How do you know?

[Aina]

I'm almost certine I'm an empath.....but, I am very unfamilar with this term...and how do you know?

I'm struggling I guess.
Any advice or help would be wonderful. ^-^

[ShadowStalker]

Take a look at the empathic bunker. Waaaay back toward the middle, there is an "empathy scale" - that kind of breaks down the different levels of empathy, and kind of explains what you feel/think/do.

(If I can dig up the post #, I will... just don't have time atm. Someone else may know it.)

Some questions to ask yourself:

Do you often know things about others that you shouldn't reasonably know?

Do you often/frequently/always know what others are feeling without them ever opening their mouths?

Do you feel overwhelmed in large groups or crowds?

These are just a few of many, but answering them will likely lead to other questions...

Honestly, this is another of those things that noone can truly determine for you... but one that you must determine for yourself.

The bunker here is a good resource, but is a lot of reading. :lol:

[Tanya]

I can only speak for myself...

I never feel freaked by emotions in crowds.....but... I just know things from people...it really for me was a simple matter of learniing to trust what I know like I trust my ears and eyes.

[Lunacie]

The webpage I used to have in my siggie went down awhile back. Here's one I haven't seen before. There are some questions on this list that I haven't seen included in an Empath Checklist before. Make up your own mind how revelant you find these questions.



Empath checklist:

Do you feel anxious or nervous in a crowd?
Does your mood vary seemingly at random? (getting angry or sad for no apparent reason)?
Do you feel a change in your physical energy level when you're in a crowd (very tired, very wired)?
Do you have a hard time falling asleep before midnight, or do you procrastinate going to bed?
Do you have physical symptoms that relate to hearing (ringing, popping, itching in ear canal)?
Do you feel emotionally uncomfortable having sex (scared, threatened, no sex drive, angry)?

Disclaimer - this checklist is not a diagnostic nor treatment tool. Some of the characteristics of Empaths can be diagnosed as ADD, agoraphobia, or clinical depression.


from: http://www.eliselebeau.com/empathResources.shtml#being


Forgot to add . . . there's a link to the MysticWicks Empath Forum in my siggie.

[Drouach]

I'm almost certine I'm an empath.....but, I am very unfamilar with this term...and how do you know?

I'm struggling I guess.
Any advice or help would be wonderful. ^-^


What are you struggling with? The feelings you are picking up?

The thing about being an empath, is that anyone is allowed to call themselves that without being independantly verified etc.

So what you find is heaps of people flocked to the label.

A lot of people simply have empathy and empathic traits and are sensitive. It doesn't make em an empath.

At the end of the day, the label doesn't matter.

There is no such 'thing' as an empath, there are just humans with varying psychic abilities.

Empath is closer to the psychic than normal empathy. It's also closer to telepathy another psychic ability. And is also linked to precognition.

So a lot of human have to deal with other people's emotions, they are not necessarily psychic though.

**

Words of advice:-

1. When you get an emotion, stop. And ask yourself: "Where is this coming from?" "Is it coming from me?" "Why am I feeling this?"

2. Try to get grounded. Grounded in reality. What you can see, hear, touch with the normal senses. Feel the ground beneath you.


I would say it's neither a gift nor a curse, it is simply an ability.

[Diotima]

My €0.02. Do not take this too seriously- this quiz is 100% based on my own (limited) experiences and observations

Diotima's Quiz for the Unsure

1) Do you think that Empathy is something cool/desirable?

2) Have you ever read a description of Empathy and gone: OMG, that describes me EXACTLY!

3) Have your relevant experiences (meaning experiences that have made you suspect you are an Empath) been positive?

4) Do you believe that true Empaths use their talent for doing good deeds?

5)Can you control your Empathy simply by using your willpower? Eg. Can you turn off your ability at will?







SOLUTIONS (don't peek!)



If you answered "yes" to most of the questions, chances are that you are not an Empath. You may be an empathic personality, you may be emotionally sensitive. But I'm pretty sure you are not a "psychic-Empath".

1) I have noticed, that most true Empaths do not think that Empathy is something desirable. Often they describe it as a burden, and even experienced and seasoned Empaths often find it difficult to live with their Talent. Most don't boast about their talent- it's very common not to tell anyone about it.

2) Most of the information on Empathy has been composed by well-meaning people who are not true Empaths. We are all individuals- therefore it is very rare that any given description fits a real person exactly. Some guidelines are, of course, helpful. But use them with caution. No guidelines or classifications should be used as comparison lists- if you find yourself trying to get a high rating, chances are that your real level is nowhere near. True Empath who is trying to find out what he is, is more likely to look at guidelines from a whole another view: as tools to help him to understand who he is. Again: a true Empath probably doesn't think his gift is all that wonderful, so he has no reason to try to "identify" himself as a Superempath.
No, I'm not saying there are no Superempaths. There may well be. But, I doubt they have any uncertainty on whether or not they are Empaths.

3) Again, as far as I know, the experiences that have led most Empaths to believe that there is something strange going on, are usually negative. For example: getting overwhelmed or exhausted in a crowd, mirroring other people's negative behavior etc. As far as I know, if you are an Empath, bad stuff just happens, but for getting the good stuff, you need to work hard and be lucky.

4) It is possible to use Empathy for good- a Talent is a Talent, and in itself, it is not positive or negative. But, as I said above: bad stuff happens more easily than the good stuff. Most Empaths spend most of the time just trying to get by and to prevent the bad stuff from affecting their ability function too much. If you think that as am Empath, you would just walk around and spread positive energies...think again.

5) Most Empaths I know, have only limited control over their ability. The shield is too weak/not adjusted just right/too strong...and even if it perfect, surprising things sometimes happen. True Empaths (unlike wannabe Empaths) usually love to share shielding tips because proper shielding is so vital for their wellbeing.
It is, of course, possible to have an automated shield that springs up when needed. I myself had one. However, such a shield has side effects serious enough to make you think that something is going on. You are not happy with one (and again: no matter how big the shield, it still doesn't always work...) So, if you think you have a special ability you can control perfectly- it probably is not a psychic ability.

[Lunacie]

Diotima, that's a very good description.

Yep.

[Amythyst]

I'm almost certine I'm an empath.....but, I am very unfamilar with this term...and how do you know?

I'm struggling I guess.
Any advice or help would be wonderful. ^-^


How do you know?...when someone says something to you and you look into their eyes and see what they are really saying; when people are laughing and joking about something and everyone else thinks its funny, but you feel their pain and anguish; when you walk into a room full of people and can feel, both individually and all at one shot, a myriad of emotions that aren't your own; and worst of all...when someone is pretending to like you outwardly, but you sense how they truly feel about you inside.

[Aina]

Wow, lots of replies!
I shall explain myself I think.
Generally, I'm a pretty happy-go-lucky person, if I say so myself :D. There are times, though, were I can be hangning out with my friends, nothing has gone bad or anything is wrong, then as I am driving home, I cry like a baby for reasons unkown to me.
Also, this feeling is rather new, but every time I log into my computer, specificaly on MSN i get what feels like an anxiety attack. My stomach does flip flops, and my palms get clammy and cold. I think that is due to the fact that my fiance won't get on MSN anymore, and I feel that he's shoving me aside. (that is something diffrent entirely)
I can tell when someone is covering up their feelings. What is bugging me is that I can tell if someone is sad/mad/happy by how they type over MSN. Even if it is just a simple "hi" , I immedatily know if something is wrong. I get a quick feeling of what they're feeling. Sometimes it stays with me and effects MY emotions, othertimes, I am perfectly fine, and able to talk to them.
I don't know if this has to do with 'empathy' but, when my brother was sent to the hospital, that entire day I felt uneasy. My fiance was going to his hometown to stay overnight, and I remember that I pratically begged him not to go, for whatever reason I was feeling, he needed to stay with me that night.
He ended up going, and around 9:30 I had this odd urge to call my dad to talk, as he and I are very close and I hadn't talked to him in a few weeks. He picked up right away, which wasn't really normal, and I heard yelling or loud talking in the backround, and I asked if there was anything wrong. My dad said there was a small emergancy and he would call me back in a few mintues.
Mintues tured to an hour and I called him back, and my dad explained my brother tried to hurt himself and there was an ambulance taking him to the hosptial.
I remember calling my fiance's stepmom, to get ahold of my fiance's mom, to get ahold of him. At first he didn't know what to do, since he was there, and I was here, and it was 12:30 in the moring. Then, the LAN party (local area network ) got out of hand, when a few girls that were there, deciced to give the guys lap dances. When he told me that, I felt nasuea build up, and I asked if he could just come home, because nothing felt right.
He came home at 2AM. The girls tried to give him a lap dance, which he refused. My brother was released fromt he hosptial around 4AM, and around 6, most, if not all of the butterfly feelings were gone.


Whew that was long. That was the biggest experiance (that i can recall) of 'empathy' that I've ever had.

Bascially, if something big is going to happen, my mood will change, or i'll get nervous or anxious.

[ShadowStalker]

Some people might call that precognition, rather than empathy. :)

(Doesn't mean you aren't empathic... just sayin'.)

[Aina]

Precognation?
I have heard of precognative dreams and stuff....hmm

[Lunacie]

Feeling anxiety about the family and checking with them might be precog, but the rest of the examples do sound like empathy. I think those two often come wrapped in the same 'bundle'.

[ShadowStalker]

Precognation?
I have heard of precognative dreams and stuff....hmm

:)

Knowing things are going to happen/coming before they actually do.

Lunacie is correct. Many empaths have this ability as well, though the two are not inseparable.

Do the posts from others resonate with you as being you?

Like I mentioned in my first post... you're really the only one who can determine which thing (if any) holds true and applicable for you.

[Lunacie]

Precognition is often described as thinking of someone and then getting a phone call, letter or email from them - clearly they were thinking of you too. Or knowing who is calling before you answer the phone. Or knowing before you open the email whether it's good news or bad news.

Empathy is often described as walking into a room and feeling like someone has made love there recently or had a fight there recently. I've been able at times to pick up the energy from someone having a fight from driving past a home. I can tell sometimes driving down the highway if someone has died in a location recently. When I spent a couple of weeks in the hospital with my ex following his heart attack, I found I somehow knew whenever I heard the ambulance going out on a run whether they would be bringing someone back, or transporting them to the morgue. Hospitals are often difficult places for empaths.

[Aina]

how does a person have empathic ablities though? are they born with it, or do they just have it?

[Lunacie]

Personally I think it's like smelling, everyone can smell the difference between fresh-smelling and nasty-smelling, but some people can tell the difference between one dry wine and another dry wine. Some people can train themselves to do that, and some are just naturally adept at it.

A better example, from my personal point of view, is that everyone can hear, but some can hear the smallest noise like a siren 6 blocks away that others don't hear until it's 2 blocks away, or some can hear the buzzing noise that a florescent light makes. Others may be able to hear the siren sooner but only if they're really paying attention, or hear the florescent light but only if there's no other noise to distract them. But for the person who CAN hear those things, they can also hear everything else and they find it hard to shut out any of the noises and focus on just one of them.

It can be like either of those examples, or neither one, or something completely different. We have different ways of describing it, because we don't all experience it in exactly the same way.

[Aina]

Oooh, i get it now!! Thank you ^-^

[Drouach]

how does a person have empathic ablities though? are they born with it, or do they just have it?

I have heard it said that people with psychic abilities have had 'abuse' of varying types when they were a child. Any kind of abuse including consistent bullying and other things. They develop tehir abilities to intercept these things before they happen. To know the emotions of the abuser.

But they again I've met many people who have had abusive childhoods that aren't empaths.

[Aina]

I have heard it said that people with psychic abilities have had 'abuse' of varying types when they were a child. Any kind of abuse including consistent bullying and other things. They develop tehir abilities to intercept these things before they happen. To know the emotions of the abuser.

But they again I've met many people who have had abusive childhoods that aren't empaths.
Wow really? I've only gone through slight bullying through gradeschool, then much through middle-school. What is normal for a kid, I suppose. I've had a rather "odd" childhood, but I 'd rather much keep that to myself. Stupid prats.

Thank you for the information, Drouch!

Best wishes

-Aina-