being an empath- energy, more prone to mental health related issues?

[not_really]

Hey everyone,

I'm not entirely sure if this is the right place to post this thread...? forgive me if it's in the wrong place. Side note: the cause of everyone's individual anxiety is different, and may even be a mix of factors. I'm merely going on a psychology rant and trying to figure out what exactly was the root of my own anxiety.

I've been thinking about this topic for a while (I'd say the past 3 months or so). Later last year I stumbled upon this idea of an 'empath', namely someone who is able to know and feel other people's emotions in themselves on a more acute level. I think everyone's capable of this, since humans are naturally adaptable beings, but in some this ability is significantly more heightened than others. The effects of other people's emotional influence would be increasingly more influential on someone who is an empath- think of it as close friends who eventually adopt each other's mannerisms, but with energy instead.

That being made clear, are empaths in fact more prone to mental health issues such as anxiety? ((There is a difference between an empath and a highly sensitive person (sensitive to emotion, energy, vibrations)- not completely sure of the difference?.)) I've been thinking about this because of my own anxiety- I've realised that there was a significant shift in my mindset toward school, grades, things in general at one point in my high school life and that was exactly when I grew closer to my current close friend. I never used to worry about things or care about my grades until I started to hang around her a lot, and then I realised my mindset and my worries had become a lot like hers used to. She is an AMAZING friend, and her mental health and attitude towards school has improved so much throughout these years. In no way am I blaming my anxiety on her! I'm not a high level empath, but I think the energies of the people around me definitely has somewhat of an effect on me, to the point that I can actively notice the influence in my anxiety patterns and thinking. At the end of last year when my grade entered Year 12, I think there was just so much stress and expectation placed on study around me that I took a significant dip in both my mental health and my marks. I myself wasn't consciously stressed at all- but I guess my mind subconsciously was, and was absorbing the energies of those around me.

If anyone has any thoughts or contribution to this topic- would love to hear your input!

[MissBenthos]

Hi not really,

I think labels have their place. For example I’m a fairly sensitive person and for a long time really hated that side of myself. When I found the term highly sensitive person and people speaking so positively about having that trait I was able to accept that side of myself and appreciate all the good qualities that come with being sensitive.

The downside though is when we box ourselves into the label. I am more than my sensitivity, not all of my good or bad qualities are derived from that one part of me. I can’t use my sensitivity as some type of excuse or reason for why things happen as they do or for my behaviour. I can’t plan out my life by some guide that says “this is the way sensitive people do things” because the label is only there to identify the trait, not to define my life.

I hope I’m making sense and you can understand how it transfers when you refer to yourself as an empath.

It’s true that the people we spend time with can be a big influence on us. An obvious example of this is with people who live overseas and return to their country with an accent they didn’t have before. The same thing can be true for other mannerisms and thought patterns.

It’s an interesting topic you bring up. Are you seeking any help with coping or just looking for answers on where the anxiety might have originated?

[Mickii]

Hi, Some years ago I stumbled onto the concept of an empath, but the more I read about it I was frightened if I suggested to anyone I was an empath they would think I had BPD or I was psychotic. I do think it is a real thing though and I don't think it is an adjunct to my diagnosis...but who knows. There are some things I noticed about myself, like when I went out and was around people, like at a shopping centre, it would completely drain me. It wasn't like being tired, it was complete exhaustion. So I am really interested to hear what people think about it. Is it a real thing? How do you know if you are an empath if they exist? If empaths are not real what makes people take on other people's emotions? I am really interest on the academic level, like is there scientific evidence. I hope someone reading these post knows more about it. My weirdest experience happened in about 1995-6. I was at a pub with my new partner and he introduced me to a friend of his. I instantly just felt incredible anger and hate, and I could not stay near him. My new partner thought I was crazy, and he kept saying "he is a nice guy". Less than two weeks later he killed his girl friend. I had no idea he was going to murder anyone, so it wasn't clairvoyance or anything like that, but I felt so horrible, like I was unclean....and just incredible anger that went away after we left the pub. I wish I knew why it happened...and other strange things have happened at other times, so I am really interested to have a discussion if anyone is keen to join in.

[not_really]

Hi MissBenthos,

Thanks for replying. What you wrote definitely makes sense. I tend to try not to put myself or my identity into a box, that's probably something I've done at some point in my life to be honest, but who hasn't. I've never thought of myself as an empath or even discovered the term until recently- I think of it as just putting an official term over what I've been experiencing. It's almost like being told I had anxiety and suddenly in hindsight, I can look back on my past self and see what was happening more clearly. Of course, just as I am actively managing my anxiety, I'm also managing my sensitivity and making sure that I'm not, for example, constantly exposed to negative energy.

This topic is really interesting to me, probably because it involves a certain degree of psychology, as well as how people's brain work. I think I like analysing things, sometimes even overanalysing things, but I love to see how things work, in the same way that I'm curious to see how my anxiety developed. Maybe it's just a mix of general factors, but I did also want to relate mental health to empaths and high sensitivity, to see other's people's opinions and discussion.

[not_really]

Hi Mickii,

Thanks for sharing your experience! I can tell you that the concept of an empath doesn't link to BPD, it's just a natural factor that all humans have, and as I said before, some more than others. As for scientific evidence, you can probably search up a few articles that look at scientific studies relating to it. From what I've gathered, there are a group of cells in the brain that are responsible for compassion- everyone has these, and they allow a person to share in other people's emotions. This is just called general empathy. Hyper-responsive mirror neurons lead to a deeper emotional response (empaths), whilst in the same way under-active mirror neurons lead to a lack of emotional response (commonly thought to be attributed sociopaths, etc.). I'm no doctor or medical researcher- so if you're interested you should probably research a little more on your own.

In regards to your question- how do you know if you're an empath- I think you pretty much answered it! If you're really sensitive to crowds, you can be one. Other things include being really drained and fatigued by electromagnetic fields (excessive phone, laptop use), and constant negative energy from people around you. Everyone varies, but the stronger your body's responses are to outside influences, the higher on the empathic scale you may be. Meditation and a good diet can easily help you cope. Also, everyone's an empath in some sense.

What you wrote about your experience is really interesting. Have you heard of the term intuition, and have you researched into it? I think that it was your intuition that was registering something when you met the guy; your subconscious brain picking up on something that your conscious brain had no idea about. Using my only three-month old knowledge about people's energies and intuition, apparently everyone gives off a certain energy around them, and sometimes people pick up on it unknowingly. That's why you get some people getting 'bad feelings' about people when everyone else is fine, and then it turns out they were right all along. In your case, it was quite extreme. Have you had any more experiences like this? Once I learnt about intuition and the subconscious brain, I started to wonder how exactly powerful our subconscious minds were, if it's able to pick up on things that we as conscious beings wouldn't even register. Also really interested in the scientific side too!

[Mickii]

Thanks for the reply. I have had many experiences. Some I worry about more than others. I have done some research, and I was interested in how gratitude can change brain waves, so I have a bit of an understanding of the brain and neural pathways.... Every day I sincerely thank the universe for my life (from someone who attempted suicide more than once). It does make me truly feel better even though really nothing has changed in regards to my depression blah blah blah. In fact my feelings from others make me often more sad. One bit of research I have done is about people taking on other people's emotions....and going from a good to a bad person...not that you change deep down, but because you feel so much of their emotion you actually believe their logic for doing bad things....even when you know it is wrong....Ok...so something else that happened to me,....and a clear cut psychiatrist would probably say it is an example of being psychotic....we had a dog at the vets, and it was touch and go, and I was outside and I truly saw our dog, and within seconds the phone rang and it was the vet, she said the dog had just passed away....even when I write this I think I am mad....but it really happened.

[not_really]

Glad to know that you've looked at some research on gratitude and how that affects us! It's good to see that you express gratitude everyday, it speaks about your dedication and at least it makes you feel better.

After reading your response, I can see why you were scared before that you would be seen as psychotic. From what you've told me, the experiences that you've had doesn't link to psychotic behaviour, but neither does it directly link to being an empath. Of course, keep in mind I'm not an official medical GP or therapist who is capable of giving diagnoses. You may have prior diagnoses that I don't know about that you can still have, but in my opinion they don't link to the experiences you've described.

Many cat and dog owners will know that they don't really obey the laws of physics (cats especially). They seem to be really prone to teleporting randomly or phasing through walls. If you've read enough Reddit, you would see a lot of pet owners who have had similar experiences. In addition to this, I don't know if you've heard stories about those who actually see, talk to, and have full on interactions with people who at the time were dead, and the person talking to them didn't know they were yet. Afterwards, when they were told the news, they would be thinking to themselves 'how did I talk to them?' Given that they have no prior medical conditions, it would be impossible to think that they just imagined an interaction that was just as real as anything else. Generally, time is relative and non-linear- there are a lot of things we can't explain.

Or, third explanation could just be that you were imagining things. However, I wouldn't put this to be the case based on the other experiences that you've had. It sounds like you're not an emotional empath, but an intuitive empath. If your intuition is really high, it links to all sorts of scenarios and you often experience things that normal people wouldn't; you have connections to energy, other dimensions, things like being especially, (I'm talking abnormally), drained by crowds.

I really encourage you to research into intuition and how to manage it. Grounding yourself is very important when it comes to highly sensitive and intuitive people. There is some good that comes out of having high levels of intuition, but it usually becomes detrimental to a person's physical and mental health if they don't know how to manage it properly. Read into other's experiences- it'll help you in not feeling like you're crazy.

[Mickii]

Thank you for the information. I am just wondering what is "Reddit"? I have never heard about it?

[not_really]

Reddit is...how do I explain it lol. Reddit is an online forum just like this, except it's more for a whole range of topics. You can be arguing in a thread about politics and then just go to another thread to talk about Pokemon. The discussions in there can be really interesting. I dived into reddit when I was just looking to read a few creepy stories, but then got dragged into this energy and vibrations type of thing. Just be careful to distinguish which stories are real life experiences which can help you, from the stories that were obviously written for fun.

[Guest_31299574]

An Empath is a unique personality. An American health professional called: Elaine Aaron is a research on this subject. Essentially a Highly Sensitive Person. She has books as well as another Researcher called: Andre Solo