We occasionally like to pat ourselves in the back and consider us empaths when we do something remotely nice for a fellow human being or an animal.
Sorry to burst your bubble but according to a 2007 study on empathy, published in Nature Neuro-science only one to two percent of the population consists of true empaths.
Empathy means being in tune with other people's feelings and life circumstances but still allowing yourself to separate your experience and emotions from theirs and vice versa.
An empathetic person will tend to feel others emotions as if they're their own, they'll be moved in a sort of heart tugging emotional wave that will give rise to kind, compassionate and understanding words or actions.
Empathy is coined from the German word "Einfuhlung" which translates to "feeling into."
Which involves us feeling our way into the lives of others.
Ultimately there's being an empath, one who takes empathy a significant notch higher.
An empath is able to feel and take on peoples feelings and emotions as if they are experiencing those things themselves.
Empaths are often able to pick up on unspoken feelings, drawing on subtle energy fields that emanate around other people’s bodies (auras.)
Depending on the type of energy whether joyful or happy or around negative fearful, anxiety ridden energy an empath will feel these deeply, often experiencing shifts in their moods and energy levels.
That distinction of literally feeling what someone else is feeling, in a way that goes far beyond being able to consider their point of view, is crucial in the distinction between empath vs. empathetic.
In addition to experiencing their own emotions, empaths usually absorb other people’s emotions and feelings. This can take a toll on them, especially in situations that leave them drained both mentally and physically.
It’s not uncommon for empaths to experience a myriad of physical symptoms including stomach and headaches as they take on so many intense emotions.
Empaths recharge by either meditating, keeping a journal, getting back to nature, participating in an activity they love like swimming or planning for an emotional overload.
However they at times worry that they're overly emotional or there is something wrong with them forgetting that to fully be at peace it requires them to open up to their intuition and trust that it is a gift. Rather than some sort of malfunction that one needs to fix or change about themselves.
Our empathy, whether based on external cues or not, is what creates connections between us and other people.
It creates trust, intimacy, reverence, compassion, and belonging. And expands our capacity to hold space for one another to heal, grow, and transform.
And I think we all crave more of that.
So there you go folks, the line that differentiates the small percentage of overly compassionate humans (empaths) from the rest who actually care (empathetic) but know how to set boundaries and do not carry people's emotions with them.
