How to be a resilient empath in tumultuous times

There is no question it's been a challenging few months. Social distancing protocols have pushed most of the world into their homes and forced to do their work online. I have spoken to many empathic people who are having specific challenges with living in a "remote" reality. You’d think that being separate from people would give sensitive people a reprieve from the world, but for many empathic people it's been the opposite.

Empaths feel other people’s feelings, most often in their own bodies or through an amplification of their own emotions. It can be tricky if you are not totally aware of this gift, as it can be hard to know what feelings are your own and what belongs to others. We cover some of the dynamics in the blog post: I feel you! How to know if you are clairsentient.

As an empath, I’ve noticed a type of wear-and-tear that comes from connecting with others remotely. I’ll get on a zoom or facetime call for social or work reasons and by the end I feel exhausted and unsettled. While it feels good to connect with people and be social, on another level, I’m grappling with a muck of feelings. I realized that by not having a physical connection, my awareness of other people's energy is actually amplified. I know it sounds strange, but without the distraction of a physical body, the presence of the energy body is actually more perceptible.

Along with this, it is an intense time for the collective consciousness of humanity. We are globally managing a pandemic which has created collective anxiety and frustration. Social justice issues are at the forefront, demanding action and accountability. It’s difficult to pull up a news feed or social media page without confronting the emotional spectrum of others. For an empath, we will often feel it all at once. It’s overwhelming and disorienting, which can lead to feelings of helplessness.

Numbing out or shutting down feelings through food, sleep or substance abuse is a common way to cope. Or maybe just a YouTube or Netflix binge to focus on something else. These are ok in small doses, but in the long term, this doesn’t actually make the emotional load go away, it just stuffs it down. Over time, these coping methods can be really taxing for your health, both physically and emotionally.

Given the amplification of empathic energy in this time, it is perhaps an opportunity for us to hone our gift. After all, empaths are amazing healers. They have an innate ability to understand people’s experiences and offer perspective, connection and comfort. In a time like now, people with compassion and understanding are needed now more than ever, wouldn’t you agree?

So how do we deal with the energy “soup” out there? How can an empath foster resilience?

Here are some suggestions:

1) Create your own "energy room". Before going into a online interaction, imagine you are in a virtual "room" that is all your own. It's best to make it warm and cozy and full of light, a place where you feel safe. Then when you open your phone or go into a video-chat, you can be more aware of what you are letting in and out of your space. It may seem silly, but visualizing a type of containment can help you to hold your boundaries. It doesn't mean you aren't having an emotional connection with the people and information your engaging with, it just means you get to choose how much of it gets in your room. Try it and see how it works!

2) Take time off from being online. While being online is the core of our connection to others and our world, if we spend too much time there, it can actually make us feel disconnected with ourselves. Schedule screen-breaks for yourself! Take a walk and leave your phone at home.

3) Move your body. Most empaths translate their feelings through their physical form. Now more than ever, keeping things moving will help to flush out unwanted emotional downloads. Especially anxiety and fear.

4) Learn to meditate. Keeping a practice of connecting to love and stillness will help to foster a baseline reference point of knowing yourself. This makes it a lot easier to know when you are taking on stuff from others. The more we know and take care of ourselves, the clearer we can see the Truth of a situation, which takes us out of helplessness and into effective action. If you are looking for very effective tools in this area, check out our foundational course of Level 1, which is now offered online!

Stay safe and take care out there! It is a transformational time, and those of us willing to stay awake and hold the light are essential to the shift!