The Dark Side Of Empaths
The world may not understand, but you do. You, the empath, know it all too well; the darkness that comes from having this unexplainable gift. A pain and sadness that is unique to those who feel every vibration of energy around them as if a million fingers were plucking the strings of their soul.
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You are the person others often turn to when they need to release their burdens, and, for this, you are seen as a grounded, reliable character. Yes, you are sensitive, but you seem to cope so well with the emotional turmoil that is thrust upon you.
Little do these people know that, on the inside, you are a raging ball of contrasting feelings, all muddled together to form an incomprehensible and never-ending noise that you struggle to silence.
Sometimes it is so overwhelming that it feels like an invisible hand is clasped tight around your neck; a pressure so intense that it takes every ounce of your strength not to suffocate.
Sadly, it’s the negative energy that you feel the most, and it’s only made worse by the world you see around you. The suffering, the heartache, and the malevolent forces that cause it weigh down on you far more than the good, and the benevolent can lift you up. Society just wasn’t designed for people like you.
Inside your heart, the feelings are only ever felt deeply and with great intensity; there is no middle ground, no volume dial with which to dampen the senses. It is both mentally and physically exhausting to live your life in an almost constant state of heightened emotion, but you hold it togetherโฆmostlyโฆto give a composed, if sometimes a little awkward, appearance.
It can be a lonely existence as an empath; even if you are surrounded by people, the mixing of energies can leave you feeling lost. You become unsure of where you end and where others begin, and this blurring of personal boundaries only serves to dilute your own sense of being.
Sadly, this feeling of isolation can drive you into the hands of people who seek to take advantage of you. Your longing for an identity, and to be liked or loved for who you are, can see you fall into the traps set byย manipulators and abusers. They prey on sensitive people like you who want to feel that sense of belonging.
You, being the kind and loving soul that you are, do not see the dangers that lurk all around. You are blind to the malicious intentions of those who are devoid of feeling, and in your attempt to help them, you risk becoming embroiled in their games.
Yet you can’t resist the temptation to try and help others; it is your very nature to turn your attention to the ills and needs of those in trouble because you somehow feel that helping them will help yourself.
You don’t see the burden that this level of selflessness is putting on your life, or if you do, you resist the temptation to acknowledge it for fear of once again being forced to face your own demons. You prefer to walk through the streets hunched with the weight of the world pressing down on you, rather than walk freely and see your own pain and hurt ahead of you.
This avoidance does you no good in the long term because sooner or later your heart and mind go into spasm, driven to the brink by a failure to address the real issues. By delaying the start, you simply dig a deeper pit into which you willingly throw yourself to escape the outside world. You withdraw from everything and cocoon yourself physically and emotionally so that you may delve deep within and tackle your underlying wounds.
Your agony during this time is great; how could it be any less in a person who experiences emotions in such a deep and profound way? Your torment is such because your heart metaphorically rips apart as you struggle with all the pain that resides there โ both yours and that which you have absorbed.
Speaking of hearts, you aren’t always able to give yours fully to a loving partner, and this leaves you with some sadness and regret. But to open up fully would mean to experience the sheer, unbridled intensity of love in its rawest form. You just don’t know if you can handle such a powerful force, and you doubt whether a partner would be able to cope if you tried to let it all in.
So you shield yourself somewhat, never showing your entire hand; you hold something back to prevent potential future heartache from destroying you completely. Yet you long for a time when you can embrace love in all its passion and force, because you know in your heart that this is what you truly want.
You shouldn’t let yourself be defeated by your powerful, yet challenging gift. There is hopeโฆ.there is always hope.
The dark side needn’t win out forever. You can, with some practice, and with the support of those who love you, learn to cope with the piercing severity of the emotions you experience. Your pain and hurt can be eased, and you can learn to recognize which feelings are yours and which come from external energy sources.You needn’t live with your guard constantly up; there is a way to let others in without becoming overwhelmed by what you feel. It comes through acceptance, earnest effort, and the sheer will and determination not to let your prized quality become your lifelong prison.ย Never give up, never give in.ย 
4 Signs You’re An Intuitive Empath (Not Just An Empath)
While the words are seen as interchangeable by some or intrinsically linked by others, it is very much the case that not all empaths are intuitives and not all intuitives are empaths.
In fact, the two abilities โ empathy and intuition โ are quite different in one important respect.
Empathy is, very generally speaking, the ability to sense and feel the emotions and energy of other people and your surroundings. It is almost entirely outward facing and concerned with things other than oneself.ย Intuition, on the other hand, involves turning inward and consulting your unconscious mind and ‘gut feelings’ to assess and understand a situation. It certainly relies upon absorbing and processing the world around you, but the final element is very much internal.
Thus, the assumption that people endowed with highly levels of empathy are equally as blessed with intuition is misguided. They are distinct aspects of one’s personality and should not be merged into a single trait.
With this in mind, how can you be sure whether you are an intuitive empath, or some other type of empath? What marks one apart from the other?
Here are 4 signs that you are an empath with a high degree of intuition.
1. You Can Tell The Difference Between Your Feelings And Those Of Others
One of the major struggles facing many empaths is the assimilation of other people’s feelings into their own mind and body. The energy they absorb merges with their own and pollutes their inner river. They often become like those around them because they cannot tell what’s theirs and what’s not.
For instance, if they encounter angry people, they grow angrier; if they meet an anxious person, this feeds their own anxieties; and if they come across sadness in others, they become sad themselves.
It’s very different for an intuitive empath. They are so in-tune with their inner state that they are able to easily differentiate between it and anything they might soak up from their surroundings.
They are less influenced by the emotions of others. While they can still recognize and feel these emotions, the impact upon their own mental state is less noticeable than it is for other empaths.
They are better at creating a permeable, but controllable, barrier between their own feelings and those of others. They are able to let the two merge should they wish, but they can also keep them separate for the most part.
2. You Can See Beyond Feelings To The Reasons For Them
While empathy allows you to detect and embody the feelings of others, it cannot, by itself, tell you why they are feeling that way.
For non-intuitive types of empaths, this can be a source of great confusion because they end up feeling something that they can’t fully understand or explain.
One of the traits of an intuitive individual, however, is the ability to take a step back and view things from a broad perspective, and this allows them to identify the links โ both direct and indirect โ between cause and effect.
Intuitive empaths spot things that other empaths don’t; they let their unconscious reflect on what they see, and it provides them with insight into why a person may be feeling they way they are.
They don’t necessarily do this with any conscious intent; it is simply a natural instinct and skill that comes from having both empathy and intuition in abundance.Sometimes an intuitive empath may even have a better understanding of a person’s feelings than the person does themselves. This is a major reason for the next sign.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 3. You Help People Understand Their Own Feelingsย If you’re an intuitive empath, there is a good chance that you’ve helped many people figure out what they are feeling and, more importantly, why they are feeling it.You probably enjoy talking with others about their emotions, their thoughts, their dreams, and their worries. You just seem to be able to ‘get’ what it is they are telling you even if they can’t really put it into words.Like most people, you have probably experienced the full spectrum of feelings during your lifetime and these are stored, along with the relevant context, deep within your unconscious. It is your intuitive ability to perceive and understand the signals sent by this part of your mind that prove so valuable in identifying why others feel a certain way.You aren’t just able to put yourselves in their shoes from an emotional standpoint; you can grasp their rationale and the wider circumstances too. These help you to piece together a more detailed picture and give them potential reasons for their feelings.4. You Are The Go-to Person For Advice And Counsellingย With their abilities to understand and appreciate the feelings of others and their inclination towards taking a bird’s eye view of things, intuitive empaths make ideal counselors.You are probably the person others turn to first when they are facing a problem and are unable to see a solution to it. Once you have spoken to them, felt what they feel, and understood why they feel that way, you have one last trick up your sleeve: your creativity.Intuitives tend to be creative people and their knack for thinking outside of the box means they are exemplary problem-solvers. You are able to suggest various ways of approaching the situation and offer the pros and cons of each.ย Where third parties are involved, you are also adept at stepping into their shoes so as to consider how they might respond to each given option โ even if you have never met them and are simply going on what you’ve been told.ย All of these things mean you are often called upon by friends and family members to lend an ear and provide advice. You become a confidant of sorts; someone that they can discuss anything with and someone they know will give a frank, but constructive response. ย ย Are these signs apparent in you and your life? If so, perhaps you are an intuitive empath after all.ย
Blessings!