Judith Orloff MD writes about empaths...

About Empaths

Being an empath is different from being empathetic.  Being empathetic is when your heart goes out to someone else.  Being an empath means you can actually feel another person’s happiness or sadness in your own body.

In empaths, the brain’s mirror neuron system – a specialized group of cells that are responsible for compassion- is thought to be hyperactive.  As a result, empaths can absorb other people’s energies (both positive and negative) into their own bodies. At times it may even be difficult to tell if you are feeling your own emotions or someone else’s.

There are different types of sensitivities an empath may experience.  Physical empaths, for example, are especially attuned to other people’s physical symptoms and absorb them into their own bodies.  Emotional empaths pick up on people’s emotions and become a sponge for their feelings, both happy and sad.  Food empaths are another type of empath who is attuned to the energy of food and may even experience sensitivities to certain foods.


Being empathic has incredible benefits such as greater intuition, compassion, creativity and a deeper connection to other people.  But living in this state of high sensitivity also comes with its challenges such as becoming easily overwhelmed, over-stimulated, exhausted, or absorbing the stress and negativity of others.

If a person isn’t aware that he or she is an empath, everyday interactions that others find tolerable could be causing an empath stress.  Those who are not aware of their empathic abilities may be inclined to use food, alcohol, and drugs to unconsciously numb their emotions.

Empaths are the medicine the world needs and they can have a profound impact on humanity with their compassion and understanding.  As you learn to identify your special talents, you will find that you not only enrich your life but you can enrich the lives of others too.  The key skill is to learn how to take charge of your sensitivities and learn specific strategies to prevent empathy overload.

Empath Self Assessment

1. Have I been labeled as “overly sensitive,” shy, or introverted?
2. Do I frequently get overwhelmed or anxious?
3. Do arguments or yelling make me ill?
4. Do I often feel like I don’t fit in?
5. Am I drained by crowds and need alone time to revive myself?
6. Am I over stimulated by noise, odors, or non-stop talkers?
7. Do I have chemical sensitivities or can’t tolerate scratchy clothes?
8. Do I prefer taking my own car places so I can leave early if I need to?
9. Do I overeat to cope with stress?
10. Am I afraid of becoming suffocated by intimate relationships?
11. Do I startle easily?
12. Do I react strongly to caffeine or medications?
13. Do I have a low pain threshold?
14. Do I tend to socially isolate?
15. Do I absorb other people’s stress, emotions, or symptoms?
16. Am I overwhelmed by multitasking and prefer doing one thing at a time?
17. Do I replenish myself in nature?
18. Do I need a long time to recuperate after being with difficult people or energy vampires?
19. Do I feel better in small cities or the country than large cities?
20. Do I prefer one-to-one interactions or small groups rather than large gatherings?

To calculate your results:

If you answered yes to one to five questions, you’re at least partially an empath.Responding yes to six to ten questions means you have moderate empathic tendencies.Responding yes to eleven to fifteen means you have strong empathic tendencies.Answering yes to more than fifteen questions means that you are a full blown empath.

This is found at www.drjudithorloff.com

14 for me so I have strong emphatic tendencies, I had no idea!
Very interesting topic Ladywind

I think everyone has an innate empathic ability.
It matters more or less according to how sensitive they are and how they deal with those sensations.
Depending on the control one has it could result in panic or comfort and everything in between.
There's also people who are numb to it all, usually with far more important things occupying their minds.

Children are specially empathically reactive. Well, as far as I know, we were all children at one time. The ability is not 'lost' it is honed, refined and blocked as we mature. You can sense it if you try. You can block it if you try.

Empathic ability keeps us alive, keeps us safe, tells you love is near or not.
Its not some magical gift, its human nature to be empathic.

The self-assessment list is slanted. There are positive examples for each negative and vice versa.
The difference is how mature you are to be able to handle what you experience, not the fact you experience those things. Something entirely different than empathic ability.


Not really.
Being empathic is sensing the state of someone/something with your senses which is not obviously displayed.
Being empathetic is reading the sensations and acting accordingly either internally or externally.
Its not a matter of right or wrong, positive or negative.

Most people who react to those empathically driven feelings do so by association, either from experience or imagination.
Its only negative when you allow it to control you negatively.

http://hannaleana.com/2020/12/29/the-science-behind-sensitivity-and-empathy/

Another interesting take on empaths....

It is interesting isn't it

I answered yes to all of those. So yes, this is me.

Full blown empath here! It's a blessing but occasionally feels like a curse, haha.

The biggest challenge is when I'm overtired, I have a more difficult time not taking on/absorbing other people's emotions/energy. Problem when I'm overtired is that I don't just feel their emotions/energy, I end up channeling their emotions, acting them out. Meaning I can be calm and in a good mood, just tired... but then all of a sudden I'm snapping at someone for no apparent reason. Or I just start crying without any particular reason. It's quite annoying.

I'm still in the process of learning exactly what I'm to use my gifts for. The channeling part is interesting, though annoying at times. I figure I'm to let the emotions channeling through me and turn them into light and love, there by cleansing and healing the emotions. Problem is they tend to get stuck inside of me and I become the emotion. So until I figure it out, I found shielding myself works best, especially if I'm overtired.

Well Mingle ladies and man. I am confusing. If anyone is ill I am the first one to organise a visit to the hospital. Strong, determined and on a mission to cheer them up. But...when I get there and see them, I bawl my eyes out, it happens every time.... they comfort me. I could never work in the medical field.

I heard something on the radio about an empathy gene. Seems most folks have it. In some it's stronger than in others. A few don't have it at all.

And if you ask them a lot of folks would say they are empathic, when in reality they are very self centered, because claiming a high degree of empathy gets them empathy from others.

Oh. Why would anyone do that? That is so shallow and very unthoughtful. I thinks empaths are different than that. They are genuine.
But every opinion is appreciated

I am far from self centered.

Pick any negative personality trait and post about it.
You will almost immediately get multiple responses saying, "I, am totally not like that".

Pick any positive sounding personality trait and post about it. You will almost immediately get multiple responses saying, "I, am totally that way".

I really do not think anyone is going to start a thread asking if you believe in, lets say the opposite - Ego maniacs/narcissists Mo. People know they exist, they in fact rarely know they are themselves and would never admit it.

I believe empaths are real. At 7 years of age I watched my first sad movie and there were no adults around, only my sister. I cried for 3 hours straight and could not stop, the injustice of the movie trully upset me. Who was there to deceive? Highly sensitive people exist and it is not all about them.
We can agree to disagree though

If you look at the list it sure sounds a lot more like anxiety then empath. (Which my spell check does not even think is a word!) I believe maybe people feel for people, but they do not directly feel the same pain as the person suffering. If a guy gets kicked in the balls many people may flinch before they break out laughing. They can "relate" to the pain, may even feel some pain. But they do not drop to the ground holding their crotch like the person who got hit. What you are feeling is compassion for somebody, a feeling of sadness or joy based on what you see. It is not a channeling of their direct feelings. Everyone is an individual and their feelings are their own. Yes you can be happy or sad for them, but it just is not that same feeling that person is having.

Spell check does not recognise many words... so that would be a no to believing empaths exist.

There are people who remember everything that happened on every day of their life, but they are few and far between. I can not say for sure that empath does not exist, however I believe most of the time it has to do with the people being emotional. As I said the list seemed to be aimed more at people with anxiety, who which are often more emotional. Some people hide things, or suppress their emotions, while others show them on their surface. Drunk people can be happy, angry, or emotional. Often times it depends on what they drink. If the mind can change this much just by adding some liquid then the natural chemical change with in the brain can do something very similar. To show compassion is an animal instinct, has your pet ever tried to comfort you? That does not mean they can directly relate to what you are feeling.

Interesting points. I never associated it with anxiety... you may be correct. I have known a few drinkers that get emotional when drinking, both had anxiety disorders.

I'm an empath, already knew that. According to that list I'm a full blown empath, I already knew that too, hihi.


BTW... I think this is the same list that's used to check if you're an HSP. And that list is almost 100% the same as the list to check for ADD!
Interesting considering many people saying a lot of ADD are misdiagnosed and are actually very sensitive kids/people. Which is HSP.

I did not know that. I only heard the word empath a couple of years ago on facebook. And people have called me that. I have noticed even on facebook, more women resonate than men.

I just saw your post. Good points.