It is very frustrating that the more times we ask this question, the more answers we are likely to get but, because it is a very important question, it deserves a definitive answer. This site is dedicated to both the Empath and the non-Empath alike, so it's vital that the Empathic experience becomes clearly understood. It is time that we get to the core of the issue and share what being an Empath is REALLY all about.
According to the dictionary at Wikipedia, an Empath "is a person capable of psychically reading the emotions of others. This is different from a telepath, who can read specific thoughts and information from the target's mind."
While this definition may touch on the idea in a very broad sense, the veteran Empath knows that what has been described here is actually the phenomenon of emotional contaigion. (For a definition of emotional contaigion, please click here Emotional Contagion). It is certainly true that Emotional Contagion is part of being an Empath but by no means is it the full story. After all, most human beings will experience a degree of Emotional Contagion every day, whether they realize it or not. Sadly, most do not.
Incomplete at best, the above statement simply does not explain the full scope of the Empathic experience and it certainly doesn't explain the degree of the Empath's suffering. Why suffering? So much more happens when an Empath interacts with another sentient being. For that matter, so much more happens when an Empath touches an inanimate object or stands in a place where emotion has been left behind. For the very young, latent (one who is currently suppressing their abilities) or newly emerging Empath, this can be quite the challenge and even very frightening.
Do you think that the very concept of the Empath sounds like something out of a science fiction movie? You wouldn't be alone in your opinion. It doesn't help our case any that most word processing programs do not accept "Empath", "Empaths" or "Empathic" as valid words but we are here to tell you that we arevalid people and we do exist. Our experiences are very real and, because we are Empathic, we feel things to a degree that most other people wouldn't even believe possible so our experience is that much more acute. So, what exactly DO we experience?
The following definition appears mostly on paranormal websites. It states that "An Empath is an individual who is particularly sensitive to the psychic emanations of his or her surroundings, even to a degree of telepathically receiving and experiencing the emotions of others in their proximity."
This certainly broadens the scope a bit and brings in to play the fact that Empaths do not just sense but literally experience the emotions of others. It's important to realize though that the Empath does not only experience other people's feelings as though they were their own. They also experience pain, illness and suffering, often drawing discomfort out of another individual, thereby adopting it as their own. In addition, since the experience tends to occur spontaneously, without the Empath's awareness, it's frequently a tumultuous, traumatic experience, having no root cause in the individual's current scope of reality. This only adds to the Empath's dimension of suffering.
By and large, Empaths are highly sensitive individuals, perceiving energy far beyond the scope of the average person. They are also natural healers, even if they are doing so unwillingly or unconsciously. While most Empaths are altruistic, some are not. When an Empath consciously works to heal the suffering of another being (human, animal or spirit), they may become connected to that being on a telepathic level, literally sensing their relative comfort levels, emotional state and thoughts even over great distances. This, more than anything else, can contribute to codependency. Empaths tend to feel guilty if someone else is in pain and he or she hasn't done anything about it, simply because they know that they can and feel that they should.
Empaths are frequently misunderstood and therefore labeled and lumped in to various categories. They might be considered to be hypochondriacs, schizophrenic or as having Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). They are often the victims of traditionalists who label them as possessed or worse. More often than not, they are treated as though they are emotionally deficient and often told to "toughen up", leading many to suffer from depression or believe that they're going crazy. Nothing could be farther from the truth. They are just trying to live with abilities that they can't control in a world that refuses to believe that those abilities are possible. And more and more Empaths are born, every day.
While most people might use the term "psychic gifts" to describe many of the Empath's natural and inherent abilities, many Empaths would prefer the term "curse". If they had any idea how to turn off their abilities, they would do so in a heartbeat because these abilities create such conflict in their lives. This does not make them bad people. It makes them badly in need of compassion, understanding and a just a little peace of mind. Namaste ~
Crystal Hawk
http://empathicrevelations.webs.com/
