Empaths. Do they exist?
What Is An Empath?
An empath is highly attuned to the emotions of others and literally takes on these feelings. Empaths are said to be ‘sensory sponges’, with high sensitivity to a range of external stimuli. This means that the world can get overwhelming pretty quickly (particularly with negative emotions).
The empath concept is controversial. Opinion is divided on whether empaths actually exist. There is also debate around some abilities associated with empaths. For instance, empaths are thought to have special skills in reading others, detecting lying, and healing. Mateo Sol, author of 'Awakened Empath' said 'We even feel what other people are afraid to feel within themselves".
However, there is no scientific evidence to support many of these claimed abilities. For now, at least, psychologists don’t have much to say on the subject of empaths. This topic is more popular amongst spiritual commentators and practitioners (e.g., Aletheia Luna).
Empath Test
There is no official empath test. The concept is not recognised formally by the medical or mental health professions. However, the following indicators are suggested by those who promote the empath concept (1):
Taking on the feelings of others
Feeling stress experienced in other people
Tendency to experience strong emotional states, or overreactions
Easily over-stimulated by noises, crowds, smells
Requiring lots of time alone and/or in low-stimulation environments
Difficulties fitting in socially
Been labelled over-sensitive by others.
Triggers
Some of the above features also represent emotional ‘triggers’ for distress. Difficulties essentially come in the form of emotional and sensory over-stimulation. For instance, empaths are said to be triggered by suffering in others and busy, noisy environments.
Empathically
Empathy is feeling with another person. This means comprehending their minds, feeling their emotions, and responding with compassion (2). Empathy is divided into cognitive and emotional components (3).
We know that people differ in empathic abilities. There are people with little or no empathy (e.g., psychopathy), while empaths lie at the other end of the spectrum. Extremely low and high empathy are both linked with adverse outcomes (e.g., antisocial behaviour, emotional exhaustion). Healthy levels are associated with positive social behaviour and personal wellbeing (4). These findings suggest that it makes sense to work on getting the right balance of empathy in your life.
Empathise Synonym
Synonyms for empathy help us better understand this concept. Related words include:
Share
Comprehend
Understand
Imagine
Feel for
Suffer with
Relate to
Excessive empathy goes by other terms, such as hyper-empathy.
Am I a Narcissist or an Empath Quiz
An extreme lack of empathy characterises narcissists. So it would seem this personality type would not fit well with the topic of empaths.
However, a link comes from some academic research describing the 'dark empath': Someone with 'dark traits' (Machiavellianism, psychopathy and narcissism) and high empathy levels (5). By contrast, an empath is high in empathy but low in dark traits.
How Can I Cope
I could not find any scientifically validated approaches to managing the downside of being an empath. In situations like this, I try to take an individual approach to develop a client’s toolkit. Everyone will be different. Pick what works for you. Here are a few suggestions:
The introversion literature is a useful source of support for people who struggle with high levels of social interaction. I especially recommend reading Susan Cain’s book ‘Quiet’.
Plan ahead when it comes to social contact. Think about mixing necessary interactions with rest and recharge time. Also, spend time with people who do not over-stimulate your emotional responses (e.g., calm people who are also emotionally attuned).
Developing emotion regulation skills. Here are some ideas to get you started. We also have several workbooks available that cover emotion regulation and distress tolerance skills. Matthew McKay’s book is a useful resource in this area.
Acknowledge you need to move between helping yourself and others. People can learn to set boundaries to manage their psychological health.
Permit yourself to help a limited number of people. Kindness and compassion are fantastic attributes. But you can’t help/ everyone. Better to provide quality help rather than spread yourself too thin.
Emotional sensitivity can be mistaken for weakness. Expect unhelpful responses to your emotional attunement and develop a useful interpretation (e.g., hard for him/her to relate because they haven’t experienced high emotional sensitivity).
Read up on social anxiety. You may not be anxious in social situations, but management strategies used with this problem could be useful.
Empath Quotes
Manage your energy, not your time. Anthon St. Maarten
Being an Empath is a double-edged sword. Anuii Elviis
Symbol of an Empath
This graphic is a common symbol of empaths and empathy.
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References
(1) Orloff https://drjudithorloff.com/quizzes/empath-self-assessment-test/
(2) Stern, J. A., & Cassidy, J. (2018). Empathy from infancy to adolescence: An attachment perspective on the development of individual differences. Developmental Review, 47, 1-22. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2017.09.002
(3) Dziobek, I., Rogers, K., Fleck, S., Bahnemann, M., Heekeren, H. R., Wolf, O. T.,et al. (2008). Dissociation of cognitive and emotional empathy in adults with Asperger syndrome using the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET). J. Autism Dev. Disord. 38, 464–473. doi: 10.1007/s10803-007-0486-x
(4) Greenberg, M. T., & Turksma, C. (2015). Understanding and watering the seeds of compassion. Research in Human Development, 12, 280-287. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2017.09.002
(5) Heym, N., Kibowski, F., Bloxsom, C. A. J., Blanchard, A., Harper, A., Wallace, L., Firth, J., & Sumich, A. (2021). The dark empath: Characterising dark traits in the presence of empathy. Personality and Individual Differences, 169(1), 110172. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110172
