Have you ever wished you could feel what others do? In that case, you could better comfort and understand what people feel or are going through. Some people can comfort and understand people’s feelings or what they are going through more than others. Such people are called empaths. They can feel other people’s emotions as if they were their own. Empathy is when someone feels emotions like they are the one going through them.
How do empaths feel about people feeling down, stressed, or overwhelmed?
Empaths are naturally highly perceptive and sensitive. These feelings make them some of the most understanding and compassionate people. However, there are struggles that they go through while feeling what other people do. They struggle with a lot more than they may realize. Some of these difficulties include but are not limited to the following:
High sensitivity to other people’s emotions
Imagine having the best morning on a good day, having a delicious breakfast, and being ready to conquer the day. Then, someone having the worst day of their life walks into the room; looks stressed out, feeling down, or overwhelmed. You can practically feel their annoyance from a mile away, and it rubs off on you. Your nice day immediately turns sour, and you cannot avoid it.
Empaths are susceptible to how others are feeling. This means someone else’s terrible moods affect you too. Furthermore, you find it difficult to stop feeling that way. This heightened sensitivity leads to emotional burnout and being mentally overwhelmed. You often struggle to separate your emotions from someone else’s, leaving no emotional space for yourself. Therefore, when experiencing what others are feeling, don’t forget you need to practice self-care and relaxation.
The need for an alone time
Does being around others make you feel good? With your great people skills, it indeed sounds logical. However, empaths need a lot of alone time too. Constantly feeling other people’s emotions without any check on when, where, who, or to what extent, being with people all the time can get exhausting.
It would help if you recharge and process everything in your mind. Most people think you are rude or avoidant, but it is not personal. Most of all, empaths desire as much patience and understanding as they give others.
People taking advantageÂ
Do you often feel you cannot say no to someone? Whether it be peer pressure or trying to avoid disappointing someone, saying no can be difficult. When it comes to empaths, saying no is especially difficult. You can feel the other person’s frustration and worry when the request is not met, leading to major guilt.
Many empaths are ready to help avoid this guilt simply because they understand the request is essential. However, people can easily take advantage of your compassion. Some people ask for too much without considering the other person’s feelings and limits. Empaths are some of the kindest people, but everyone has boundaries that must be respected.
Being an empath has both good and bad aspects. It’s unfair to think empaths are fortunate and always happy without knowing the downsides. While they can feel your emotions and know when someone is feeling down, stressed out, and overwhelmed, they deserve as much love and care as they give to others.