Are You Empathic?

1. Are you easily persuaded or influenced by those around you?

Empathic people are easily influenced and more susceptible to manipulation by others. They feel and experience what is projected towards them by others, so extra caution should be used when dealing with sales-people and others who might manipulate. If you know that you are empathic, moving more slowly, not allowing yourself to be rushed and making sure you are completely comfortable will be more beneficial to you in the long run.

2. Do your moods swing with whatever crowd or environment you find yourself in?

Empathic people are more easily drawn ino the moods and energies of crowds. Often this is due to an expression of forced resonance. Remember that empathic people usually have a more magnetic energy field about them. They tend to absorb and take on the energy, attitudes and behaviours of the larger group, individuals and even environment. Awareness of this will help you to be less susceptible to this kind of influence.

3. Do you ever find yourself 'up' for a gathering or social event, only to find shortly after arriving that you are feeling drained and tired?

Empathic people must be a little more cautious in group settings. Because their energy is more magnetic, they can walk into a group and absorb the energy of whoever is present. Often this energy absorbtion occurs through the solar plexus. The individual picks up on all of the emotional and mental energy present, which immediately begins to weigh the individual down.

4. Do you find it difficult determining what you are feeling at any particular time?

Because an empathic individual's mind and body is a living, breathing barometer for what the individual experiences, it can be difficult for the individual to determine whether the feelings are their own or have been picked up from someone else.

5. Do you frequently bring your work attitudes home with you or find yourself taking your problms into work? Is it difficult for you to separate work and home? Is it very difficult for you to be objective and separate issues and aspects of your life?

If this is the case, then your empathic energies may need rebalancing. Even if it only occurs on rare occasions, it reflects a need to balance them.

6. Do you consider yourself, or do others consider you over-emotional? Do you cry easily?

Empathic people are often over-emotional or hyper-sensitive. They respond more quickly and more strongly from an emotional base than other people. They laugh quickly and cry easily. They experience the full impact of whatever is being expressed around them.

7. Are you hyper-sensitive, taking everything more seriously and more personally than others?

Things that might roll off the average individual's back are taken in and experienced fully by empathic people.

8. Are you uncomfortable with other people touching you?

Most empathic people can be placed in one of two categories, with most falling into the second. In the first are individuals who are the touchy-feely kind. They enjoy touching and being touched for the most part. Usually a part of them realises also that through touch they are able to connect more truly with those they touch. The second category is comprised of individuals who dislike being touched. They are so sensitive, that it is very uncomfortable to have individuals touch them, even with something as simple as a handshake.

9. Are you, or were you, very shy and introverted while growing up?

Most introverted and shy people are empathic. For may of them, this is a means of self-protection. On a subsconcious level, they recognise that they can be affected easily by those they are around. They recognise that new people may have an energy that is unfamiliar and will be experienced stongly. Hesitancy to relate reflects this. And it is important to honour this. Others don't always know what is best for us, regardless of intention. If we don't honour this, we never learn to develop and honour our own sense of self-esteem and intuition.

Unfortunately we live in a society that is intolerant of such behaviour. Parents and peers alike often push children and friends into situations where they have to relate on some level. There is even a kind of stigma attached to being shy. In most cases, if the individuals are left alone, they will develop their own way of handling themselves more comfortably in social situations.

10. Do you have a tendancy to take on other people's problems, aches pains, battles, worries etc, whether asked to or not?

Often empathic people have to be careful about allowing themselves to be placed in such situations where others unload problems and such on them constantly. We have all experienced this to some degree. How often have you felt drained or sucked dry after speaking with someone - even if only on the phone?