The basic definition of an empath is one whose empathy goes beyond being able to understand someone else’s feelings. Empaths have the ability to actually feel what the other person is feeling and not only at the same moment.

This is the empathic drain. The feelings an empath picks up can linger, from a few hours to even a few days. It depends on how strong the feelings and the energy that goes along with those feelings are.

People don’t realize that the energy they carry with them has a huge impact on not only their own lives, but the lives of others, especially empaths.

Don’t get me wrong, being an empath can be extremely rewarding. It means you really care about the people who come to you. Especially, if they have a possible problem they’d like you to help them solve or are going through a really rough patch in their lives.

Putting it as a curse would be too negative. In my opinion and experience, I haven’t quite seen it bad enough to be considered as so. Instead, I’ll say that it can be very troubling.

If someone is going through a rough patch in their lives, possibly their own rock bottom and they come to you for comfort and a sympathetic ear, it means you will feel their rock bottom. You will carry their emotional weight along with them because they emotionally transfer it to you. Meaning, you can become emotionally drained. Their negative energy can tie a bow around your heart and you may act, let’s say not like yourself.

After leaving the person you just had an interaction with your mood can change. This can make you extremely cranky, really sad, angry, tired, and it can impact those around you, almost like a nasty negative circle. If the person you were just with say, was feeling really sad, your body and inner empath might not necessarily outwardly act sad. It may choose to surface how it reacts to the person and/or situation as it wants to, and can be pretty sporadic. Those close to you may be able to tell when you’ve been around certain people as to how you are (act) afterwards.

This is not to say that the person who confided in you meant to bring you down with them intentionally (although some do). It’s just what happens when you are an empath, part of the territory, so to speak.

To be able to feel what others are feeling can help with understanding a person’s situation if they confide in you. Not to mention, gives you a better understanding of life itself. It opens up a much wider spectrum of feeling, emotions and energy, bigger than anything you could ever imagine.

The trick is trying to find ways to get your own energy back and recharge so that you aren’t carrying around the energy of others.

To combat the emotional pull that others’ energy can have on you, do something that gives you some form of enjoyment, pleasure, entertainment or relaxation. For some, it could be meditation, bringing yourself back to center, focusing on your breathing. For others, it could be anything from standing outside in the rain and screaming at the top of your lungs to putting on your favorite music and perhaps sketch a drawing.

Life is a huge emotional war, whether or not people choose to admit it. We are all our own life warriors, fighting each battle as they come. Let’s keep fighting to win this war!