Empaths truly are the rarest of the rare beings. They have the unique ability to sense the emotions of others. This goes beyond knowing whether a person is sad or angry. So, the struggles of an empath are also unique.
An empath can actually feel exactly how the other person is feeling. When they say that they know what the other person is going through, they mean it. In theory, this seems like an awesome power to have.
Wouldn’t you be thrilled to be able to know whether the other person is being deceptive or whether they are genuinely happy for you?
Being able to know the emotions of others would seem nothing short of a truth-telling machine. It might be the nearest thing to be able to read the minds of others, to be able to know what is going on in their minds. But being able to feel the emotions of others is definitely not a walk in the park.
Because Empaths can’t stop this power at will, they get affected by the emotions of others very easily. This is a very draining situation indeed. Going through so many intense emotions on a daily basis can suck out the energy of any normal human.
An empath has to go through a lot in life. And unlike them, no one else can understand what they are going through. No one can imagine the drudgery it is to be affected by the moods of other people. This is why Empaths tend to need some time alone. Because when they are alone they can replenish their exhausted energy resources. This is also the reason why they don’t particularly like spending time in events where the air tends to get emotionally charged very easily.
Related: Why Empaths Attract Abusive People And How To Stop It.
Although with time, Empaths learn to take care of themselves despite their rather unusual powers. But in the beginning, it can be a lot for a person to take in. And sometimes people don’t even realize that they are an Empath and therefore are none the wiser about how to take care of themselves.
Unless a person is an empath, they wouldn’t understand the unique challenges faced by them. And unless they are able to understand their powers and their repercussions, they won’t be able to defend themselves against the many ups and downs they have to go through on a daily basis.
So here are a few things that only an empath goes through:
1) They Struggle With Watching Television
For an empath, any bad news is devastating, it impacts them more than the others.
If there is any kind of negativity in their surroundings, they absorb it too and feel terrible. If there is anything that is too tragic, it will strike them harder than anyone else. They can’t handle too much bad news because they can’t simply turn a blind eye and forget. Even if they heard or saw a fake or real violent situation, they will be deeply upset for days.
Even watching a gruesome accident in the news would give them nightmares. So they have to be incredibly careful about the kind of news they consume. This is one of the unique struggles of an empath that most people never notice.
Related: 10 Reasons Why Empaths Have a Hard Time Finding True Love
2) They are always drained of energy
They have this sort of enormous, invisible straw connected to their bodies at all times. And this straw keeps sucking away all the energy they have. They get drained easily because going through so many different emotions in a little time can take its toll on anyone. They are always low on energy. They are constantly battling emotional fatigue.
This is because the moment they start interacting with other people; their inner turmoil keeps getting worse exponentially.
They need time off alone to replenish their sources.
And even that is not enough sometimes. So they go through their day, half-dead, trying to make the best of the situation. This is really a struggle of being an empath.
3) They know when someone is lying
And even though they might not like it, they feel obliged to call out the liar. This is because they know what kind of emotions are going through the person’s head, and for them detecting deception is not a difficult task at all.
Nobody wants to be called a telltale and yet, Empaths have to call out the liar in public. It is sort of their moral duty, that they have to protect people from any ill. Because knowing someone’s bad intentions and not acting against them is not acceptable to any decent human, no matter at what personal cost it comes.
Related: Only True Empaths Can Pass This Imagery Test – Personality Test
4) They go through intense emotions, several times during a day
An empath has no control whatsoever on selecting the person whose emotions they experience. Even a person walking by them on the street can influence their emotions.
And if these emotions are really intense (like violence or horror), then that means that they will play out with the same intensity inside the Empaths’ head too. They won’t be able to defend themselves against feeling sad out of the blue or incredibly angry.
All their good vibes are gone. They will feel their emotions shift. And it drains them a lot. These struggles of an empath are unique and difficult for non-empaths to understand.
Related: What Type of Empath Are You Based On Your Zodiac Sign
5) They find it hard to say ‘No’ to people
Most people are able to say ‘no’ to others when saying ‘yes’ would mean them some sort of personal harm; but not an empath.
If a person needs an empath’s help, and their situation is really dire, then the empath is able to feel the helplessness behind that plea and thus have no other option but to say ‘yes’; even if it would mean personal misfortune to themselves. They sacrifice their time and energy to help others and make them feel happy.
They have to consciously learn to turn people away and say no, for their own sanity and betterment.
6) They don’t get time for themselves
There are so many struggles of an empath that they face on a daily basis. They have to go through so many emotions. Moreover, they feel bad about turning people down. They’d always let other barges in on them, even if they had a really long day. All this means that they are not able to take out time for themselves. They need solitude! This is extremely crucial for them and not everyone understands that.
Not able to shut off compassion for those around you will leave you carrying a lot of burden. Unless they get some alone time, they won’t be able to relax and replenish their energy. If they keep on going without doing this, they will burn out sooner or later. It is best that they don’t let things get too drastic.
7) They are torn between going out and staying in
No doubt empaths can gel up with people pretty well, but they need more alone time. That doesn’t mean they are introverts. Empaths have hard time going from high-stimulus environments to low-stimulus situations, and vice versa. They may experience hollowness after a loud party or get overwhelmed being part of a crowded event.
Empaths need time to process such staggering transitions. They need a break from absorbing other people’s feelings and time to process their own emotions. Else they will develop poor mental health and not be able to maintain healthy relationships with anyone.
8) They struggle with anxiety or depression
Most but not all empaths experience symptoms of anxiety and depression. That is obvious because they are sensitive to their and other’s emotions. Often they deal with self-doubt and anxiety. And when they receive anger or disappointment from people, it amplifies their anxiety. Something as small as a bad comment on Twitter can upset them for days. It is not easy for other people to understand why you cannot just get over small things.
Empathy is your power and that makes you a good healer and problem solver. But you give away all your energy to others and end up leaving no emotional space for yourself. Empaths have to learn to prioritize self-care. Otherwise, they may end up with severe mental illness.
9) They don’t always know their emotions
This is one of the biggest struggles of an empath. Since they consume hell lot of emotions from other people, they fail to differentiate between emotions of others and their own feelings, thoughts and emotions. This can create trouble at the time of making important life decisions. They may get into wrong path and then regret later.
This is probably the biggest ongoing challenge empaths face. When you’re constantly absorbing emotional information from other people, it can be hard to know what you’re feeling from others vs. your own thoughts and emotions. This can make decisions hard, and sometimes your “feelings” lead you down the wrong path.
Related: The 15 Strange Behaviors Of An Authentic Empath.
10) They Are Susceptible To Addictive Habits
Empaths tend to absorb and feel myriad emotions, so they feel drained out and seek an escape to filter their emotions. They want to protect themselves by blocking out all the emotions. As a self-preservation and survival strategy they resort to smoking, drinking, drugs, sex or any other addictive habit.
11) They need to sleep alone
An empath who has already absorbed emotions of others need to sleep alone. If they sleep next to someone, they will soak more emotional information. The easy way out for them is to have a personal space to rest and sleep. That’s how they can recharge and energise themselves.
But this tendency becomes an issue for empaths in relationships because their partners cannot understand an empath’s need to sleep alone. It can lead to misconception and conflicts in your relationship. Your spouse may think you are not interested in intimacy.
Related: If You Want An Intense Kind Of Relationship, Date A Girl With Hyper Empathy
12) They struggle to keep jobs
Empaths always do what they love to do and only then they can excel in it. Doing a task they are not enjoying makes them feel like a cheater.
So, if a job becomes monotonous or not enjoyable at all, empaths struggle to hold down that job. Whether it is work, school or home life, they get bored easily.
And needs to be stimulated or do something else to keep themselves entertained. That’s the reason why some empaths switch from one job to another. This is one of the unique struggles of an empath hindering their professional success.
13) They are taken advantage of
Be it friends or family or strangers, everyone depends on an empath to discuss their mental turmoil and unwind their mind. They are least aware that they are dumping everything on an empath and leaving them drained of energy.
These are the struggles of an empath that go completely unnoticed.
Do you know of any other challenges or faced by an empath?
Leave your thoughts in comments.
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