Intuitive empaths know what others feel without needing to be told, and they have an unusually sharp sense for whether someone is being truthful or lying.
For this reason, many self-proclaimed intuitive empaths go into the healing professions. There’s a lot of reported evidence from psychologists for the existence of empaths, and it often seems to suggest that they are unhappier than others.
Empathy is present, in general, to a greater degree in women. A study from the journal of Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews stated that there are gender differences as regards empathic response from infancy.
It has been suggested that females are more empathic as a result of neurological adaptation to the traditional role of child-rearing, as it requires a sharper understanding of non-verbal expressions.
When empaths are in interactions with others, they’re able to understand how the other person feels and why they feel it. This makes them excellent listeners and great friends. However, being able to put themselves in other people’s shoes and feel as they feel can be extremely stressful. Apart from having to deal with the stress and difficulties which arise in their own lives, they take on other people’s suffering as their own.
If you are extremely sensitive or have been labelled as being too emotional, you may be an empath. Empaths seem to have the ability to experience emotions at a greater intensity than the rest of us. This can lead to increased joy and pleasure in life, but when they’re exposed to negative stimuli, it can cause extreme anxiety and distress.
It also means that they’re more prone to mood swings than others, as stimuli from the environment can change rapidly from positive to negative. Empaths are often very sensitive to noise and other disturbances, too.
At one extreme of the empathy spectrum (the low end), there are people with disorders which cause anti-social and often violent, criminal behaviour. Empathic people are on the opposite end of the spectrum, not being able, in some cases, even to watch violent films. They also find things that many people laugh at, like the misfortunes of others, unbearable to witness.
Because of the intensity and diversity of stimuli in situations involving a large number of people, empaths tend to find being around big groups exhausting and anxiety-creating. It’s common for empaths to prefer being alone or with one or two people.
If they have to be in social situations involving large groups, it’s often necessary for them to withdraw early and take time alone to recharge their batteries.
Empaths often find that they experience physical symptoms in response to high-intensity situations. Headaches are common as well as fatigue. Empaths may also be more likely to respond to the anxiety they feel by abusing their own bodies with drugs and overeating.
Empathy is something that nearly all human beings have, with the exception of people who have psychological disorders that prevent them from feeling empathy. Empathy is, therefore, something which is found in human beings on a spectrum – from high-empathy responses to low-empathy responses.
Confirming the existence of empaths scientifically is difficult though. Human neuroimaging is not at a level of advancement which would allow us to confirm that there’s something different going on in these people’s brains.
Up till now, tests have had to, in most cases, consist of surveys and questionnaires about how subjects perceive their own responses. This kind of evidence is very difficult for the scientific community to accept as a solid basis.
Scientists do not currently accept the use of terms such as intuitive empath just as they don’t accept terms like ‘psychic’ or ESP (Extra-Sensory Perception). Scientific research currently divides empathy into the categories of ‘emotional empathy’ and ‘cognitive empathy’. Emotional empathy is the ability to respond emotionally to what another person is going through, and cognitive empathy is the ability to comprehend another person’s perspective or mental state.
Neuroscience, however, which has been dedicated to investigating empathy over the last decade or so, has found that there is a scientific explanation for how living creatures are able to empathise with others.
Neuroscientists have called this phenomenon mirror-touch synaesthesia, where mirror neurons are activated when one animal sees another animal perform a particular behaviour. It has been suggested that in the case of empaths, mirror neuron activity is particularly acute.
It has been proposed that, like in the case of people with a very low empathic response, childhood trauma may be present to a greater degree in empaths than in the majority of the population.
The ability to empathise with the unpleasant experiences of another person may come, to some extent, from having had similar experiences. However, having had similar experiences does not always mean that someone is able to empathise with others going through the same thing.
Do you think you might be an intuitive empath? Share your thoughts with us.
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I consider being an Intuitive Empath a gift once you have learned who you are acknowledged and accepted it as a gift.
I now use my gift to help others, I learned to protect myself while in public and crowds, I use Nature, meditation and other ways to balance my life and myself.
I am tired often and know when to re-energize myself, know when to say No! by not taking on more than I can bear or being overwhelmed.
I listen to different types of music when dealing with different emotions that I sense.
I had to find what soothes me to help keep me balance, I am obsessed with cleanliness do I choose being OCD with keeping things clean and organized within my home so I don't focus on what is happening outside.
Since realizing who I am, I have researched and became knowledgeable to maintain my sanity.
Gone are the years of knowing what others are thinking before they spoke it, now I have control of what I want to hear and when.
My home is created as my haven an sanctuary, so I limit the amount of time I spend outside and prepare before doing so.
I am 59 years of age and knew I have been an Intuitive Empath for most of my life and ran from it, but once I acknowledge and accepted it my life has changed because I use it to help others.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak this out because I have never told it to anyone, people just think I am strange and a loner.
Art and music has always been my release, escape, joy and creative response to who I really am. I am 59 years young and finally I am in a self discovery stage of acceptance. I have been empathic my entire life. My daydreams or night dreams are more of movie that I have watched many times and what I see in these visions are the fruition of a future event. I easily recognize when a person is not being truthful. I feel vibrations like a current of electricity from people that zap my energy. I help people achieve thier needs or wants while neglecting myself. I have been counciled within self help groups, family and friends have intervened by what seems natural to me. I am too forgiving they say, over the top sensitive to the needs of others, too giving of myself. I commit myself to animals that need love. Children draw to me like magnets. One question though many people ask me., is What does Brenda want or need that will bring her happiness? I was asked that again yesterday by a biker that has been working on my house upgrades. (I know my truth as I am no longer a secret.) I felt my heart throbbing in my chest and I was sure he could hear it also. I wanted to cry but smiled, I needed to smile but teared. My boyfriend walked in just then and he said... baby girl are you good? I am always good I said. I finally answered the question. What does Brenda really want or need.... I desire trust, loyalty, laughter, grace, peaceful beauty, most of all I need a heart of gold to live inside all mankind. Love is a natural response and it is genuine., if only mankind would harvest it and give it freely.
This is me... I can’t explain it but somehow I can understand others with a slight change in their groove. I often feel angry that others are so insensitive to me and every single interaction with anyone at any time is super important to me. I’m extremely sensitive and have had people often denigrate me for this quality. I have every trait you outline me above... I felt things about my nephew living in a different country was using drugs and struggling with mental health - I told his mother to go and see him urgently and that week every detail came out that he was having pscychotic episodes brought on by drugs and and incident. She still doesn’t know how I knew this and neither do I.
I can sense souls around me too that are kind and people I loved very much.
I feel like an alien sometimes because others say you’re so sensitive like I have a disease but I know I’m gifted.
I’ve been an Empath my entire life, I’m 54 years old. I’ve felt things, and had visions. I’ve told strangers not to do something or to go down a certain street. Many times being empathetic has drained my energy, causing me to become sick. Self healing through certain herbs and vegetables work. I’m back up and running. I believe that having a Native American bloodline, has helped me with being an Empath.
I experience a lot of empathy. Sitting on my second story porch one day, I realized as people went by I could feel them hurrying, happy, worried. I could never be a nurse. Too much pain. Also, into touch with birds, animals, plants & trees.
I'm not sure what I am exactly. I know my daughter is an Empath, but I have had experiences I can't explain I will give you an example, Years ago I was separated from my husband and I had 2 small children. I wasn't thinking of anything in particular, cleaning in my living room and suddenly I had this overwhelming feeling and Knowing that my husband was nearby. I plopped down in a chair and had to catch my breath.Then hardly 10 seconds passed and I saw his truck coming around the curve and drove into my driveway. He was bringing presents to my kids. Now tell me what that was?