Empath survival guide: The Complete Survival Manual for Healing, Self-Discovery, and Avoiding Abusers

By Tom Kane

What if you could embark on a transformative journey of healing, self-discovery, and empowerment as an empath, all within the pages of one comprehensive guide?

Drawing from personal experiences and expert insights, this guide reveals the steps to heal emotional wounds, protect yourself from energy drains, and embrace your empathic gifts to their fullest potential. From understanding empathic traits to setting healthy boundaries, you'll discover practical tools to reclaim your power and transform your empathic nature into a source of empowerment.

Here’s just a fraction of what you’ll learn inside the book:

- Techniques to nurture your emotional well-being and develop resilience as an empath.

- Strategies to differentiate between your emotions and those of others, fostering emotional clarity.

- How to identify and distance yourself from toxic relationships and energy vampires.

- Practical exercises for setting boundaries and protecting your energy in various situations.

- Ways to embrace your intuitive insights and use them as a powerful compass for self-discovery.

- How to channel your empathic abilities into healing and supporting others with compassion.

- Techniques for self-care and grounding to maintain balance in a world of overwhelming stimuli.

In addition to the enriching content, you'll gain access to a bonus course covering every aspect of honing your empathic and psychic skills.

So even if you are new to this field you will find a mini-course, not to get overwhelmed, that walks you through everything step by step. You’ll find everything explained in plain English, free from any specialized language.

Moreover, you'll join a supportive community of like-minded individuals, where you can seek guidance and share experiences on your path to empowerment. Have questions? Reach out to us via email and will reply to you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Publishdrive
• Release date: Apr 16, 2023

Book preview

CHAPTER 1:

What is an empath and

how can you spot one?

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A

n empath is a person who is very sensitive to the feelings and emotions of others. Their ability to perceive what others are feeling extends beyond empathy (defined merely as the ability to understand another person's feelings) to really taking on those feelings; feeling what another person is feeling on a deep emotional level.

The English term empathy comes from the Ancient Greek word empatho (empathetic, meaning physical affection or passion).

This, in turn, is derived from (en, in, at) and (o, out) (pathos, passion or suffering). The term was adopted by Hermann Lotze and Robert Vischer to develop the German Einfühlung (feeling into). In 1909, Edward B. Titchener translated Einfühlung as empathy into English. In modern Greek, it can refer to bias, malevolence, malice, or hatred, depending on the context.

Empathy has had a wide range of (often contradicting) definitions among experts and laypeople since its debut in the English language.

Empathy definitions cover a wide range of phenomena, including caring for others and wanting to help them; experiencing feelings that are similar to another person's emotions; determining what another person is thinking or feeling; and blurring the lines between self and other.

Empathy is defined as the ability to understand the emotional experiences of others, and its definition is taken from the way emotions are defined. If emotions are centrally characterized by bodily feelings, for example, grasping another's bodily feelings will be important to empathy. If, on the other hand, emotions are more centrally defined by a mix of beliefs and wishes, understanding these beliefs and desires will be more important for empathy. The ability to see oneself as someone else is a complex creative process. The basic ability to perceive emotions, on the other hand, is most likely innate and acquired unconsciously. Empirical research, on the other hand, reveals that empathy can be taught and increased through a variety of methods.

Empathy has to have a more or less quality to it. A person communicating an accurate recognition of the significance of another person's ongoing deliberate acts, accompanying emotional states, and personal qualities in a manner that the recognized person can tolerate is the paradigm case of an empathetic encounter. Empathy is defined by accurate and bearable recognition.

The ability to recognize another's bodily feelings is linked to one's imitative abilities and appears to be based on an innate ability to associate the proprioceptive feelings of producing the corresponding movements or expressions one sees in another with the proprioceptive feelings of producing those movements or expressions oneself.

Differences between empathy and

other similar notions

Empathy is related to the words compassion and sympathy. When others are in need, compassion is typically defined as an emotion that encourages individuals to help them. Compassion, like empathy, has a plethora of definitions and supposed characteristics (many of which have some overlap with some of the various definitions of empathy). Sympathy is a feeling of concern and empathy for someone who is in need. Some scholars include an empathic worry, or a feeling of concern for another, in sympathy, as well as a desire to see them better off or happy.

Empathy is connected to pity and emotional contagion, but is typically distinguished from them. Pity is an emotion that one has for people who are in distress or in need of assistance because they are unable to solve their difficulties on their own; it is commonly referred to as feeling sorry for someone. Emotional contagion occurs when a person (particularly a child or a member of a mob) imitates the emotions displayed by others without necessarily realizing it.

Unlike empathy, which is about someone else, alexithymia refers to a lack of comprehending, processing, or describing one's own feelings.

Classification

Empathy can be broken down into two types: cognitive empathy and affective empathy.

Empathic affect

Affective empathy, also known as emotional empathy, is the ability to respond to another's mental conditions with an appropriate emotion.

Emotional contagion underpins our ability to empathize emotionally: being influenced by the emotional or arousal state of another.

The following scales can be used to categorize affective empathy:

Empathic concern refers to feelings of sympathy and compassion for others in the face of their suffering.

Personal distress is characterized by self-centered sentiments of discomfort and concern in response to the suffering of others. There is little agreement on whether personal sorrow is a basic component of empathy or does not qualify as empathy. This subdivision could have a development aspect to it. Infants respond to others' distress by becoming distressed themselves; they do not begin to respond in other-oriented ways until they are two years old, when they try to help, comfort, and share.

Empathy in the brain

Cognitive Empathy is the ability to comprehend another person's point of view or mental state. Although the phrases social cognition, perspective-taking, theory of mind, and mentalizing are frequently used interchangeably, it is unclear whether they are equivalent due to a paucity of studies comparing theory of mind to other types of empathy.

Despite the fact that science has yet to settle on a specific description for these entities, there is agreement on the distinction.

Affective and cognitive empathy are also distinct from one another; someone who empathizes intensely emotionally isn't always good at comprehending another's point of view.

The following scales can be used to categorize cognitive empathy:

The tendency to automatically accept other people's psychological perspectives is known as perspective-taking.

The tendency to identify with fictional characters is known as fantasy.

Tactical (or strategic) empathy is the intentional application of perspective-taking to achieve specific goals.

Although self-report questionnaires and behavioral tests are used to assess cognitive empathy, a 2019 meta analysis found just a minor correlation between the two, implying that people are generally unable to effectively judge their own cognitive empathy abilities.

A Different Definition

Simply said, an empath experiences other people's emotions more strongly than a normal person. I would define an empath as someone who is extremely sensitive to the emotions and emotional states of those around them, Anna Kim, associate social worker at Kindman & Co., explains. She believes that this sensitivity stems from personality peculiarities, early childhood trauma, or relational trauma. While this may appear to be a desirable trait, it is not without its drawbacks. Those who identify as empaths frequently fail to distinguish their own feelings from those of others or have difficulty setting boundaries, Kim adds. Because the term empath does not appear in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), it is not a recognized diagnosis. Instead, you may declare yourself to be an empath. (Related: A Therapist Who Works with First Responders Shares 5 Steps to Working Through Trauma)

Empathy is defined as the ability to understand how other people feel, but empaths go above and beyond. Empathy exists on a spectrum, says Judith Orloff, M.D., author of The Empath's Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People and a self-identified empath. Ordinary empathy lies in the middle of the continuum, when your heart breaks for someone's suffering or joy. An empath is a person who is on the higher end of the spectrum. They are empathic, but they are also emotional sponges who absorb the world's angst.

It's difficult to go through life as an emotional sponge. "

Dr. Orloff agrees.As a result, empaths can feel tremendous compassion for others—yet they can become fatigued from experiencing 'too much' unless they learn to protect their sensitivities and set healthy limits. (See How to Set Boundaries with Anyone in Your Life for more information.)

Empaths of Various Types

Empathic Emotions

This type of empath is sensitive to other people's feelings. According to mindbodygreen, this is the most prevalent form of empath. Emotional empaths catch up on other people's emotions as well as their own. If they can't set limits, life can feel like a roller coaster, as they soak up both pleasant and bad feelings.

The physical empath

The physical empath is aware of the state of others' bodies. According to Greatist, if someone gets a stomach ache, the physical empath will likewise feel the anguish in their own body.

People's mannerisms, personal tics, and physical habits may be mirrored by the physical empath. They do it so naturally and without thinking that it's like unintentionally yawning when another person yawns!

Empathic Intuition

According to the spiritual database IN5D, an intuitive empath is also known as a clairvoyant. An intuitive empath can learn a lot about someone's life, past, barriers, and behaviors just by looking at them. They can also decipher a conversation's subtext.

Empathic Plants

According to IN5D, the plant empath loves plants and understands their needs, even being able to hear their thoughts. They are completely devoted to gardening and enjoy being surrounded by houseplants. According to Well+Good, a plant empath, or plant mom, will wilt along with their flowers. As a result, they make terrific friends since they are kind to everyone.

Empathic Animals

According to IN5D, an animal empath is deeply attached to all animals and can intuitively perceive the requirements of a pet. Do you want to know how to spot animal empaths? They may have an animal-filled home and be interested in dog and cat rescue.

According to Solancha, an animal empath can connect with animals and understand their feelings. They are frequently vegan and refuse to wear leather. When animals are mistreated, they will be deeply saddened. Animal empaths, on the other hand, are drawn to them because of their compassion and sensitivity.

Have you ever found yourself in a pleasant place and had no idea why? Maybe you're a geomantic empath! Geomantic empaths are empaths who have a strong connection to the physical world. A physical landscape can be defined as a location or a specific habitat.

Furthermore, for no apparent reason, these empaths find themselves happy, refreshed, or extremely uncomfortable in specific places. Furthermore, geomantic empaths have a strong attachment to specific locations and are drawn to sacred sites, churches, and other spiritual settings.

What Qualities Do Geomantic Empaths Possess?

Geomantic Empaths are experts at deducing a location's history. They may be able to sense energy from certain events that have occurred in specific locations.

As a result, people may feel fear, excitement, sadness, or other emotions associated with a particular location.

This skill frequently arouses a strong desire to learn more about specific places and their histories. As a result, geomantic empaths excel in fields like history and archeology.

Being a Geomantic Empath Has Its Difficulties.

The disadvantages of empaths like these are that they may find it difficult to recognize when nature or a specific location is being destroyed.

Furthermore, it's possible that it'll make them cry. Their great sense of place is so acute that they feel anguish when they observe a place they value being destroyed.

Furthermore, comprehending why a particular location elicits such powerful feelings might be difficult for empaths of this type. Furthermore, the constant shifting of locales and emotions can leave geomantic empaths perplexed about their own feelings.

This can lead to worry and, in the worst-case scenario, depression. It's critical for geomantic empaths to stay grounded and connected to the soil in order to deal with these emotions. They may want to consider investing in a year-round grounding mat for this purpose.

Finally, this type of empath may feel overwhelmed by certain environments. As a result, many geomantics prefer to keep them separate from specific locations.

An Empath for the Earth

According to mindbodygreen, Earth empaths embrace Mother Nature and are frequently influenced by weather, especially when there is a natural calamity. These empaths, also known as geomantics, can frequently sense the aggregate energy of an area or city, according to IN5D.

The Earth Empath, on the other hand, may be out protesting for environmental conservation before returning home to a home filled with earth tones, plants, and stones!

Empath Heyoka

According to Greatist, this is the most fascinating and unique sort of empath. In Dakota and Lakota Native American dialects, the word heyoka signifies spiritual idiot or holy clown. These empaths are the most powerful since their empathetic gift allows them to help others improve.

When the heyoka is around someone who needs spiritual help, the heyoka will actually mirror them. This mirroring allows people to perceive themselves in a more accurate light and prompts them to reconsider their values.

Empaths with a Sense of Intuition

Intuitive empaths are empaths who share many characteristics with emotional empaths. They can,