12 Subtle Signs Someone Is More Empathetic Than The Average Person
This latent superpower can give you the edge.
Courtney Hale | Canva You've been told you are too sensitive and should toughen up to get by in this unstable world. Somehow, you just know stuff other people don't. You feel things most can't feel. You walk into a room and know the vibe before you've even taken your coat off. These are signs that you are more empathetic than most others.
More often than not, this awareness starts in early childhood to some degree. We tend to eventually shut it down so we can fit in and stop drawing attention to ourselves. While "Empath" has yet to be officially certified as a psychological designation, it is widely used today and could be more relevant than you think. Perhaps empathy is a latent superpower that can give you the edge.
12 subtle signs of people who are profoundly empathetic
1. You have no problem putting yourself in another's shoes
Starting with the most obvious sign of empathy, the ability to understand the experiences of others regardless of your perspective. If this is your superpower, you'll naturally have a lot of emotional understanding for others and what they may be going through.
You have no problem putting yourself in another's shoes when someone is sharing their woes with you, and you can feel it so strongly you feel as if it were your life and happening to you.
2. Your intuition is spot on more than it misses
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You know the strong feeling you get in your gut when something isn't right? That is your intuition shouting at you to pay attention, as explained by Yinying Wang, Ed.D.
When you know what someone has just told you isn't the truth, it is intuition. It can even be as simple as taking off your sunglasses, even though it hasn't started raining yet. Or taking a different route home only to hear about a big accident on your usual way that brought traffic to a standstill.
Always listen to your gut. Your intuition is your internal GPS and will never lead you down the wrong road.
3. You are an energetic sponge
Have you ever been around an argument, and even though it had nothing to do with you, you came away feeling heavy, as though you've soaked it all up? You might even feel symptoms similar to the flu.
Empaths are the world's energetic room cleaners. More often than not, most don't even know what they are doing. The next time you are in a crowd, imagine putting yourself in a double bubble, the energetic version of Teflon, and watch all the negativity slide off like water off the proverbial duck's back.
4. People are drawn to telling you their life stories
It's like you have a beacon over your head to let the world know you are a great listener. They don't even have to be in your inner circle.
You'll be the one at the party who gets to hear all the stories, and because you're an empath, you'll most likely feel like you should stay listening and try to help, which leads fantastically to number five.
5. You attract energetic vampires
One of the downsides to being highly empathic will be the inadvertent collecting of people who wish to drain your energy. Often starting as a tale of woe, you kindly listen before feeling like you've got a cling-on.
The big sign is once you've left their company, you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders or life has been drained from you. Your friendly vampire will merrily skip off into the moonlight while singing, “Wow, I always feel so great after I've spent time with you!”
6. You have hyper-tuned senses
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You can smell as good as a bloodhound, hear sounds only cats hear, and when watching a movie, you feel like you've been shot when the bad guy drops. Research led by Marylou Mantel, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, helps explain why you feel all these sensations and experience them to a greater degree than other people.
7. Crowds are overwhelming
Your empathic superpowers can make big crowds feel a tad overwhelming, and you may prefer smaller, more intimate settings for your social life. This is why most empaths tend to lead a more insular life and choose when and with whom they share their magical space.
8. Mother Nature is your supercharger
No matter what the vista, Mother Nature replenishes your cup until it overflows, as shown in the research of Lucy E Keniger, Ph.D.. A walk in a forest will take you from blue to blossoming. A trip to the beach can turn the tides on your gloomy moods.
Something as simple as sitting and admiring your house plant will lift and clear you. If in doubt, find yourself a tree and hug it out.
9. Peace and love are your go-to setting
As a high-functioning empath, you may find any form of conflict challenging. It's hard enough to hold and know your center when being challenged, let alone when you are also reading others' energy and feelings. It can be intense to decipher what is you and what is them.
10. Sometimes you feel isolation is your only friend
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Particularly if you have been in an intense situation, you may have a burning desire to isolate yourself and reset, which is totally fair enough after being overwhelmed. Meditation is a fantastic tool for a daily reset if running off to the forest isn't in the cards. It is OK to love your own company.
11. Boundaries tend to be tricky
Boundaries, we all need them, yet as an empath, they can be tricky little critters to keep, as explored by Ingrid Bachmann, and Arly Faundes. As children, we are not always taught boundaries.
Everyone needs healthy boundaries, not just with your energy, you also need them with your personal space. A sign to know if your boundaries are good is to see how close people stand to you in a crowd.
If someone is in your personal space, you need to take a long, hard look at your boundaries. A great rule is an arm span above, below, in front, behind, as well as side to side. Think Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man and double your bubble.
12. You have so much love to balance
Empaths have the biggest hearts. They can Love the world 100 times over and still have more to give, which is a wonderful, beautiful thing when in balance.
When it's not balanced, hearts get hurt, and you can be left wondering why the world is picking on you. Just pop some empathic self-care into your daily routine, and you will always be full of love radiating for all to see, and because you are a superhero empath, you have the heart and the power to do it.
Go light up the world!
LouLou Palmer is a professional and personal development coach with over 20 years of experience utilizing science-based therapies, Shamanic techniques, and other modalities. Her work, profiled on BBC Woman's Hour, is based in the UK but available globally.