person. I was just as uninformed and my curiosity wasn’t as strong back then either, until I felt like I was going to have a nervous breakdown from all that was going on with me and completely ready to give up emotionally.

How I decided what I was, really took quite a while. I didn’t just jump into it and say THAT’S ME! I studied and researched and compared my notes to what other people were saying they felt. Empathy is feeling, not just feeling but in depth feeling with emotions and physical reactions; the list kind of goes on depending on how Empathic one really is.

So, while I was in my late thirties before even having an inkling of what was going on, I know it’s been there all of my life. Just because I didn’t know what it was, didn’t mean it didn’t exist. I know there was no way I could ever ignore those feelings mentioned above, as soon as I acknowledged them, it’s like the floodgates were opened and they became stronger and more detailed. Oh boy, what a rush and NOT in a good way.

What some people don’t understand is that these emotions and feelings we receive (and how we receive them to be explained shortly) fall into abilities much closer to being a psychic. Yes, I can hear it now, the eyes rolling, the big sighs, the declaration of “Oh Brother!”. I can’t convince you of this, I can only try to explain it so that you maybe will either accept it as it is, or remember me as a human and try to ignore it, that decision is up to you.

Let’s say, you are in a room with a few other people. Everyone is quiet and minding their own business. Without looking up or even making eye contact, I can feel the emotions of the other people sitting in that room. Not their thoughts (even though that does slip in now and then, more now than then) but what their soul is feeling, what their spirit is experiencing. Here is a downfall, while happiness and joy are felt at times, picking up on the hurt, anger, sadness, despair, depression, anguish, heartache, loss, and all of the other powerful emotions that have the ability to hit someone like a ton of bricks. These emotions are felt stronger because people feel them differently than the light, happy, joyful ones.

Most everyone (and I say most for a reason) have the ability (to some extent) to feel empathy for someone, sadness for someone losing a loved one, happiness at a wedding, etc. As a true Empath, we don’t need a particular event nor do we need an invitation in order for us to feel empathy. We can (and do, most often without even trying to) tune in to any person at any time. Here’s another kicker, it can be across thousands of miles as well. That’s a lot of people feeling a lot of emotions at all times of the day and night. So, even though some will hide their emotions, yeah, that doesn’t work with Empaths, we feel them anyway (and strongly).

Now, when I type about being sad or overwhelmed or feeling the weight of the world, you can understand. It’s not because I’m crazy, or bipolar, it’s because I didn’t protect myself or tune it out enough and it consumed me,  That happens a lot.

Something else to throw into the mix, it’s not just the living that we connect with. Why do you think I’m so enamored with the paranormal? I was telling my friend Robyn the other day, how, while I was in a meeting I must have been extremely open, because someone from the other side started talking the exact time that the person giving the presentation did, right into my right ear. Now, without trying to show little respect for the presenter, I started giggling, and tried to muffle it. I don’t know if you have seen the tide stick commercial where the shirt is trying to talk over the man interviewing for a job. That is exactly how it sounded! I couldn’t understand him and then he was talking faster until he gave up. I couldn’t connect into his words (jumbled and low/grumbly) but I could feel his frustration in me not understanding. He picked a fine time to try and talk to me when someone else was giving his speech.

(entering that video here was a must because I seriously LOL every single time I see it)

Most Empaths (if they allow themselves to) can feel when someone on the other side is sad, or was sick, is angry or feels lost. Believe it or not, we can also feel their happiness or even contentment from the other side MUCH more than we can feel it from a living being. Okay maybe that isn’t everyone else’s case, but it is mine. Connecting emotionally to the other side is easier and for me less abrasive than you emotional living humans.

Feeling these emotions gives most of us the ability to sense the motivations of intent. It’s more than being an onlooker, it’s “seeing” what some emotions can lead to, in depression the feeling of suicide, in anger the feeling of wanting to physically harm someone, etc. This can be a dangerous for us to experience; most of us want to fix/help the situation before it gets to that point. This means that we have a range of emotions from stimulating to terrifying. We often connect very easily and quickly to people with mental illness as their state of consciousness tends to be more dramatic and sporadic, sometimes leaving us feeling confused and destitute. Being bombarded with these forceful feelings can be felt as an attack, making being an Empath a scary feeling at times.

For me, it’s like having these exposed fibrous receptors receiving unbelievable amounts of information all at once. The first time that made me question what the heck was going on, I had woken up fine and happy that morning. I got to work in a great mood and then SUDDENLY I was irritable and angry and bitter. Where did that come from? I couldn’t even possibly fathom a reason to have these sudden and distinct feelings. I later found out, it was my coworker sitting in the cubicle next to me. She was shoving it out into the Universe and it was seeping over the walls straight to me. My attitude was horrible and she was basically pushing it onto the world! The other people around me were unaffected and really didn’t care one way or the other, but I wanted to just beat someone to a pulp and that is very unlike me. Once I realized that I was picking up on it, I not only had to walk outside into the fresh air, I had to put up a protective wall of sorts to keep her out. I didn’t talk to her, I put in my earbuds and listened to gentle music and it helped. I was no longer violently angry and destructive. Now I know, thank heavens because that was nearly a breaking point for me physically and emotionally.

There will always be people who question an Empath’s abilities, and that is OK with me. There are people intent on displaying what they believe to be Empathy, but a true Empath will know that it’s not. That puts doubt in people’s minds, and again, that is OK with me as well. I welcome people to ask me questions about it and I will always try to explain to the best of my ability any and all avenues that I personally experience with being an Empath. There are times when I’m extremely open and experience visions with the certain people/emotions, a knowing, hear someone from the other side telling me things I had no idea of knowing, it varies from situation to person. The more I try and understand it, the better I tend to deal with such events. I’m not afraid of it any longer, but I do express how hard some days really are. It’s not an easy thing to experience, but, to be honest, I consider it a gift, a very special gift. I have accepted this gift and the responsibilities that come along with it. I’m still searching for my best method of blocking/protecting myself when I don’t have the strength or desire to experience the effects. This is not a bad thing to block ourselves when needed, just like anyone else, we have to take care of ourselves first before we can be of any help or assistance to someone sending their beacons of emotion. 

I hope I have helped explain it. I think it’s generally the same for most of it, but I believe that everyone experiences it differently, or has more or less ability, as with any talent.  

For anyone reading this that has questions, feel free to email me at anewmoo@gmail.com. I will honestly and openly try to help, answer, explain, display whatever I can to/for you. I'm not ashamed of who or what I am, to me it's a beautiful thing and I am extremly lucky and blessed.