by Empaths handle emotion by letting it move through them. You feel the emotion deeply and wholly. The emotions move through you like a big wave. You cannot speed it up or slow it down. It is a force all its own. If you try to push it down, it only gains strength. If you push it down hard, it will come back with a frightening force.
Allow yourself to feel your emotions deeply, and ignore those around you who tell you not to. You will not “get over it” until it gets over you. This is hard to explain to people who are not empaths because they don’t experience the emotion with the intensity that we do. They don’t understand that it is physically and emotionally impossible for an empath to shut off a feeling, and that trying to tamp it down is self-destructive.
This doesn’t mean that we walk around emotional messes most of the time. We don’t. Our emotions may swing more drastically than others and be more dramatic. They run deep. Deep sorrow. Deep joy. Deep empathy.
Let the wave run through you. Do what you need to do to let that happen. I listen to very loud music. I separate myself to cry in peace. I take long walks. I pray for strength. You may do these things too, or you may release your emotions in other ways. Do what works for you and helps the wave of emotion pass without turning into a tsunami.
We are susceptible to the overwhelming emotions of those around us, so we may need to be careful with where we physically go and limit time spent with certain people. This is self-protective. Like me, you may have had to learn this the hard way. I have had some very emotionally unstable friends who liked to hang out with me a lot. Because I took some of their pain away. Literally. This is debilitating. It took me years to learn to set boundaries, and I am still learning.
If I could, I wouldn’t change being an empath. I like being this way. You get to walk the world with a certain awakening to what is around you. There is a perfect joy to feeling so connected to those you are with and to your surroundings. Choose where and who you want to spend time with. Feed your empathic soul. Focus on that joy and your light.
