What It’s Like to Be an Empath and Have Anxiety
- starofavyon
- Feb 15, 2022
- 8 min read
Being an Empath is a gift. Even though it is challenging to be an Empath and have anxiety, if we can face it all with courage and awareness, we can move through it. Rather than trying to get over it.
Those who know someone that is an empath or are one themselves, know that just being an empath can have its challenges but can also be the most heart-centered and rewarding gift, even though it can test us to our limits and in some cases beyond.
Throw anxiety in the mix and it can be difficult at times to handle.
Sometimes you recognise the signs of when anxiety is bubbling up, sometimes it takes you by surprise by something external that has triggered it, and with the energy, we are currently experiencing at that moment — the triggers are coming up hard and fast and disappearing just as quickly…add Empath to that, a sensitive heightened emotion/ feeling that some days you can’t work out what’s your shit and what is others or in some cases the collectives, it can overtake you.
But, the lessons or underlying messages that the anxiety does bring up or will bring up are so that they can be acknowledged and are also occurring to teach you, which can be extremely painful. Once you do make the choice to get thru the pain it can be a bit easier to move forward.
For those who don’t know what it is like to be an Empath, this is the briefest explanation I can give you and my version only– It is an energy, it’s the ability or gift depending on how you look at it, to feel/sense what others are experiencing and feeling like as if it is your own experience, ie: sadness, joy, anger, indecisiveness, confusion most emotions. Personally, I also feel other physical symptoms — headaches, migraines, body aches, etc on top of all the emotional symptoms of those around me, or to put it another way, again how I experience it.
For some Empaths, it is both emotional and physical or just one of those. For some empaths, they can easily detach from the emotions, for others not only do we experience but we carry them as if it is our own, not knowing or having the awareness to detach, let them go, and not carry them with us. Indirectly, as we Empaths feel so much, we also feel as if we need to take on the burdens, and the emotions from them on ourselves. Our reasoning for this is so they don’t go through it themself, or we see it as a way we can help lessen their experience. At the end of it really, we don’t like seeing others hurt.
Imagine you are in a bubble and that bubble is your aura, it’s getting pushed in, knocked around, poked at and it feels at times like it's suffocating, and you feel closed in. The comforting “space” around you is no longer there and this bubble is all up in your face and in and around our energy system. It leaves you drained, worn out, and of course “anxious” is the end result, among other things.
My most recent anxiety attack was last night, well from about 11 pm to about 2 am and I really lost it, thinking back to it now it also included dark night of the soul (again) (for those who want to know more about this here is the link I wrote a few months ago http://thesacredlightintuitive.com.au/dark-night-of-the-soul-pt1/)
At the time of this episode, I haven’t slept properly in almost a week, averaging maybe 4 to 6hrs at the most, thrown in some PMS which btw didn’t help my cause, and, on this day it also happened to be a day where I felt disconnected, scattered and time lapses of hours that were just disappearing, on top of that, I pushed myself to attend my mediumship class that evening– that in its self was not the best idea. During the class, I had trouble connecting a link to the spirit world which made continuing the class more difficult. Then I started doubting my gifts. I began thinking I wasn’t good enough or how to master this new gift which presented itself earlier in the year.
Hello Anxiety. The anxiety I feel personally is an issue because there is something that has come up that we are unable to cope, deal with or try and logically find a simple solution or resolution to. Anxiety can be the main cause of a stressful situation which can flow into or from indecisiveness, limiting beliefs, feeling unworthy, not good enough, etc. Some of these issues we haven’t been able to resolve on a soul level and for some of us, issues that we are continually carrying into this life.
See what I mean? How could my most recent attack snowball so quickly? I just didn’t realise it at the time because I wasn’t practicing self-care or checking in with myself and asking my soul what’s up! but, sometimes we just don’t — we forget, we can get so wrapped up in the emotions it’s hard to gain perspective, it’s a constant thing I am having to work at as with most of us.
Was I picking up everyone’s anxiety, the collective consciousness anxiety — yes quite possibly
Was I being triggered by conversations — yes
Was I feeling the collective consciousness pain but not realising it? — yes to this one too
Was I feeling the emotions of those in my circle, possibly taking them on as my own, or even what they were experiencing / feeling — yes to this one too.
Sometimes in the darkness of it all, you have to go through it, cry and beat your hands up and down, throw shit across the room, fall and collapse on the floor and eventually fall asleep from the exhaustion, or what a friend of mine calls “being so dramatic”. We both admit we do this and definitely something I have carried through many lifetimes, plus throw in I am a Virgo with a double Leo (for those that know a bit about astrology its earth with a double dose of fire) — yup pretty full-on — and that is an understatement. That darkness becomes very real and sometimes we are unable to see where it started or when it will end.
For last night`s events and in general when experiencing an anxiety attack, eventually, you come out the other side however temporarily. This was could be when your soul has had enough for a moment only to probably face it all again another day. Sometimes, you reflect on the previous night and its lessons and if you are a good student you learn and you don’t repeat the same things, you see where your faults are, what’s coming out as your shadow or your dark side and accept that it is part of you seeking light, love and healing those areas of your soul that felt so destroyed the moments or night before. Sometimes you actually find a way to move on and get over it as best as you can or sometimes you make the choice to ignore the lessons and move only you can decide this, I am no exception to the latter either.
On that night, before I chose to finally rest my mind & body, I requested healing, I spoke to my angels, my guides whoever was listening to not only come and help me but “tell me what it is that I need to know” and that in itself can help so much. You ask that question and hand it over to the universe. In the moments/days that followed, I looked out for the signs and synchronicities. It was during this time that I also ask that while I am asleep, to please assist me in healing me in any way that I may need for my best and highest good, its ok at this point not knowing what healing you specifically need but I trust that what I am given, is exactly what I need.
In times of anxiety regardless of how bad it gets or how long it lasts, we can feel so alone, so hurt, and, at times also numb. But, those who are Empaths and deal with the anxiety are resilient, strong, determined, beautiful souls who know that things will get better, it might be shit for a bit but I know from experience it does get better. Beautiful beings such as us — don’t usually give up without a fight, we find a new way, and we seek healing. We ask for assistance (sometimes — rest of the time we are just stubborn) from our angelic team while not sure wondering if they are even there or if they can even hear us but we hold on to the tiniest amount of faith that is buried deep down in our heart and soul, that we will get through these events.
I won’t write a fluffy story and tell you that when you have an episode of anxiety that it’s just a one-off thing and all of a sudden, your healed and you are all better, No, occurrences like this happen over your lifetime, in some cases, many lifetimes.
If you are reading this and you are both the Empath and experience anxiety — I send YOU LOVE, I will hold space for you as long as you should need it.
Yes YOU, reading this, I send you Love from my heart to yours in the hope that your soul to some extent or some level can accept this on any level that is for your best and highest good. Since we are on the topic of LOVE and how those of us who are the Empath and experience anxiety also struggle with this concept called love, it's already written for another blog, but not posted as I didn’t feel it was the right time, intuitively I knew that another blog had to come first, looks like this was it.
For those who have friends or family members who are Empaths and deal with anxiety whether a little bit or a lot– the best advice I can give you is to get out of your own way — joking! For the most part sometimes, we need to be left alone but also know that you are near enough if we need you, we ask that you hold space for us while we walk this tightrope between feeling so much and how to live with it and be there to catch us IF needed (we are also some of us quite stubborn too — so we may or may not come out and ask directly). We ask for compassion, love, and hope that those around us have an understanding and loads of patience. Please know we are working hard to work through whatever it is we are going through at the time. We ask that you send us healing, make us a cup of tea, encourage us gently to open up with no judgment, or gently nudge us to get outside and connect to the earth, or put on the TV and binge some Netflix while we go through what we need too, yes sometimes we just don’t know what we need either, but we want to know that you care and in some cases, it’s enough.
Sending Love
For assistance with Anxiety, please seek medical advice or talk to someone who can help. For those who may believe you are an Empath or have any questions, please send me a message or research communities in your area online.
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