A portion of empaths I've treated have experienced early trauma such as emotional or physical abuse, or they were raised by alcoholic, depressed, or narcissistic parents. This could potentially wear down the usual healthy defenses that a child with nurturing parents develops.
Empaths absorb others' energy to the point where they feel like an 'emotional sponge'. They do not have the filters most people do, and they seem to feel other people's stress and feelings in their own bodies.
“Research shows that empathy is a learned behavior, with observable empathic development as early as the toddler years,” Carona says. However, being an empath is not just a drive, it's a choice, Gardere says. “Simply having empathy can be a very passive position,” he explains.
While this may not be true for everyone, the strong desire to be empathetic can be a trauma response. If your struggles were dismissed when you were growing up, you may overcompensate by paying extreme attention to other people's emotional states instead.
Perhaps you have always had the ability to feel the emotions and physical symptoms of others as if they were your own. If this rings true in your life, you may be an “empath.” Only 1 to 2 percent of the population experience this type of sensitivity, having the ability to feel and absorb the emotions surrounding them.
Personality types ENFP, ENFJ, INFJ, and INFPs are natural empaths per the MBTI Personality types. Empaths are also called Idealists & Diplomats. Highly Sensitive People belong to these MBTI types. Intuitive Feelers or Empaths are only 20% of the population.
Some, for example, may have the power of empathy, or the ability to pick up on the emotions of others. As it turns out, empath zodiac signs make up half of the zodiac wheel. And those who belong to the water element (Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces) may especially tend to find empathy to be a natural predisposition.
A portion of empaths I've treated have experienced early trauma such as emotional or physical abuse, or they were raised by alcoholic, depressed, or narcissistic parents. This could potentially wear down the usual healthy defenses that a child with nurturing parents develops.
The empath concept is controversial. Opinion is divided on whether empaths actually exist. There is also debate around some abilities associated with empaths. For instance, empaths are thought to have special skills in reading others, detecting lying, and healing.
The data from our research highlighted the relationship between a history of childhood adversity and a lack of empathy concerning emotional abuse, physical abuse, and emotional neglect.
Heyoka empaths are said to be the rarest and most powerful variety, acting as a spiritual mirror to those around them to assist their growth. The Heyoka's unorthodox approach to life makes others question their own preconceived notions of what's right and wrong, real and fantasy.
"But unfortunately empaths are attracted to narcissists, because at first this is about a false self. Narcissists present a false self, where they can seem charming and intelligent, and even giving, until you don't do things their way, and then they get cold, withholding and punishing."
First, it found that how empathetic we are is partly due to genetics. Indeed, a tenth of this variation is due to genetic factors. This confirms previous research examining empathy in identical versus non-identical twins.
"A challenge of being an empath is to practice boundaries between the physical and emotional experiences of others and yourself," Villegas says. "It can be easy for empaths to take on, and even physically experience, someone else's discomfort or exuberance."
Empaths need to be around people who accept their beautifully in-tune nature instead of trying to change them. Those people see how giving, open, and caring empaths are. They recognize that empaths can be amazing friends, partners, and confidants, and they don't take that for granted.
Every empath has the gift of perception. You can find the deeper meaning to things others cannot even perceive. You can see life in a way others can't see. You understand things others can't comprehend.
Empaths and intimate relationships
While empaths can make wonderful caring friends, in a romantic relationship they can often find it difficult. Empaths tend to love hard and intensely, experiencing deep feelings of connection.
When empaths are exposed to early trauma or abuse their young nervous system may develop without healing making them hypervigilant. They can become exquisitely attuned to their environment to ward off threats and ensure they are safe or enter a state of hyperarousal.
People who are highly empathetic may unconsciously mirror other people's movements. MRI scans have shown that there is a neural relay mechanism in the brain that allows empaths to mimic the postures, mannerisms, and facial expressions of others. Interestingly, this mimicry also applies to tiny movements.
As an empath in a tense moment, your heart rate may quicken even more than normal. Your anger may feel heightened, your sadness more intense. It's harder to control your own emotions because you have your emotions and your partner's emotions running through your body.
Because empaths quite literally feel what their friends are going through, they can become overwhelmed by painful emotions, such as anxiety or anger. Empaths have a tendency to take on the problems of others as their own.
As empaths, we are more in tune with our own energetic bodies and tend to feel emotions at a deeper level. In fact, we also have the tendency to absorb others' energy. When we are under a lot of stress in our own lives or there is a lot of stress around us, we can feel sadder or even depressed.
Watching violent news; being around sarcastic, critical, or narcissistic people; or spending days at an amusement park are not things empaths enjoy. To feel their best, empaths need to minimize or avoid situations like this unless they want to end up feeling exhausted, drained, used, or anxious.
Empaths share all the traits of what Dr. Elaine Aron has called “Highly Sensitive People,” or HSPs. These include: a low threshold for stimulation; the need for alone time; sensitivity to light, sound, and smell; and an aversion to large groups.