Empaths and thier "powers" fiction or reality?

reply to post by jaduguru

not because they cant handle/cope with the emotions of others ( they can Very well ) .. its because Others cant handle being around them. They will show you Who you Are in an instant. Most people feel Very uncomfortable having somebody else peer into the depths of their being. Why ? .. Because most live in a duality.

Thank you for this Truth, I had always found it so.

reply to post by JohnCreed777


We all know when the ones we love are not feeling well. We know when a child is unhappy. We can usually tell how a person is feeling just by looking at them so I say real. Ask any Momma she'll tell you. And she usually can manipulate the emotions of her children to bring them around to being happy again. When a person can be soothed just by a touch, thats real too. Its just not magical or paranormal.

Originally posted by Scaledown
There's been a couple of different names given to this ... Highly Sensitive people, indigo children etc etc. There definitely are some people that feel more than others (my opinion) but directly effecting others, i doubt it or you'd definitely have someone on youtube by now

I thought the indigos were (cough cough) the bastardized half breeds of the aliens and humans!

reply to post by JohnCreed777


anyone and everyone whom disbelieves can do just that, and disbelieve.

Im not here to convert anyone to the idea of which this is a special power, nor do i care whether other people believe in me, or the other posters.

Im am just simply saying that it is a very real gift, and all who say that it is not real...

...well sorry, you have obviously not experienced it yet yourselves and probably will not for quite a while.

As there is a huge difference between being empathic and having empathy. The psychic word empathic is derived of the word empathy, in case anyone was confused by that.

As far as the realm of empathic intuition goes, no offense to anyone here, but who are any of you to tell any other person what they do/have experienced and have not?

NO ONE on this thread had called themselves "special" and im sure that no one wants to think of themselves as special for having a psychic ability with which they actually have to FEEL other peoples pain.

YES i said FEEL other people's pain. Do you all not understand what that means?
No not, "dude my gf broke up with me"....."aww dude i feel your pain".

Its more like HOLY CRAP I CAN ACTUALLY FEEL HOW THIS PERSON IS GENUINELY UPSET ABOUT SOMETHING!

It has been said already, and I will re-state it for the people that cannot get it through their heads due to lack of respect and understanding of the subject matter....

If you do not like people talking about it and believe that they should not brag about their "special powers". There is a really easy solution....


Also this thread was initially meant for the OP to get more information on empaths as he was a bit skeptical.

HENCE:

Are there any 'empaths' here on ats? If so what can you tell me? If not id like to hear your side too. Thank, your time is much appreciated.

Heeeere's Your Sign,
Mike

reply to post by JohnCreed777


I too am an "empath". For me, it's both physical and emotional. It makes life very difficult and confusing. Here are some examples of what happens to me.

1. I can be perfectly fine, feeling great, then talk to a friend on the phone, hundreds of miles away. If this friend has a nasty cold, by the time I get off of the phone I have every symptom. My nose is runny, feel run down, tired, and just plain yucky, my voice changes and I sound like I have a bad cold. I think sometimes, I even will get a fever. Then after a few hours, it all clears up and I'm fine again. Another example is seeing someone with a badly sprained ankle. After a short period of time, my ankle will swell up and become extremely painful, especially when walking. Again, a few hours after leaving the presence of that person, I am fine again.

2. Emotionally, If I am around several people, I can take on their emotional state, such as being angry, depressed, stressed, or upset in general.

I have not been able to learn to sort out which are my physical and emotional feelings and which are physical and emotional feelings from others. It makes life challenging when I don't know if I am actually sick, or actually angry. It is extremely frustrating. I hope someday to learn techniques from other empaths for sorting this out.

This thread got my attention, because I am an Empath. Lets put it like this. I can tell when my wife is pissed about something without even looking at her. I can feel when an atmosphere is a bad place to be; and that goes for people too. If I see someone who has bad energy or bad intentions, I can pick up on it instantly.

But I this allows me to read people like a book if you will. I can sniff out intent a mile away.

being empathic is usually about 'feelings'', the intuition of anothers emotions, understanding those as being sad, happy, angry, etc. etc.
though there can be a more physical than psychological outcome for some who are prone to being an empath, the connection of not only of understanding, but of being induced and recieving these "feelings" from those who have such connections.

for example, pain which is experienced when another is hurt, the "feeling" recieved as a physical sense of same hurt felt by the empath as by the one originating such hurt. it may not mean that if one recieves a cut to an arm, the other also, but the action and feel of such cut is induced towards both.
same implies to emotional states where the psychological bond becomes bound to physical senses between the connection and empath to form a copy of such a "feeling" of one another.

this could pose risks for the reciever, having no control over untimely reactions, emotions, physical well being, overcoming the empaths own state of being, and induced to "feelings" bought forth as a result through such connection.

there are "powers" like the extra senses being imposed, though for some, these can be more a hinderence than something special between what you recieve to that of being solely one without.

There is also a difference between being an empath and being clairsentient. An empath is mostly sensitive to and spongelike with the emotional states of others. A clairsentient can feel physical sensations of pain or disease in their own bodies that are being experienced by another person. There are other characteristics as well, but I'm only speaking of things I've had direct experience with, and I'm no expert.

These abilities can be seen as a curse or as a blessing. I believe that when we reach a point where we can see them as a blessing, we can make a difference in others and feel better ourselves. I'm an energy worker, (reiki and others) and I used to consciously intend to feel what the other person was feeling in their body so I could direct the healing energy and light to specific places. I no longer do this, it feels intrusive on my part, it's none of my business. It was too much of an ego driven practice "Look at me, look what I can do!". Ego has no place in energy work. Now when I send healing energy and light, I intend that the recipient use it in whatever way is for the highest good of all. It all comes down to intentions

I'm like most empaths and clairsentients, I feel best when I'm isolated or in nature and with my animals and tend to avoid large gatherings. It takes awareness to recognize what belongs to others and what belongs to us, and this is best accomplished when we know ourselves, which is best achieved in quiet and/or isolated environments. Pay attention to what's within. Then we can begin the practice of allowing negative energies to flow through us and out, infusing them with light from the Source, and sending that energy out into the world or back to the person it came from. This is how we can effect a positive change on others. Deliberate manipulation with specific outcomes in mind, is not a good practice, even if it seems positive to us. It's always about pure intention, it's always about connecting with the Source energy and it's always kept non-specific, for the highest good of all.

We definitely can and do effect each other every minute of every day, all of us do it. We need to consciously make an effort to put positive energy out into the world, positive emotions, positive words and more and more people will begin to resonate with a higher vibration.

reply to post by PsyMike91


It just feels like that distinction between being 'empathic,' and being an 'empath' is lost on some people.

And I have never met an empath who thought he was 'special.' Most are quite hampered by this, and it causes their lives much disruption.

Please realize what we're talking about when we say a person is an empath is beyond normal empathy. If you read the two examples I wrote of my husband's experiences, you will see in both:

1. He had no contact with the person prior to receiving these emotions. In one case, he was sound asleep. here was no 'seeing how someone was acting, or hearing them talk and empathizing.

2. He TOLD ME about the feelings he was getting BEFORE he contacted these people to confirm. I know you all don't know me, so might think I'm not being truthful? But I am. So, I suppose you just have to accept or dismiss me.

There are innumerable instances of him 'getting' someone, then contacting to confirm. It is really rough going through this, but contacting seems to help both him and the person whose feelings he has sensed. Often, he has written to someone out of the blue, and received a reply to the tune of "how did you know? Your email helped me more than I can tell you..." kinda thing.

As for this being special thing, I can tell you he would trade anything to not be 'special' like this. In fact, he has decided that this indicates a kind of weakness in his protective defenses. He feels that most people are protected from this kind of thing. As a matter of fact, it gets much more frequent when he isn't feeling too well physically, and less frequent when he feels good.

PsiMike, you asked if he ever wakes up in a bad mood. Not to my knowledge. He also almost never remembers any dreams. He's a very easy going, loving, good natured person. I'm not aware of mood swings in the morning, although coffee is required before too much conversation.

I guess if you have never seen this in action, it might be easy to concllude these people are delusional and ascribing some kind of super psi powers to what is just good ability to read what other people express non verbally.

And I'm not going to change your mind. But, if you ever have seen this in action, you would believe.

reply to post by JohnCreed777


some call it a power...i meen the people, who use it to manipulate.
i learned that its very important to protect yourself from these emotions because thats what psychic bullies(people who go Against gods will) use on there victims. wether its the police, a cult, maybe just a girl you dumped who hates/loves u. i NEVER get angry or judge those that do this without the knowledge of doing it, because everybody has emotions right? and sometimes it can be hard to control or find forgiveness cause thats why we're here on earth in my opinion.
Those who purposly do this can get really good at it, they can create an emotion (any kind) at least i think they do cause ive felt some stuff, god bless these men/women if its there own. And then send it to you or litteraly its like someone is in your face, all these emotions just constantly as long as they leach on to you, you feel it, this person could be on the other side of the planet and its the same as 2 feet away. it really sucks if it happens to you but if it does YOU f..ked up. (Universe/magnet) type Deal
a few reasons
watching occult, illuminati, freemanson stuff zeitgeist for ex. could possibly send you in a direction to be attacked
maybe being a Rebel in highschool or a bully, 10 years later the "bullied" or school narc try to be superHeroes with there so called super powers. Ya im pretty sure cops are trained to use emotions as a weapon EVEN on the innocent
Also you gotta be really carefull of the SPIRITUAL shops you go to, avoid people who call themselves Witches and wiZards, magicians because these shops are mostly traps set by the higher ups to keep tabs on all the new psychics ( witch is everyone in the next 4 to 12 months as the Mayans described it)
what you want to do If your an "indigo" or NEW To this feeling others EMOTIONS, look for people who refer as light workers anything with light and also Reiki practionners they can help...but its not that hard to Deal with it if your in good shape. And ofcourse, know i, God, self, soul. whatever u call it
Im far from an expert but what ive noticed these emotions you receive, you receive them on your solar plexus region and the pit of your stomach, where im pretty sure is the sacral chakra so clean it often"have a hard Ass a hard Core and strong knees" lol and that should keep these emotions from entering your "mind" ALso very Important is to have your Root Chakra clean and firmly rooted to the earth...this is mainly the cause why i struggled for a while with protection, do to extreme sports i had a broken tailbone some f..ked up lower back disks and knees. The person that was constantly attacking me was able to cut my WEAK grounding connection and then start bombarding with all these emotions till i went for a nap, id take about 4-5 a day and then finally found yoga and it stoped

hope this helps with this emotion Post and those who struggle with Anxiety in big or unfamiliar crowds.
ill finish this with a quote.
"Wont use the bang untill you fealing this whole thang BOMBS OVER BAGDAD"
Outkast

reply to post by Grasshopper421


i forgot to mention this kinda stuff mostly happens on the A.D.D. people do to the lack of concentration on there on energy and physical body....FOCUS is the key word

I have considered myself an empath for a couple years now and while I am able to read what people are feeling by looking at them, like most other humans, I am able to feel that person's emotions for a period of time. It is overwhelming and drains my energy very quickly and at my age and probably lack of practice, uncontrollable. I am already quickly drained by being in a place with lots of people for a short period of time, so if i feel a persons emotion, such as sadness, I must sleep due to the overwhelming amount of energy it requires to feel their emotions. I remember one example of this was when I was on a bus to a long distance running competition, we went through a town I had never been to in the past and I could feel happiness radiating from the neighborhood but a few seconds later I was hit with this overbearing weight of sadness and despair and I started crying because I was in a great deal of pain. I don't know why that person was feeling so sad but I wouldn't want to know, It was the worst experiences I've had with this sense. I have hear of people who have the ability to push their own emotions onto non-empaths but There are also those with the ability to take away another person's pain and make it their own.

reply to post by JohnCreed777


I am somewhat of an empath. I can detect people's moods even when they feign it and I can detect when they try to affect mine. Unfortunately, I have always had premonitions of people's upcoming death. I have felt the demise of 12 relatives, not including my parents which are unique on their own.
I love to read animals because they don't hold back. Especially dogs. I would love to touch and "speak" to an elephant or dolphin. That is on my bucket list.

Originally posted by JohnCreed777

Are there any 'empaths' here on ats? If so what can you tell me? If not id like to hear your side too.
Thank, your time is much appreciated.

You know John, if you're still around, it took me a long time to realize that most other people aren't emphatic. I just assumed that everyone could read emotions to the extent that I can seem to. That's why I never understood why people didn't seem to "get" me. It's funny, but people who are emphatic tend to come across as have little or no empathy towards others.

I've never considered it a special "power" or anything. On the contrary. Once I realized that most others don't have the ability, I started to look down on them. Had less empathy for them because I figured if they can't automatically feel what I feel, why should I go out of my way to show them?

This is where most people confuse being emphatic with having empathy. You have empathy towards someone when their emotions are obvious. When little Suzy see's her kitten get run over and she starts crying, you empathize with her. When Suzy is a grown woman sipping coffee at a coffee shop reading a book, and you're at the next table picking up on her feelings, you're emphatic.

This is why most people seem to have to go through the motions when they meet someone for the first time. They're trying to get a line on them. Seeing how they feel about certain things by acting certain ways. It's what some people call "playing the game". Some people though don't have to do that. They can just pick up your vibe without you having to throw it out to them. And that, right there, is what makes most people uncomfortable with being around someone who is highly emphatic. They feel naked in a way because those people have a way of seeing right through them. People who just naturally put on airs.

Emphatic people are, typically, socially awkward. The reasons for that I just pointed out. They make great leaders though when they know what the differences are between them and the majority of other people. The majority that just doesn't seem to know how to think or feel for themselves, therefor they need leaders to do it for them. I'm sure most everyone here as heard the theory that in order to be a great leader, you need little or no empathy. A borderline sociopath if you will. And in all honesty, I think that theory is spot on. But if more people were more outgoing with their beliefs and not so afraid to show what they really feel about things, they wouldn't be in a position to where they would need someone else to do it for them.

All that being the case, I never saw this issue as being a paranormal one, but rather a social one. Emphatic people are all around you, and the one's that are hardened because of society's lack of ability to be that way, have little empathy for them anymore, and end up being their bosses or leaders. Why? Because they can. While everyone is running around trying to figure out a situation, you have a few who just take the bull by the horns and tell everyone else what it's all about.

Everybody has their place, right?

Originally posted by JohnCreed777
Ok, so i'm doing some research on 'empaths', people with the supposed ability to read peoples emotions, and to some have the ability to manilpulate others emotions. Just to clarify im not relying on ATS for info, i'd just like to hear the other side of it along with other opinions.

On one website I read that empaths are said to feel others emotions and interpret them. Then on another sight I read about, empathic manipulation. According to the source, this is when an empath manipulates either their emotions or someone else' and can use it as power, it also said that its very dangerous. To me personally this sounds a bit far fetched. However as I said i'd like to hear both sides. I've seen some "evidence" on youtube but it's as you might guess, inconclusive. Its usually some kid in a video game shirt scrunching his face like he's constipated. I mean no offense.

Are there any 'empaths' here on ats? If so what can you tell me? If not id like to hear your side too.
Thank, your time is much appreciated.

If I can find the links ill post them here.

Empaths would never describe what occurs to them as 'powers'...what occurs is the curse/blessing. 'Feeling' a lie, is a tightrope walk (more angst than exhileration)...especially when contradicted by words to the opposite...so many succumb to the origami of the mind when opposite things happen, can make you look like a loony...and questioning your own feelings (confronting as it already is) is doubly confronting when they are other peoples' 'feelings'...

Å99

It is real, but scientifically I'm not sure how much of it has been explored in the past century or so. I used to be very curious about studying psychology and either becoming a professor or a practicing psychologist while I went deeper into the unconscious which Freud and Yung talked about. I was always curious about where the psychological met the spiritual. So far, it's a difficult conversation to have on an intellectual basis. Spirituality tends to be a very personal thing and makes sense only to that person. For example: that scene in Pulp Fiction where the two hit men are shot at and the bullets miss them completely. One feels "the touch of God" and the other doesn't. The skeptic argues that it was just a freak occurrence and that there is no proof of anything, but the believer argues that it has nothing to do with proof or logic; it's about a shift in consciousness (in other words, it occurs on an unconscious level.)

As for psychic ability, yes, it does exist. Skeptics are right in that there is no known proof (at least none that I can presently reference.) I have experienced it for myself however and I've personally learned it to be true. Firstly, I was always a Sensitive myself (Sensitive being code for somewhat or modestly psychic.) When I was little, I was very psychic. I literally felt the emotions of other children like they were my own: pain, joy, humor, you name it. It's similar to, if you've ever walked into a room where a couple were having a heated argument. You can "feel it in the air," or you can "cut the tension with a knife." It's like that, just more sensitive (you also pick up on subtle things.) I still have this ability, I've just repressed much of it to make my life easier. One night at a party I turned to a girl I didn't know. A young man had left her side with some friends. I didn't mean to peer into her private business, but when I turned to her my senses were on and she was like an open book to me. I said: "It's OK, they'll make it home alright." You see, she was worried that her boyfriend might not make it home safe as his idiot friends were about to drive while drunk. She was freaked that I knew exactly what she was thinking and I so I just passed it off as a lucky guess. I've also experienced telepathy on rare occasions.

Secondly, I had an online Australian friend who was a full-fledged psychic. Despite my own experiences with it, I didn't actually believe that someone could consciously look into someone's life. I considered it a fluke or accidental thing. I thought of 'psychics' as lying fortunetellers who just bamboozle people. Anyway, she could see through the eyes of spirits (mostly ghosts.) I didn't believe it. She was a very open and honest person and I wasn't comfortable with her giving me a reading because I assumed it would be wrong and I'd have to find a polite way of saying so without hurting her feelings. She described the logging going on where I lived (which I'd forgotten because it happened away from the roads,) and the color of the house I was living in. I passed these off as clever guesses. She then listed the exact names of my parents and the first initial of my sister. At this point I felt disappointed in her, assuming that somehow she’d found enough about me (even though I never told her anything more than my first name) and had traced the info online. She then described my bedroom exactly: from the dreamcatcher in my window to my desk shelves which were ajar, to the socks strewn over my floor, to my exact posture on the bed (lying slouched forward and to one side) and even the awkward position of my laptop on my lap! I was stunned. In an instant I became a believer that a person really could, with conscious intention, give an accurate psychic reading!

Bear in mind, there are different kinds of psychics. Some are more sensitive to people's energies and emotions (like myself,) others are better at mind reading and telepathy, others at remote viewing (like my friend mentioned above,) others have random insights, and others pick up on spiritual energies specifically and 'work with them' (to cleanse a room from negative energy, etc.) Psychic ability seems like a freak thing which some people are either born with (in my case due to my Celtic background, I believe,) and in others they may just tap into it. It's like breaking the rules, seeing what wasn't meant to be seen. It's beyond the physical, the regular five senses that normal people are limited to. People who develop these abilities are often those who've had OBE type experiences from a young age or always just had a sense of the spirit being separate from the body. Sometimes there is a psychological reason for it, but one way or another, we are open where others are closed.

Hi there

Since a very young age I have been able to read people's emotions (animals as well) simply by observing. However - I am extremely sensitive to energies, and I think this plays a major role in my empathetic abilities. For those of you that see being an empath as a 'gift' of some sort - I strongly disagree. I would not wish this on my worst enemy. I am 20 years old now, and I've been severely depressed for years. I have little control over what I feel - mainly because when I am around others I am constantly picking up on what THEY are feeling instead of what I should be feeling. I struggle to go out in public, and little chores like getting groceries have become huge inconveniences for me.

Two years ago when my mother couldn't handle my constant crying and moodswings any more she sent me to the city hospital so that they could conduct a series of tests on me. To cut a long story short - the consensus in the end was that I have a rare condition called "Mirror Touch Synthesia". They put me on new medication and had me taking up to 4 pills a day - they even tried shock therapy... But nothing really worked. The pills dulled the feelings, but they also took away my own emotions. Living like a robot was no life at all. So, against the wishes of the 'experts', I dialed back on the meds in order to actually feel alive.

I feel whatever I see. For example - a few days ago I was with my boyfriend in the supermarket and a small child fell. His dad hurriedly jerked him up by his arm and kept walking - the boy didn't shed a tear but I felt the most overwhelming sense of shame and a desperate need for something (I have trouble placing the emotions sometimes). An electric shot of pain also ran through my shoulder as if the man had jerked my arm instead of his son's. I had to make a huge effort not to cry in public - but the moment we got into the car I burst into tears. The worst part of the whole incident was that the child, in the end, was stronger than me.

This kind of thing happens to me on a daily basis...Sometimes even when I'm alone and I enter rooms/buildings with a history I become overwhelmed.

Trust me - this is no life. It's a #ing curse.

Got to ask the question. Has anyone done a double blind test on this?

I've seen it where an empath felt it was a curse since everything they did or said would be like a magnet to something going on with a person. On the flip side I think people need certain things brought to the surface as to face and deal with it. But for most empaths it seems to be a burden to all but the ones who control this gift versus be controlled by it or abuse it to trick theirselves that they are in control.

reply to post by JohnCreed777


Everyone is an "empath," as you call it. Everyone can sense and manipulate others emotions, some are simply more tuned into the idea than others.

For example, if you exude a positive attitude you will tend to uplift the emotions of those around you thus manipulating their emotions, though it seems a harsh word in this case. Have you ever been around a negative individual whom you then felt drained by after? They manipulated your emotions.

As for sensing emotions, I am sure you and many others have picked up before that someone around you is perhaps sad or happy without having to first ask them or converse with them. It is quite a common occurrence and in no way a unique or phenomenal ability.

Do not allow separation of yourselves through the idea that "I am an empath and others are not," because all of you are. It comes with a default aspect of your being, as you are emotional creatures and always receptive to this.