Empathy & Feeling People Around You

I've been searching for some time to find any one who experiences what I experience. I am familiar with the literature on what it means to be empathetic and pick up on the emotions and subtle emotions of those around me, but I've never been able to find anyone who not only experiences those emotions but can also feel people around me.

When I say feel people around me, I mean people I am connected with that are of the living. I can be a 1000 miles from those people, but for some reason I can feel them, almost like they are standing next to me, or behind me, or dwelling within me. It is hard to describe other than saying I can smell their smell sometimes or have the sensation that there is a warmth/pulsation sensation in my throat chakra and sometimes my heart chakra. It's almost like I know their energy/thoughts are on me but I cannot ever tell what they are thinking. Depending on the person, it can be very intense and it's literally like a part of them or their energy or whatever it is, is inside me. Most of the time I can be like "Oh, I feel this person" or "Oh I feel that person" but sometimes I am unable to tell who the presence is.

Interestingly, This doesn't happen with everyone I meet or am connected to in my every day life. Sometimes it's people I haven't seen or heard from in years, or even with people I've created bonds with on the internet. Other times I can feel someone/presence around me but cannot exactly pinpoint it. There never seems to be a rhyme and reason to why I can feel some people and others I cannot. In fact, a large majority of the people I've connected with in my life, I've never felt that. It's weird and I've been feeling this "feeling people around me" since I was 14.


I try to talk about this with some of my intuitive friends and have sought out all kinds of resources to help me understand what it is I am experiencing, but haven't received much help. I'd love to hear similar experiences, or thoughts, or questions about what I have shared.

a reply to: AeonMoon

You are not alone. My daughter and I share a similar trait, as well as a quirk in assigning colors to people we meet. We both have had sensory whisps that correspond to family members prior/post times of distress. I have contacted those in our family after a sensory input(mostly smell, some audio and rarely optic), and have been informed of events that took place that necessitated calling family members to apprise them.

My daughter and I rarely talk to others about this "thing", but it is real and it does happen. We view our ability as a quirk, rather than a curse.

a reply to: AeonMoon

Hi friend, i too have this ability from a young age. I can fully and emotionally feel anothers feeling and pains from first meeting that person. For example i could meet someone (friend of a friend) for the first time ever and within just a few minutes i can fully understand where they are coming from, weather they are a good or bad spirit, weather they mean to cause me harm or show me friendship and love. I can see within them the pains and struggles they have been through and most people are shocked when i can finish their sentence because thats how well i can read there feeling and body language with the gift of empathy. Those that have never experienced this may mock my experiences but i stand by them. My true intuitions and feelings of another is my biggest survival technique. Also like u have explained, distance makes no difference, i know when a friend is in need or suicidal and they are shocked when i turn up and say i had a bad feeling they are feeling depressed etc

Yep! I have that thing, too.

It's really hard.

Someone (some stranger) just starts talking....and I'm very aware of what they're feeling, and really thinking, and what their gestures and body language indicate.

It's kind of exhausting.

a reply to: Boscowashisnamo

Oooh, interesting, especially the color assignment. I rarely have any visual clues to the people I feel around me, it is almost all physical sensations in my body. For example, if someone is thinking of me in a romantic/sensual sense, I'll feel it literally in my body. If someone is upset/angry, but not necessarily anything to do with me, I'll feel the heaviness and I just "know" it's them.

In the rare case of having a visual clue, I'll see a flash of someone's flash of someone's face or eyes.

As for the color assignment, what do those colors normally represent to you?


Thanks for sharing!

a reply to: AeonMoon

I only connect with those who I am around. However and I can see and feel the mood of many people, even if I spend only moment with them.

When I say see here is what I mean, I can see they are hiding their true emotions. Not a color sort of thing, but that would be interesting.

a reply to: Isurrender73

Your not alone, i too can see a mile off if someone is deceiving me as i can sense it. It is a great gift for anyone to be able to sense anothers feelings. Would like to say well done to anyone that comments on this thread and has this ability as its more common than you might think. I have many friends like this so feel quite fortunate when sharing similar experiences with them

You really should just enjoy it.

I always felt crowded until I moved to a couple acres out in the Sonora Desert.

I didn't realize how much of other people's energy I was picking up.

It seems your emotion detectors are quite sensitive for lack of better term. Everybody has this ability, but don't realize that. They just have different definition of what you've described. Some people will just say intuitions or gut feelings. And Some just don't realize it's there.

Some of us just are more to the feel side of things and so are receptive to the feeling of connective-ness or oneness, but at the same time can distinguish or sense uniqueness that is characteristic to a particular individual you know.

We tend to mimic nature and use technology as an excuse to interact with each other but really we can innately communicate telepathically and feel each others presence no matter which part of the globe you are.

Sending you folks some good vibes here..

Peace

I suspect that the people you can feel have more light than others so they transmit/receive better. On a train I tried projecting images to random people sitting in front of me (with their back to me) some would react, whereas others, nothing.

I'm the same from time to time, while considering myself more pre cognitive as opposed to an Empath(which you seem to be OP). I can pick up on something wrong with someone-even strangers, from emotional distress to possible/coming impact on their life when I don't believe they are outwardly expressing it. Problem is if you don't know the person or know them well, is trying to communicate your feelings on that. Such as with a warning of an impending situation.

One time husband and I woke up saying the same exact word instantaneously(really odd!), apparently having the same dream.

Also when a younger adult had an emergency. One parent actually felt that, then ended up showing up to resolve the situation, which saying they had felt there was something wrong as to why they showed up.

I firmly believe in that link between parents and children. Don't see why it would be so far off from just other people and even animals.

a reply to: AeonMoon

I've had a few occurances in my life that have convinced me I'm an intuitive and can see premonitions or can sense other "different" individuals. Let me make a short list of what I experience (just one example each):

1.) Premonitions - I have dreams or intrusive daytime thoughts about a family members. Then I get word they have passed away. As a kid, I had a thought/vision that my Mom would die. While lying across her lap and watching TV, I randomly told her that I didn't want her to die. I felt a deep sadness. She passed away a couple of years later from brain cancer.

2.) Gut instict - Through out my life I have experienced this. One really IMPORTANT example for me was relationship/romantic based. I woman from work took a liking to me. I had known her for awhile but never thought of "pursuing" her. At first I was excited but at the same time something was telling me that this was not good. PURSUE NO FURTHER. Well despite my gut instincts, I pursued. I have never had so many "roadblocks" put before me just to have a date with her. We did date for a few months. It was a roller-coaster ride of emotions. I have never had anyone make me feel so "emotionally drained". My personal theory was that her spirit was toxic to my spirit.

3.) Telekinesis/Telepathy - There is a recent ATS thread about this, but this is my story. A few years ago, I was at a gathering with friends and their acquaintances. I sat at one end of the long table set up. At one point I was only listening to other conversations and someone brought up something "interesting". As I was looking in an opposite direction admiring the restaurant patio scenery, I saw someone's face light up in my head/mind. I literally turned my head 120 degrees, just to see this guy across a few tables looking at me and nodding in agreement to my thoughts. It was him. He was too far to hear the conversation next to me. Especially with all the noise happening all around.
I looked at him and understood what the situation was. So I walked over and introduced myself. Then asked him if he sensed /read my thought. He said yes. Then we compared notes, and we both got spooked and thought it was cool at the same time. He sensed my strong emotion about what was being said between the people next to me....several long dining tables away.

originally posted by: Annee
You really should just enjoy it.

I always felt crowded until I moved to a couple acres out in the Sonora Desert.

I didn't realize how much of other people's energy I was picking up.

And that in a nutshell is why one must be able to surround oneself with people that make you feel good.

Those that have negative elements around will become saturated with the same vibes.

The old saying, you are known by your associations, has deeper meaning when applied to empathic persons.

I ain't got any special powers or nothing but I do know that a lot of people don't put as much thought into body language as they probably should. I can't empathise with people, but I have become quite good as reading people's body language so I can sort of pretend to empathise, if that makes sense. I had to learn how to do that otherwise I wouldn't get very far in society. Wish it came naturally to me but it doesn't.

My point is that most people don't have my hindrance and react and empathise naturally with others. But I think a large part of their doing this is that they are subconsciously picking up on the other person's body language and responding accordingly. I also suspect that "empathy" is mostly just the ability to imagine someone else's pain happening to you, and that it's really more of a self-preservation technique, y'know like you're learning by the proxy of someone else's experience. Smart thing to do, even if you do do it subconsciously.

As for supposedly picking up on other people's energies, well are you sure it's not just because you're thinking about them at the time? I don't mean to criticise or anything, I'm just curious.

I myself completely lack all psychic ability, I can't actually feel empathy, my chakras are all rotten and my third eye got plucked out by a passing ghost. The only energy I pick up on is what I get from huffing lines.

a reply to: DeepThoughtCriminal

Pragmatic. That's what you are. And that last paragraph was hilarious.

originally posted by: BuzzyWigs

It's kind of exhausting.

Oh Amen on that!!

The rational side of me (ha!) says that my level of empathy stems from an anxiety disorder and a lifetime of synaptic pruning to make me overly sensitive to people's emotions, picking up on body language in minute detail that can either set off alarm bells or the warm and fuzzies.

But the more spiritual side of me be all like, I'm in tune with the world, and all that jazz. It's late at night right now so apologies for lack of language.

Stick me in a busy train station, my emotions are pulled from one extreme to another, back and forth, quick and slow, and yeah, I get knackered. This is why I prefer to stay in my own shell most of the time.

originally posted by: Annee

I didn't realize how much of other people's energy I was picking up.

*nods*

I liken this to being completely covered in double-sided sticky-tape, and picking up everyone else's fluff, lint, dirt, hairs, sesame seeds, etc.

It's also why I refuse to work in retail/customer service ever again. I am happy to work with people but not to be a sitting duck to have potshots taken at.

a reply to: AeonMoon

Watch Sense8 I thing at Netflix…

You will be amazed, and it will talk directly to your Heart, and I don’t mean the action scenes.

It’s so difficult for me to believe it, and I experience this all my life so I become very introvert to protect myself from everything and everyone.

Thanks for sharing.

D.

originally posted by: DeepThoughtCriminal
As for supposedly picking up on other people's energies, well are you sure it's not just because you're thinking about them at the time? I don't mean to criticise or anything, I'm just curious.

No, I don't take that as a criticism. I've asked myself the same thing all the time. I think about a lot of different people a lot, but not all of those people I feel. How I know it just isn't my own thoughts, is that, I may be thinking about someone (example someone I'm dating) but I have no physical reaction, then maybe an hour later (when they aren't even around) I feel physical sensations from them and just "feel" them. I can tell the difference between a thought and the external feeling. It took me many years to figure that out!!!

The weirdest situation I ever had happen, before I even understood what might be happening, is I felt very connected to a friend of mine. One day when I was like 16, I was cleaning and listening to music and I felt particularly connected to her at that moment, I looked down and for a split second it was like I was looking through her eyes for a split second and my hands/arms looked like hers. It freaked me out!!


As for most empathy, I do agree, a lot of it is us picking up on body language, however, when you are empathetic, it's like you are always in a crowded room. I hate that feeling when you pick up on emotions and they are so strong that you think it's coming from you, then you remove yourself from a situation or place and all the sudden it's like those emotions are gone.

a reply to: AeonMoon

I think I understand what you're getting at. I am pretty skeptical but I do try to keep an open mind. I actually find this really interesting.

Have you ever had a situation where someone you know has been in trouble, and you've felt their trouble before even seeing or speaking to them? Like, I had a black lab dog which I had to leave behind at my mum's place when I moved far away. Years later, the dog was pretty old, and I was lying down to sleep in my bed when I saw a shadowy black dog leap right at me then disappear. I had this strange feeling like something was amiss, so I called my mum the next day and she informed me that my dog had indeed finally succumbed to old age the night before. I've had a couple of weird experiences like that, do you think it's similar to what you've got going on?

I think the human brain has a lot of untapped power. Talk about "sensing" other to most people and you'll just get laughed at. But I spent some time with Australian Aboriginal people and one of them told me about how they used to communicate over fairly long distances with something kind of like telepathy - it wasn't words being directly implanted into someone's head, but more like, I guess, feelings. That's not the right word but I hope you know what I mean.

And it makes sense evolutionarily. Like how I said before about subconsciously reading body language and how we can use this to learn from the experiences of other people. Being connected to people the way you're describing could be a very useful ability, for example in terms of protecting your friends and family.

Can you do it intentionally? Like can you focus in on a particular person deliberately, just to, I dunno, check up on em?