Do you suffer from overactive empathy? Discover 5 symptoms of overactive empathy and get clear on why you pick up others’ emotions.
Constantly picking up on the feelings and emotions of others can leave you drained and exhausted. You might find this resource helpful: The Complete Empath Toolkit.
The gift of empathy is something that is inherent in all of us. Empathy allows us to show compassion and sympathy for someone else and helps us relate to others on a deeper level. If expressed well; empathy can help us to understand what someone else is experiencing.
But what happens when that empathy goes into overdrive? When you CONSTANTLY pick up on the feelings and emotions of others, you can feel wrung out and energetically drained. You may just want to reach for the off switch and turn it off for good.
If you are unsure your empathy is running on overdrive, here are some common symptoms.
5 Symptoms of Overactive Empathy
Complete Overwhelm
You feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, or worn out because you can literally feel the emotions of others, sometimes to the point of being in bed for days afterwards.
When your empathy is constantly working in overdrive it can show up with physical symptoms such as migraines, aches and pains, and the need to sleep more than usual.
Overly Sensitive
Has more than one person told that you are overly sensitive, cry too easily, and you should just get over it? This point can hit home for you if your parents told you from a young age to stop being a crybaby.
You may feel misunderstood and feel like you are the only one you know suffering from this problem. You might be an HSP (highly sensitive person).
Magnet for Negative Energy
You feel like a magnet for negative energy and wonder why people keep dumping their problems on you. If can feel like you have an emotional dumping sign on your forehead with a big ON button.
Social Isolation
Have put yourself into social isolation because you keep absorbing the feelings and emotions of others? Because it can be painful at times, you may find yourself declining invitations to join groups or attend a social function.
Emotional Sponge
When you take on the emotions of others, you can feel like an emotional human sponge. You can get hit suddenly with emotions you cannot explain and wonder if they are your own. You can feel like you need to wring yourself out just so you can breathe again.
The Complete Empath Toolkit
Can you look at someone and just ‘know’ what they are going through?
Do you cry easily? Do you find yourself listening with ease to other people’s problems? Have complete strangers easily shared their intimate secrets with you? Have you found yourself drained by other people’s energy?
If so, you might be an empath, and you probably have gone through life being more affected by other people’s energies than you realize.
I have found a great resource for you to help you understand your empathy. It is called The Complete Empath Toolkit.
More Articles On Overactive Empathy
Find Out If Your Empathy Is Out Of Control
How To Know If You Are An Empath
Find Out If Your Empathy Is Out Of Control
Hi Laura, I am sorry I couldn’t be on the live show but I heard the recording and I loved it, and I was constantly shaking my head yes when you brought up alot of the symptoms if you will of it. I was like, was she in my head? LOL.
Strange thing happened at one point I zoned out (no I wasn’t bored or a sleep) I think cause of the breathing I might have went into a meditative state I haven’t been in like that in a long time.
Then suddenly it was at the point when you started taking questions (live) and I know you were talking of another Susan, but when you kept repeating the name and getting louder at one point it was like it was snapping me out of whatever it was.
Oddly I seem to know what you said, but I have no memory of anything just went dark and I don’t know light, when I snapped out of it I felt refreshed (like someone who had slept 8 uninterrupted hours) light and even looked different when I looked in a mirror, I looked stress free. Course then I went to bed had an odd dream and then the normal day started. It’s hard not to automatically fall back into that way. So I am going to have to figure a way to stay out of it. like 1. figuring out how to keep your recording to use as a reminder and 2. not go into a deep meditative state while listening to it. and of course 3. not fall back into that familiar if you will.
I haven’t totally fallen back into it, there are some little differences like you were saying the devil is in the little details, well the differences are in little clusters/groups.
It’s also like I’ve awaken something but I can’t put my finger on it, I just know not to push whatever it is just yet. So maybe it’s like a prep waiting and now I just have to wait for the instruction to say okay now.
Though I have to admit there have some been some odd things happening, I can’t explain and I know it’s not ego, or projecting. Things I don’t know where they came from like sitting there doing nothing really then seeing someone (said friend) there and I could hear them ask repeatedly a full sentence question so clearly and it was like they were right there (yes they are alive), and waiting for a response. It keeps replaying in my head and I can see it. They say “what if we had/tried a real relationship” then they also say I don’t have to answer right now if I need time to think about it.
Then it’s like they are waiting for me to respond, but I am unsure how cause I don’t know if this will happen, someone is thinking about it, or asking using energy (maybe they don’t know they are doing) so it’s like how do I answer this wait and see, let it be cause they are just thinking about it, or respond and probably freak them out lol. Sometimes I actually know how I would answer, but then that doubt kicks in you were talking about on your show.
When I say I see them I mean I see and feel that specific person like a light on them (cause its night when this goes down) and I don’t see me there but I feel me there and like it’s a directed to me. I don’t know what to think and when I ask for clairification on that or dreams (that have that you need to know but you don’t know yet you remember) I only get either a repeat or more of the same. LOL.
But I loved the show and I hit the download where it went in my pc I will have to find out, cause I may need it even after the 17th lol. I also loved the prayer afterward it was awesome.
Lastly I know you only had a limited time on answering written questions to you I was wondering if you could reply back to the one I sent into you via email regarding medical problems and empathy (in general and over/under active) I would grately appreciate it. Can’t wait for the next show.
Just a suggestion maybe have it on your site all the audio’s from your shows you have the blog writing archieves, why not the live show archieves, that way they are available to the current and new folks who are/come to your site. Peace, light, love & Many blessing’s to you and yours!