Are Your Empathic Gifts Becoming Too Much?

Learn how to harness your gift without sacrificing your well-being.

I remember when I first realized I’m an empath and Highly Sensitive Person. I wore it as a badge of honor.

All those nights of cursing how deeply I feel, how easily I can tell what others’ are feeling and how “sensitive” I am (I put it in quotes because it takes great strength to feel everything) felt like it finally had a purpose, because I had a superpower.

I led my life with my empathic gifts. I used it as a crutch to validate feeling shitty, for continuing shitty relationships, for sacrificing my well-being for others…you name it. I never cared to create healthy boundaries or to find ways to minimize its effect on me. I was too worried I’d be dimming my gift—the thing that made me feel special, important, valued and, most of all, worthy.

And so, year after year, one toxic relationship after another, I allowed myself to go through the wringer, and I mean wringer, because part of my empathic gifts is physically feeling what someone else is feeling. It was a lot on my body, let alone my sanity. I was exhausted all the freakin’ time, and I still can’t be in a crowded place for too long before I get the ping that my body needs to go home and reset.

At one point, I realized that I was using my gifts to feed my martyr complex. I wanted to be the savior. I wanted to take on the yucky feelings of other people, because I felt like I was strong enough, and if we’re going to keep it incredibly transparent, I felt like I had nothing to contribute otherwise, so why would anyone want to keep me around?

There are layers here, of course, but I see a common thread with many empathic people—they use the gift as an excuse for having poor boundaries. Let me remind you that empathy without boundaries is codependency. And that ain’t fun for nobodyyyyy (*Keith Sweat voice*).

I’m obviously a firm believer that there’s a massive spiritual awakening happening with the collective. With that awakening comes a heightened sense of sensitivity. We see it come up in readings all the time.

I know there are many of you reading this post right now who can relate to what I just shared, whether this has been your experience since childhood or if you’re just now realizing how energetically attuned you’re becoming.

Remember that you’re of no service to anybody if you’re not well, and it’s completely understandable that you may not know what to do with these gifts. That’s why I was so excited when Kristen Schwartz, aka @realizedempath on Instagram, agreed to host a Wellness Webinar for Return to Self.

I’d been following her page for years, and her insight has really helped me understand how to find the balance of harnessing this gift without sacrificing myself in the long run, and I know she can help you, too.

Kristen Schwartz, MA. is a writer, entrepreneur, and attuned empathic healer. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and a Master's Degree in Counseling. During our webinar, Kristen will teach what an empath/HSP is, the typical struggles and strengths of the empath, self-healing & healing modalities, a transformation timeline, and a new morning routine that will aid those who identify as an empath/HSP.

So tell your friends, and join us this Sunday at 11 am PST via Zoom for our Thriving As An Empath webinar. If you can’t attend live, no worries. A playback will be emailed to everyone who registers.

Imagine how powerful we could be if we used our gifts to our benefit?

Well, we’d be pretty unstoppable.