Empaths and Anxiety Symptoms

Are You An Empath and Struggling with Anxiety?

All of my life I have been called “sensitive.” This was an upsetting and lonely definition because it was always said in a judgmental or condescending tone, as if I was “too” sensitive, and as if it was something I could control. I couldn’t ever explain why I was always drawn to those who suffered or how I could literally feel their emotional and physical pain and be compelled to soothe it, but the world and many people around me made me think that this was a negative trait to have. So, like any child trying to find my way in the world, I attempted to better control my “sensitivities.” But, it never worked. In fact, this trait was only growing stronger as I got older.

As an adult, I have finally found understanding for my “sensitivity” and recognize it for the Gift that it really is. It’s one of my many qualities and challenges in life that I know I share with many other people. If you are like me, an Empath, you might not only feel different than everyone around you (because you are), but you also might deal with the common difficulties we sensitive/intuitive/empathic souls experience.

As an Empath, I spent most of my life bombarded by anxious symptoms, especially in groups of people and crowds, and I did not even know how to explain what was happening. I just knew that I did not like being in crowds. So, when it began to interfere with my daily life, I caved in and went to see a doctor. What was the answer from the doctors? I had Social Anxiety Disorder and could take medication to succeed in college, at work, and in the public. But really, it was just another condescending label that helped the world feel like it could categorize me better, and didn’t help me to thrive or cope better whatsoever.

Empaths—in simple terms—can literally feel other people’s emotions. It isn’t Hocus Pocus or evil (as I grew up being told). It isn’t something medication can take away, besides numbing it temporarily. It will always find a way back to the surface, and that is because it’s a gift and meant to help heal the world around us. It feels like a burden for us, often, until we fully embrace and understand how to manage the gift. Being an Empath means that our senses are much more heightened than most people, and we can’t expect others who are not Empaths to understand. Noises may be extremely bothersome to us when everyone else isn’t remotely bothered. Being in crowds may feel completely overwhelming, while our family and friends are carefree, laughing, and enjoying the ambiance of being out at dinner or shopping at the mall. But, we don’t have to hide away from life as Empaths—that’s the opposite of what we are meant to do. We simply need help finding “ear plugs” to quiet some of the noise and internal protection to stave off some of the intense energy of crowds. The tools exist. You don’t have to suffer or think there’s anything wrong with you if you are also an Empath. You also don’t have to subscribe to the labels of anxiety disorders and believe that there is something wrong with you that will take away from your quality of life.

Here are some signs that you’re an ‘unskilled’ Empath:

• Feeling the world’s suffering on a large scale and wishing you could do something to help. Ironically, this makes you less equipped to help, because you feel overwhelmed.

• Finding it difficult to watch the news or distressing images because you feel the pain of the person/people you’re watching – as if you’re them

• Finding it difficult to fully be present to yourself and your own feelings when conversing with other people. This is because you’re busy exploring their aura and responses to life – not your own.

• Shyness – empathy can make you somewhat self-conscious as you’re very aware of the effect your words have on another person and what they’re thinking and feeling in response.

• A tendency to say “yes” to the requests and demands of other people – almost as a reflex; without thinking about whether you actually want to. When you’re so immersed in another person’s experience of life and what they need – how can you say no? It’s only afterwards that you realize you forgot yourself and your own needs.

• A general tendency to put your needs last or serve others at your own expense.

• A liking for distance in relationships and for solitude. This occurs because as an Empath, intimacy and closeness is your default. But when you don’t know how to stop yourself from exploring other peoples’ auras, you need some space on your own, where you aren't around other people.

• Feeling responsible for how other people feel – and going out of your way to help them to feel better (even
when it doesn't serve you.) After all – you feel their emotions so keenly.

• A tendency to let relationships and friendships get too heavy (and too close) – too fast.

• A strange tendency to feel aches and pains, but only around certain people.

• Finding yourself often in a counseling role, where people dump their emotions on you, and being very drained by it.

• A tendency to forget to have fun and lighten up.

So, now what?

If you’re an Empath and “unskilled” at managing the challenges that come with this, what can you start to do? Here are a few techniques that I use every day that have helped me to manage intense stimuli and emotion from the world that used to cause me to panic or have other unbearable anxiety symptoms. Some of these may sound or feel silly to you, at first, but they help if you’re an Empath!

1. During any interaction (whether with one person or a group), recognize if you feel emotions that you were not feeling previous to meeting up. Are you nervous? Jittery? Uncomfortable? Does your head hurt? Almost always, I am picking up on someone else’s feelings and don’t even know it. For years, I internalized this and self-analyzed to death trying to figure out why I felt "xyz" all of a sudden.

Now, I do the following: Silently state, “Any energy that is not of me and is not for my highest good needs to leave me right now.” Sometimes, I repeat this in my mind a few times, but I almost always feel lighter quickly. If the feeling remains, I acknowledge that possibly the feeling is coming from me and say, “I recognize that I’m feeling (blank) right now, so I will explore this after my meeting.”

2. Start to cultivate a morning ritual of meditation, whether it is through prayer, silence, guided meditation, affirmations, or some other way that you connect to your spiritual center. As an Empath, it is just as important to clothe ourselves with spiritual protection before we start our day as it is for everyone to clothe themselves physically. Do both! :)

3. Begin to express gratitude to your Higher Self, God, the Universe (whatever your spiritual language may be) for your gifts. We have been through so much by thinking there’s something wrong with us or weird about us. We have often hated being an Empath and cursed such a precious gift. It can be hard at first to feel appreciative when we are still learning what our gift is all about, but it’s important. The world has enough resistance in it—stop resisting the light and beautiful gifts in you!

When I finally discovered that I was an Empath (or that there was word for it), I was flooded with emotion because so many things finally made sense. It took time to learn how to embrace the gift and sometimes, it’s still hard. We are all learning and evolving, but I pray this provides you with greater clarity and some useful tools to better manage the beautiful, intense, powerful gifts we Empaths have been given.

Be Blessed

For more information on healing anxiety naturally, visit: www.realanxietycures.com