5 Things Fake Empaths Do That Make Them Different from Real Ones

Published by
Becky Storey

Our world is plagued with fake people who pretend to be something they aren’t. It’s not unusual to fall for a fake, no matter what they’re pretending to be. Sometimes, we just trust too easily. When you fall for a fake empath’s lies, it could be emotionally or mentally damaging. For your own sake, it’s a good idea to know what to look for when spotting a fake.

Despite how wholesome being an empath is at its root, there are still people who make it into something less than that. Fake empaths are, unfortunately, common. People claim to have this gift for all sorts of reasons. Often, fake empaths are narcissists.

Empaths and narcissists are on opposite ends of the same spectrum. They insist that they are highly sensitive to other people’s emotions and can “just tell how you feel” in order to manipulate you in some way for their own gain.

What Is an Empath?

A real empath is a person who can tune in, or feel, the emotions of others. This extends to animals and even the emotional “vibe” of certain places. Oftentimes, empaths are portrayed as having a psychic ability similar to mind reading.

Fake empaths particularly love the recognition that comes with this theory. While some might believe in the psychic aspects, others lean more towards the idea that empaths are just highly sensitive to emotions and actively try to feel the emotions of others.

Real empaths are born with their abilities and may never know they have such a gift. They may live their entire lives assuming that it’s normal to pick up on everyone’s emotions so easily. With or without their knowledge, empaths use a whole array of tools to understand another person’s emotions. These include body language, tone of voice and even the words a person uses. Fake empaths are unlikely to even notice such subtle changes.

For strongly empathic people, distance has no impact on their abilities. Even live TV, documentaries and reality shows can give emotional impressions to an empath. For this reason, real empaths will often avoid seeing shows that are heavy with emotion.

5 Differences between Fake Empaths and Real Empaths

1. They Want to Diagnose You

Fake empaths want to tell YOU how YOU feel. Instead of simply trying to understand and be in tune with how you feel, as a real empath would do, they want to read you. They want to diagnose your feelings and they want everyone to know about it.

For example, imagine you’re having a hard time and have been a little quieter than usual. A real empath would naturally feel this and would understand why. Be it anxiety or maybe sadness, they’ll feel it too. They probably won’t tell you that they feel your emotions too, they’ll just try to help without making a fuss.

A fake empath will turn it into a guessing game, without a sympathetic approach. They just want you to notice that they’ve “read you”.

2. They Don’t Take “No” Well

If a fake empath comes up with an incorrect assumption of you, which is most likely, they won’t handle being corrected very well. Fake empaths pretend to be this way for attention and to feel like they have a special power that makes them superior, and sometimes even god-like.

Whilst a real empath would be apologetic and uncomfortable if they had been wrong about how you felt, a fake one would be defensive. They’re likely to insist that you’re wrong about your own emotions. After all, they’re the ones with the magical powers, right?

3. They Will Note Your Negative Emotions, Not Positive Ones

Fake empaths want to feel like they’ve caught you out, so they’ll try to reveal emotions you would be keeping secret. If they think you’re angry at someone, they’ll announce that “they can feel it” because they’re empathetic. The same goes for any sadness or discomfort they might think you have.

Real empaths enjoy when others feel positive emotions because they can feel it too. They get to share in the good feelings and they’re happy to tell you they’re experiencing the same emotions. Fake empaths won’t bother with noting your positive emotions, because they’re not as exciting or dramatic enough to get them attention.

4. They Tell Everyone They’re Empaths

There are very few signs that make it clearer that someone is not an empath than them telling everyone that they are. Real empaths don’t need or want the attention and confusion that comes from sharing their abilities. If you reveal that you can feel the emotions of others, you’re likely to be met with questions. Fake empaths love this. They crave the attention.

5. They Blame Emotional Influence

As a real empath, you’re constantly taking in the emotional experiences of the people and places around you. This can be fatiguing and will have some impact on your own mood. Fake empaths will let this be an excuse for their bad moods and bad behavior, while real empaths would never.

Real empaths understand that it is possible to be influenced by the outside world, but they wouldn’t let it become negative or impact the people around them. If emotions get too strong, they would rather take themselves away for a while than hurt their family or friends.

Fake empaths will become angry and even rude and snappy, then blame it on the influence of others instead of taking responsibility for lashing out.

Fake Empaths Can Be Dangerous

Fake empaths are particularly dangerous people because of their assumed control over your emotions. In order to protect yourself from these people, it’s important to know the differences between things a fake empath and a real one. If someone in your life shows signs of being fake, it’s best to stay away.

References:

  1. https://www.psychologytoday.com

View Comments

  • I know 2-3 people that consider themselves empath’s, but as I got to know them more, I was surprised by how they seemed to be anything but. I eventually witnessed selfishness, immaturity and a lack of empathy. They hurt people, justify their actions and refuse to apologize, which I find ironic.

    • Empathy is not the same as compassion and kind - heartedness. Being Empathetic means to feel what others feel, literally to telepathically tune into the Aura and energies of another. These people often mistake the negative feelings they bare to be their own. When in fact they are just a sponge. I bet a lot of people are wrongly diagnosed with mental health conditions because of this. I do believe that Empathy and Compassion, even though they are seperate soul powers, belong together to function correctly. One without the other seems to lead to pride and selfishness. Even compassionate people can be selfish, if they desire the happiness being compassionate gives them, which comes from helping others less fortunate than themselves. And not everyone is empathetic if they were, then suicides would not exist. You often hear of relatives and friends of those who commited suicide who had no idea that the deceased was depressed, because the real feelings were hidden by fake smiles. Empathetic people feel and see beyond the surface.

  • I am receptive to the energies of people, animals, plants, objects and spaces. It is not something to brag about, especially when it brings much suffering. Even certain items in my house i have had to get rid of because they bring heavy energy to a room, which for me is unbearable. We are surrounded by energies. They are contained in all living beings, in the air, the soil and water and everything we touch. When someone goes into a rage of anger, those negative energies stay on the item they were touching at the time, or space they were in and it also works for positive ones too. And those close to you whom are not so receptive believe that you are just overly-sensitive or even mentally ill. Either way it is understood as something negative because of human ignorance. What one does not experience himself , he believes to not exist . Perhaps, these fake empaths have empathy, but they lack compassion. Two twins which belong together, otherwise either one will go astray with pride and be misused. People can even be compassionate in a selfish way. For example, there are people who like to help and do things to ease the pain and suffering for others because it brings them inner happiness. To be empathetic means to experience what another is experiencing, literally. The general meaning of the word is not correct, because we cannot say we feel anothers pain or joy if we are not telepathically tuning into the Aura and energies of another being. We have to be conscious of this change of energy, to realise that it is actually a telepathic spiritual process taking place. And to be conscious of what is happening we have to acknowledge the existence of life beyond the physical. We live in a time of materialism, so even words which have a spiritual meaning are dragged down to the physical and totally distorted in their meaning. I can know how someone is feeling when they enter a room, before they even speak because their energy hits you right into the soul. I can also sense before an arguement is about to take place..a certain negative feeling which then intensifies before fading away when the argument is over. Its all energy and its all about gradually learning to tap into it and work with it.

Published by
Becky Storey