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Being an empathetic person is a beautiful trait that not all of us can boast about. Well, after all, it is thought that up to 1% of the world’s population has narcissistic traits; I know, it’s scary right?! 😨 Empaths are indeed skilled in many areas, and are often gifted with a calming aura that many of us instantly warm to and trust with our deepest darkest secrets, as well as our emotional baggage. They are such good-natured souls that they often want to help even the most devious of personalities out there, and some of them end up absorbing toxic, negative emotions, instead of positive energy, which inevitably leads to their mental health taking a hit. Studies suggest that 2% of people are empaths, so are you included in this statistic?
10 Signs you are an empath - Do you recognize these behaviors in yourself?
It’s time for you to put a label on your caring personality!
1) You are hypersensitive
You are not just extremely sensitive, you are hypersensitive, meaning you experience other people’s emotions are if they were your own. If, for example, someone around you is upset, yet hasn’t openly expressed their feelings, your intuition means you instantly pick up and detect their pain. This explains why it’s virtually impossible for your friends, family, and partner to hide anything from you. Indeed, your emotional cues act as a sixth sense, which means you can read people like a book.
2) You are introverted
Big crowds of people just aren’t your scene, in fact, you prefer intimate settings in which you feel safe enough to offer your emotional support and guidance. Carrying around such highly charged emotions explains why you need to have lots of downtime in a quiet and peaceful environment. Absorbing emotions everywhere you go certainly isn’t an easy job, and can even become completely exhausting.
>>> Check out 6 tips to conquer shyness
3) You are an excellent listener
You are certainly a rare breed, and when it comes to being a good listener, you are definitely in a league of your own. Not only that, but you’ll genuinely listen for hours on end, without interruption, and you will take in every grain of information. For you, spending time comforting those that need it, and giving them advice is certainly second nature to you. Plus, you’re such an amazing friend that you don’t even complain if a friend in need calls you in the middle of the night to get things off their chest.
4) You find it difficult not to care
Your natural empathic abilities mean it’s simply impossible for you not to care. You would no doubt be the last person to send someone in need away, and always do your utmost to make everyone feel better about the things they are going through. After all, the need to care for others is in your DNA.
5) People open up to you
Your reassuring aura draws people from all walks of life towards you. In fact, you are like a magnet, and will undoubtedly find that even people who don’t know you very well will confide in you, and turn to you whenever they are in need of help and guidance. You have the ability to encourage even the most emotionally awkward folks to talk about their problems.
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6) You don’t like conflict
There is nothing more you hate than senseless bickering and catty arguments. As someone who understands the importance of kindness and benevolence, you do everything in your power to flee trouble.
7) You struggle to set boundaries
Although your caring side is arguably your greatest quality, it is also ironically your biggest downfall too. Poorly intentioned people certainly won’t hesitate to take advantage of you, and could even take hold of your life and expose you to their toxicity, all whilst demanding that you are at their beck and call.
8) You get upset quickly
As a very sensitive person, your emotions, plus those of others that you’ve absorbed will at times overwhelm you and could even provoke spontaneous tears. No one ever said that emotional strain wasn’t a huge weight.
9) You always find yourself targeted by narcissistic people
Despite the fact that you are able to see through falsehoods and pick up on poor intentions, that doesn’t mean you’re exempt from being dragged into spirals of abuse. The problem is you are so kindhearted that even if you detect someone is toxic, you’ll want to help them anyway, and will make huge efforts to change them. The sad news, narcissists never change...
10) You are too forgiving
No matter how many times your trust has been broken, or you have been betrayed and left feeling crushed, you’ll always find the strength in your heart to forgive these shortfalls. You’ll always make the effort to brush things under the carpet and move forward in a more positive light.
What are the 3 types of empath?
Empathy has three components, and they are; emotional (or affective) empathy, cognitive empathy, and mature empathy, which, when shared with others, becomes reciprocal.
- Emotional empathy allows the human being to identify the emotions of the other without necessarily sharing them.
- Cognitive empathy is the ability to understand that the other person has a mental life different from one's own.
- Finally, the third type of empathy is known as mature empathy. This aspect combines the first two, and is the ability to put oneself emotionally in the other person's shoes.
Do empaths get more sensitive with age?
Yes, totally! In addition to physical changes, studies have just shown that our feelings and emotions change and intensify considerably with age. The first study shows that an essential aspect of our personality goes through ups and downs during our lifetime, and that’s empathy. American scientists examined 350,000 questionnaires, and they were able to see that feelings of empathy fluctuated in the same way among people, according to age. Thus, at the end of childhood, empathy is very high, then it drops dramatically in adolescence, then, this feeling increases regularly during adult life. Empath increases lineally as we get older and therefore rack up more experience.
Editor’s advice - Avoid becoming overwhelmed with other people’s issuesBeing an empath is exhausting work, and although all you want to do is help others, your acts of goodness shouldn’t be at the expense of your mental health. There comes a time when even the most caring of people need a break, in order to reconnect with themselves and to process their own situations. 🤗 Understand yourself, accept yourself, be happy... Let’s do it here and now! #BornToBeMe |
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