Who here is an empath?

[miky077]

An empath is a person who has an acute or highly developed sense of empathy. In the paranormal and in some works of science fiction and fantasy, highly developed empathy is a paranormal or psychic ability to sense the emotions of others. It is distinguished from telepathy, which allows one to perceive thoughts as well. Occasionally empaths are also able to project their own emotions, or to affect the emotions of others

The empath's power includes being able to feel another's emotions, and sometimes react to those emotions the way the person actually feeling would. This power does include sometimes projecting the emotions to others. Female empaths are more common, but rarely male empaths have been found. The females are more adept to this power and can control it better, while the males take longer to learn it. This power has been known to take over and cloud the emotions of an empath, leading to seclusion. This power has also been known to kill. Only a few empaths are known to be able to control their power fully.

So if you are an empath or have ever met one, share your experiences i'd love to hear them.

[Cynder]

I've been told I am... but I don't know if I believe it.

[miky077]

FTW it's not some magical bs so i hope no one thinks that, well if the definition above fits you then you are.

[frree]

Lock an Empath and a sociopath in a room together. That would be quite entertaining.

[miky077]

Lock an Empath and a sociopath in a room together. That would be quite entertaining.

 

I think they would kill each other before the day is over, yes very entertaining.

[NightLily]

I don't believe perhaps some of what you said but I do have a highly overly developed sense of empathy. That doesn't mean that I always feel sorry for them. People's emotions hit me like a ton of bricks though and while sadness is one that effects me a lot even more so than that is anger. A lot of people have a slow boiling anger and don't even realize it. Some people are just emotionally empty.. usually those people have some type of disorder that makes them process emotions differently.

 

I get tired of it honestly. The mixture of seeing what anger does and being able to sense it so well is a bad combo. If I sense it at all I feel like I can hardly breathe.

 

It does help to be able to get a good read on people at least in the sense of being able to tell if their emotions are genuine. That isn't a magical power though as much as just understanding subtle cues. I used to ignore it in the past because I was holding onto an idea that under it all people were good but I have come to realize that isn't true. Some people have good intentions for others, some only have good intentions for themselves, and some people you wade through their twisted mentallity and there is just more mud. I don't ignore it anymore. Every single time I ignored something was wrong with somebody I found out in the end I was 100% correct. Stopped lying to myself awhile ago.

[Cynder]

I agree with this... especially the part in bold. It is exhausting sensing the emotions of other people. But it does come in handy sometimes... I can tell when people are being fake.

[miky077]

^^ this, i think of it as kind of a gift it helps me to choose who will hurt me in the future and who currently has that intention. It's not some magical power but it is a gift to naturally be born with it thanks to it i can spot when someones lying to me a mile away it's helpful but, a double edged sword i mean feeling everyone's emotions is a bit annoying and i don't really feel sorry for anyone only those i really care about. I'v learned to live with it but people might think you are manipulating them because you know their real feelings it's like playing mind games.

Everyone has empathy in one form or the other but not everyone is an empath.

[miky077]

I agree with this... especially the part in bold. It is exhausting sensing the emotions of other people. But it does come in handy sometimes... I can tell when people are being fake.

 

The day my girlfriend left me i told her her relationship would not last long and this new guy does not love her(of course she didn't believe me) i went no contact for 2months and then the exact day i talked to her some hours later her bf broke up with her how ironic she even admitted i was right(kind of a ego boost lol).

[Cynder]

The day my girlfriend left me i told her her relationship would not last long and this new guy does not love her(of course she didn't believe me) i went no contact for 2months and then the exact day i talked to her some hours later her bf broke up with her how ironic she even admitted i was right(kind of a ego boost lol).

 

How do you know he didn't break up with her because she talked to you? It's something to think about...

 

I have a friend who's in a relationship with an abuser... I just can feel it. She won't hear it though. I hope it's me she calls the first time he turns on her. Not because I want to say I told you so, but out of all her friends I think I have the most knowledge of how to deal with that problem.

 

I could tell other stories... but they all are the same really.

[sada88]

Iono, I think more like I can feel if someone will be important or will have an effect on me at first glance. I do also have a sense of over empathizing too. And I do agree, being able to feel if someone's emotion is also great because you can generally read what is going on. When I was with my ex, I had this feeling that his coworker was after him and he told me I was just being insecure and that I should trust him. ...Insecure my tush, he did have an emotional affair. I also have feelings that she has issues that he doesn't know about and I do have the feeling that she is crazier than most people know. Nor do I think she really likes him for who he really is. Knowing him tho, the relationship will run longer than it is healthy.

 

Feeling other people's mood is really annoying though since it tends to seep into my body too hence why I avoid angry and depressed people...and people with impure intentions.

[miky077]

How do you know he didn't break up with her because she talked to you? It's something to think about...

 

I have a friend who's in a relationship with an abuser... I just can feel it. She won't hear it though. I hope it's me she calls the first time he turns on her. Not because I want to say I told you so, but out of all her friends I think I have the most knowledge of how to deal with that problem.

 

I could tell other stories... but they all are the same really.

 

Nah he's not the type of person to read her messages he prob found someone else and then left her, he doesn't really care what i think anyways he practically had her dancing in his hands.They he broke up with her because of the distance he's on the both of them live in northern la but it's a little far i live on the west.

She messaged me first btw i just replied a few days after.

[miky077]

People lie a lot actually especially in relationships but once you can feel someone else's emotions it should really be difficult to lie to you and you should always go with what you feel because they will never tell you the truth.It's ironic when you know someone more than they know themselves.

[sada88]

Uh, it is sort of hard to read him because he normally shows no emotions other than depression, hatred and condescension 'cept when he is drunk. And the day when we broke up, I felt like he was distant but he was like all, "I have to prepare for my students" but we were still all affectionate the day before. I read her like a book though nor did I think he was stupid enough to throw "us" (a woman who stood by him through everything and pushed him to improve more with his life) away for an empty self-serving woman whose only attribute is her constantly massaging his ego. YAY Denial.

[miky077]

Uh, it is sort of hard to read him because he normally shows no emotions other than depression, hatred and condescension 'cept when he is drunk. And the day when we broke up, I felt like he was distant but he was like all, "I have to prepare for my students" but we were still all affectionate the day before. I read her like a book though nor did I think he was stupid enough to throw "us" (a woman who stood by him through everything and pushed him to improve more with his life) away for an empty self-serving woman whose only attribute is her constantly massaging his ego. YAY Denial.

 

What your saying is something similar to being an empath but at the same not is not, an empath would know their really feeling no matter how hard they try to hide it and would read that person like a book(maybe why my ex broke up with me she couldn't lie at all). You can use being an empath to either manipulate people by telling them what they want to here or just help them because you know what they really feel. What you describe is body empathy reading ones body movement and any hints to read someone's emotions it's really similar. I did enjoy my exes misery for a while now i'm not enjoying it at all and just don't like to see her of all persons suffer. That's just me i guess if it was anyone else i would let them suffer just not her tho.

[sada88]

...oh trust me, I would more than enjoy the poulet's misery. She is literally the quintessence of a proto-cougar. She PURSUED him while I was away. She also pursued another friend of mine but he had a girlfriend and wasn't an insecure man-child who feels the need to complain to everyone about his girlfriend who is NICE and AFFECTIONATE to him all the time. ...and yes, he complained to his friends about it to the point where no one actively took him seriously (like he would complain when I took him to Six Flags because he had to wake up early to get to the train and I paid for most of the day). And I knew when he was lying when he broke up with me: that I was emotionally abusive + mind him. ...yet no one has ever heard of him say this during our 2 years together.

[miky077]

LOL i guess when people find you have the power to mind them, they go to someone who can't do that i did enjoy my exes misery at first but i just got bored she sounds like a . Well that's just people we're always surprised when they do someone you wouldn't expect them of all persons to do As an empath with the ability to feel others deepest emotions you should use that to your advantage because you will always have the power to mind haha.

[sada88]

lolz I know he is lying so I refuse to believe it. There was no malice or anger from him when he said it. Also helped that he gave off typical liar signs. All I know was that he radiated off a lot of guilt when he gave me that speech.

[miky077]

lolz I know he is lying so I refuse to believe it. There was no malice or anger from him when he said it. Also helped that he gave off typical liar signs. All I know was that he radiated off a lot of guilt when he gave me that speech.

 

Just forget him and move on if he's gonna continue to lie , times like this you mind .

[pietro5266]

Sometimes this skill is something you're born with, but it's something that must be developed. This development often occurs as a defense mechanism, during childhood -- abusive parents, either physically or emotionally, and other trauma force the child to become very aware of every nuance of mood, every little gesture, in order to try to predict the behavior of the abuser in order to protect themselves. Other times, it's just the opposite -- where the child learns that his self-worth is dependent upon pleasing others. So, in order to do that, the child learns how to predict the emotional needs of a parent or other person in order to please them, somehow provide comfort. This latter form is one of the foundations of co-dependency.

 

Of course, these skills only grow if there's no real change in the child's home environment, so that, as adults, they do the exact same things around other people -- observing every nuance about a person they can in order to determine friend or foe, buyer or looker, strong or weak, etc. Those with a more malicious streak also find that they can others, manipulate them, for their own, selfish needs. A salesguy who taps into why a potential buyer is anxious about making a purchase. Or someone who wants to find a way to get back at an ex-boyfriend/girlfriend (I was just recently dumped, so the idea of this is sounding quite appealing to me, at the moment. )

 

Maybe this sounds cynical. I was also of the opinion, at one time, that empathy was some great and special gift, but, over time, learned more about where most of it comes from. I believe I am highly empathic, but only because I learned, early on, that I needed to quickly assess a person's motives and feelings as a safety mechanism. As an adult, I still do much the same. However, it also makes me a much better parent, friend, and sometimes boyfriend, because I can easily read the emotions of others.

 

In those ways, it's a blessing, but it can also be a curse. It can be very annoying to nearly always know why people are doing what they are doing, feeling the way they are feeling, yet they don't know themselves. And, if you try to tell them, it's often that they'll either brush you off or become insulted. Or disturbed -- people are not comfortable with those who can see right through them. It can be a very lonely skill.

 

I'm really interested in talking to/hearing from other empaths, to compare notes. This is something I've lived alone with all my life -- no one really understands this skill. It would be refreshing to find others who do understand it.

[miky077]

^^^100% correct i am an empath and yes it is annoying to feel what other are feeling knowing the real reason why they are doing things. But a blessing as it is a good defense mechanism, people usually take it as the "i'm so special" bs some people are just naturally born knowing how to do this and others have to work on it but it won't be the same level of skill as someone who naturally knows it. I tend to manipulate people unintentionally with this skill i find it hard not to what takes people months to get the girl they like i could get the girl in week because i know what they want. You can choose to use it however you like whether to help or manipulate people we can all agree we have manipulated at least one person using this, being an empath comes in handy as you can spot the fakers and liars a mile away.

[greywolf]

I think that some people more than others are more observant about how other people are feeling, but I don't believe it is a power.

[miky077]

I think that some people more than others are more observant about how other people are feeling, but I don't believe it is a power.

Nah it's not powers i think it can be explained by science don't confuse people who read body language and simple signs for people who are empaths, we're all empathetic but a percentage of the population are born empaths meaning they can feel the emotions of others without the need for body language or any easy giveaway. It's not magic or powers but for the moment the stuff an empath does is unexplained by science so far at least. Like i could tell when my ex was sad or if something was wrong with her without being near her(she lives northern l.a and i'm on the west) so that's says to me it's more than body language reading.

[greywolf]

Nah it's not powers i think it can be explained by science don't confuse people who read body language and simple signs for people who are empaths, we're all empathetic but a percentage of the population are born empaths meaning they can feel the emotions of others without the need for body language or any easy giveaway. It's not magic or powers but for the moment the stuff an empath does is unexplained by science so far at least. Like i could tell when my ex was sad or if something was wrong with her without being near her(she lives northern l.a and i'm on the west) so that's says to me it's more than body language reading.

 

That's what I don't believe in.

[Ariel85]

I'm a natural empath. Throw in a nice dose of psychic ability, and I can either be your favorite parlor trick, or your worst nightmare.