What is an empath and how to know if you are one?

What is an empath, and can you be termed as one? This category of people know and feel the pains, illnesses and aches of those around them. They may actually begin to feel how another person is feeling. For example, when interacting with low energy persons or unhappy people, they acquire the same vibe. Some realize their sudden change of behaviour while others do not. Can you quickly tell when someone is dishonest? Are there times when you feel drained while interacting with particular groups of people?

An empath is a highly sensitive person who has an impeccable ability to sense the feelings and thoughts of other people. More so, psychologists describe an empath to be an individual who experiences great empathy to the point where they take on pain of other people as if it was their own. Going back to the questions asked earlier, were your answers 'yes'? Well, is not it safe now to say that you are an empath?

What is an empath?

In addition to the empath definition or definitions stated above, an empath is also used as a spiritual term. In this case, it describes an individual that has psychic and special abilities to sense the energies and emotions of other people. Therefore, there are many types of empaths that exude different traits and abilities.

Traits of an empath

In case you are still not sure if you are an empath or not, there are various personality traits that empaths possess and they include the listed below.

Overwhelmed in public settings

In areas such as supermarkets, malls, and stadiums where there usually are masses of people together, they can sometimes get overwhelmed and anxious. Some even get panic attacks. This is because they sense different emotions from the surrounding people. Therefore, they are advised to seek help or learn how to manage and contain these emotions so that they eventually feel comfortable when around a group of people.

Needy and unpredictable

They experience extremes highs and lows, thus can be happy at one point and extremely sad in a minute. This is because they pick up feelings from those around them. Some may regard them as attention seekers as they love being heard and listened to, and they also appreciate acknowledgement.

Creative talents

This category of people loves expressing their creativity in various ways, such as through singing, dancing, poetry, painting, drawing, designing, and acting, among others. They also tend to have the ability to explain occurrences and incidents in a manner that will make you feel as if you were there when it all happened.

Need for alone-time

As much as some empaths may be very sociable, they enjoy alone company once in a while. During this time, they get to do what they love, such as watching a movie, reading a book or generally pursuing a hobby. This is a trait that starts at an early age and continues throughout one’s life.

Adventure seekers and spontaneous

Travelling and going out on adventures are some of the things that they enjoy doing on a regular. They have free-spirits, thus are usually willing to try out wild and fascinating activities.

Great communication skills

Empathic people have a great listening ability that allows a person to completely open up since they feel that they are being listened to and understood. Conversations are held with sincere emotions, and this allows even the most reserved people to open up to them concerning issues they have previously failed to address or talk about.

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Constant fatigue

As they are easily drawn to helping other people, they end up using up their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual energy on the regular. In order to feel revitalized and more energetic, they sometimes take short naps or retreats.

Interests in the metaphysical and spirituality

Things that are paranormal and somewhat unexplainable seem to intrigue them. They look into different worlds and analyze the theories and facts given to analyze how accurate the information provided can be.

Undeceivable

You can tell an empath that you are doing great when you are feeling miserable, and they will detect the lie. This is because they take their time to look into others to be able to feel what is beneath the surface.

Feel the emotions of others on a personal level

It is prevalent for them to collect the emotions of others, and they sometimes do not realize that they have done so. Thus, they are required to acquire a degree of control, as well as self-awareness, to minimize the occurrence of this situation. Direct mirroring can be quite harmful as you will end up collecting even negative energy from the people you meet.

Enthusiastic

Empathic people highly appreciate the gift of life; thus, they are always filled with energy and enthusiasm. They also prefer doing nothing at all than doing things halfway. When those around them are not on the same energetic level as theirs, they tend to get disappointed as they love seeing others living their lives to the fullest.

Visionaries and problem solvers

Great enthusiasm and love for adventure make them enjoy getting involved in business opportunities and ventures. This allows them to explore and expand their maximum potential as they also utilize their creative minds to develop new ideas. They have great determination to fight against the odds to get to where they want to be. Once they realize that there is a problem, they do the best they can to find a workable solution within the shortest time.

Addictive behaviour

Due to high sensitivities, addictive tendencies such as smoking, drinking, binge eating, and others are common. However, this empath trait is mostly found in those that have not yet learned how to control their strong emotions and take full control over them.

Sensitive to media and real-life chaos

Scenes that contain cruelty, heartbreak, and violence profoundly affects their feelings, be it from a show on TV or a real-life situation. They feel the victim’s pain as if it were their own and mostly result in crying to release some of it.

Magnetic pull of trust

People easily open up to them, even strangers, as they create a comfortable environment wherever they go.

Types of empaths

Can an empathetic person be referred to as an empath? Well, an empathetic person is able to understand, think about and feel compassion for other people, and many people fall under this category. However, an empath is an empathetic person and more as they have the ability to imagine themselves in the other person’s situation, allowing them to feel its impact on their lives.

There are different types of empaths, and each category can relate with either people, the environment, the spiritual world, plants, animals, and so much more.

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Animal

This type of empaths sense the needs and feelings of different animals. They love connecting and spending time with animals, and the animals equally enjoy their company. In most cases, this category prefers spending much of the time with animals and less with people.

Physical

This category of empathic persons knows and feels the pains, illnesses and aches of those around them. They may actually begin to feel how the other person is feeling at the moment.

Spiritual

Also, referred to as medium empaths, they may directly connect to other realms such as with other spiritual beings and the deceased. They possess a psychic empathic ability that allows them to feel physical and emotional symptoms as they communicate with the spirit world.

Intuitive

These people possess an innate sense of knowing. They can tell when something is about to happen, and they tend to dream about things that will happen in future. It is almost impossible to lie to them as they are very perceptive, and can quickly tell the intentions of other people towards them or others.

Emotional

They absorb the energy and emotions of other people, thus can easily tell how someone is feeling without having to ask. This allows them to show natural emotional empathy since they are fully aware of the covered up and masked emotions.

Plant

These people are strongly connected to nature. They are aware of the needs of trees and plants, and truly understand the numerous benefits they offer. As they love being around nature, most of them have gardens and farms where they grow various kinds of plants and vegetation. They will do all they can to establish and maintain ecological balance and sustainability.

Environmental

When in a particular physical space, this category of empaths can sense the previous incidents that took place or future occurrences that may take place. They can also touch or hold objects to get revelation on its origin or owner.

Heyoka

This is a Native American term that describes empaths that are disruptors, although in a positive manner. They are able to move between spiritual and physical worlds, allowing them to act as a psychic medium of communication. They show others more about themselves and can communicate with other realms on behalf of others.

Intellectual

Intellectuals adapt to the use of language, phrases, and communication style of the person they are interacting with at a particular moment. This happens subconsciously; thus, they do not strain when interacting with different kinds of people.

Being an empathic person is not easy. That is why it is necessary to identify what is an empath and the different types and traits of each. This way, you will be able to be more self-aware and set healthy boundaries as your peace of mind is as important as that of others. As other people open up to you, ensure that you are conscious of your energy so that you do not get drained. Use your gifts wisely to make the world a better place, and do not forget to take great care of your body, heart, spirit, and soul.

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Source: Legit