Sensitives and Empaths the Struggle is Real: Does it Have to Be?
BEING A SENSORY MAGNET
Do you despise being around lots of people? Not because you don’t like people, but because the energy is so overwhelmingly draining that now you are nesting in your home refusing to socialize much. You are a sponge to the environment around you. You are a magnet to the vibrations of others and without a set of individual tools to navigate the onslaught of information in the ether, you would rather save yourself from any uncomfortable sensations or further torture. Preserving your own energy, well-being, and calming the nervous system are your top priorities. Staying in, declining invitations to socialize, and ordering all of your essential needs to your home become all too familiar. Some label this introversion, or that you are a hermit, even a psychological disorder, but that can be misleading for empaths and intuitive types. Not all sensitive people are introverts, but they may appear that way for their own sanity.
Is this you? Do you feel like you are lost in a sea of energy and have no idea how to manage it? Do you want to mingle more, but are afraid you’ll have to bolt out the back door at the first sign of inner panic? Don’t worry, you are not alone. Plenty of people are receptive to energy and frequencies. Just because you didn’t take this class in school growing up, does not mean it isn’t a very real experience to have. And when people signal that you are way too sensitive and it is bringing you down, remember that even if you are currently challenged by your experience, this can absolutely be a strength for you in the future. People are often threatened by those that live life and feel life a little differently. Be prepared for all kinds of attacks, judgments, and puzzled looks from others that simply misunderstand you. It might be best to save some of the more outrageous experiences for your more “out there” friends.
An important thing to recognize is that your sensitivities are communicating something to you. These feelings don’t just appear for no reason. When you think you are under attack from the energetic world, when you think that somebody has cast the worst possible spell in your direction, it keeps you in a cyclical pattern of believing you have no power. If you think everything is attacking you, it becomes very difficult to make the situation work for you. The first helpful tool in making your life as an intuitive or empath, is to realize you can discover your own unique tools to keep yourself grounded, emotionally calm and available, and able to help those that are in need. Sitting in your cozy home is wonderful, but if you don’t learn how to work with the abilities you have been given, you may play dodge ball for a very long time.
PROS AND CONS FOR EMPATHS & SENSITIVES
If you are an intuitive of any kind, you know that the negatives of having such a sensitive system can outweigh any sign of the positives. Your mind will remind you of this fact regularly. And there can certainly be plenty of cons in the world of heightened sensory awareness. For example, large, crowded spaces flood your nervous system with all kinds of stimulation. Sounds, smells, chatter, and not to mention the amount of visual stimulation are all pouring into your head. All of these together feels like you are drowning with no ability to discern what you are actually picking up. It’s easy to get lost in the field of vibrational information. When this occurs, your nervous system may jump into fight or flight, and you want out of this situation ASAP. You may find this happens over and over again, which creates a sense of powerlessness.
Another big challenge is feeling isolated and alone, that no one understands you, or that you won’t be able to participate in the normal activities of life. You can lose sight of hope and find yourself at a loss of how to change this situation. You would rather stay locked in than try to work through the physical energies flooding your system. So many intuitive people have some level of discomfort before they discover how to work with the information being presented to them. When you get tired of feeling helpless, when you realize there must be a way to work with what you are feeling, then you shift your power from victim into the curious student who is willing to figure it out.
Although it may take awhile to feel completely comfortable with the vibrations you experience, you can begin to see how your empathetic nature brings a much deeper connection with other people. You trust that your internal computer is working on your behalf, and anytime you begin to pick up on something new, instead of cowering to a perceived danger, you now shift this perspective and wonder what it is trying to tell you. Are you being asked to relay a message to another, are you being alerted that this person is in need of help, or are you simply there to hold space for whatever needs to occur in the energetic exchange? Learning to depersonalize the situation so you can listen when you are being communicated to allows you to be of service. This turns the overwhelming cons into proactive encounters with depth and meaning.
FINDING YOUR OWN SKILL SET
Every sensitive person has their own unique tools, techniques, and abilities to help them decipher the energies they are receiving. What works for you to keep your feet on the ground, may do nothing for someone else. The process of learning what works for you is a series of trial and error. It may take trying many different skills before you find what really works for you. And even then, what may have worked for you in the past, may suddenly be useless. First and foremost, always remain flexible and willing to change how you need to operate. If something is not working, try something new. Never stop fine-tuning your own set of tools.
Grounding is a word used a lot. This word can be used in many different ways. Are you feeling expansive like you’re about to take flight and need to do something VERY physical to keep your feet firmly on the ground? Are you comfortable feeling a bit out there and you use a visual grounding technique? Both mental and physical grounding are things to consider if you are feeling very disconnected from your physical body when you are flooded with information.
Mastering your nervous system becomes a requirement for most sensitives. Knowing how to balance a system running wild from fight or flight, nourishing the body with clean water and clean food, exercising, and meditation can be helpful practices to keep your system working properly. Breath work is probably one of the most important. After all it is our main source of life as well as a means of calming the nervous system. Learning various breathing techniques that you can apply during heightened experiences can keep you from fleeing the situation. The more practice you give yourself, the more you place yourself in uncomfortable environments, the more you will learn.
Once you feel confident with grounding and mastering your nervous system, then you can begin to trust that whatever energies you pick up on can simply flow through you like an air purifier, or like water. Energy in, energy out. There is no need to hold onto it or give it any significant meaning. If you are meant to know what you are feeling, you will. You may be there as a medium to help transform what may not be working for someone, into showing them how it can. Always be fine tuning your skills. The more you stay in tune with this, the easier it will become.
YOUR HEIGHTENED SENSITIVY CAN BE AN ASSET FOR OTHERS
Over time, you will come to see how your innate abilities can be used to help and serve others. Why keep all that energy bouncing around inside of you? Allow it to extend outward, to be altered for good. If a friend comes to you with a difficult life circumstance, as difficult as it may be for you to FEEL this in your system, keep your breath slow and calm, keep your feet firmly on the ground, and let go of needing to know what the intelligence field means. Can you just be there for your friend, let the waves move through you, focus on their words, not your body, breathe in, breath out, and see what happens? Does it become easier when you lose your attachment to the energy itself, and focus your attention on your friend in need? Do you open up a space within you for communication to be received? When you are busy freaking out in your mind and panicking in your body, you can’t possibly be connected to the information that may need to be heard.
When you shift out of being confined to your home and realize that you have to learn how to use the skills you have been given, everything changes! You feel capable, connected, and willing to see where this experience leads you even if you don’t have all the answers. Learning to listen to what you need is huge! Do you need more time in nature, do you need more rest, do you need more movement, do you need more nourishment, do you need more practice in public, go through and ask yourself all of these questions and more. What do you need to make your life as an intuitive empath balanced, effective, and enjoyable? Because your gifts are unique to you, you will have your own set of remedies that work best.
Anytime you feel you are struggling, that you still can’t be around a lot of people without feeling drained, know that sometimes you must listen to what is best for you. Maybe limit your time in larger groups, give yourself whatever you feel is needed at any given time. Recharging your own battery is of primary importance. If you require the weekend to detach, to get in nature, and have much needed time alone, then make it happen. When you are ready for more socializing, go for it. Empaths and intuitives have so much to offer, so much to give, it’s a shame to see these beautiful gifts hiding for lack of learning how to work with your individual field of energy. Trust that you wouldn't be in this situation if you couldn’t do it. You absolutely CAN! It’s only a matter of will.