In this blog post I’m sharing information from the Art of Living Retreat Centre’s page written by psychiatrist, Dr Judith Orloff. Many of my clients tell me that they are an empath and feel so drained and anxious as a result of this. If you suspect that you are then take the quiz below to find out to what extent and then read my tips below to find out how you can use a simple method of Qigong for empaths to help you rid any negative energy you may have absorbed from someone else.
Here’s the article below (for the full article click here)….
Have you ever been told that you’re “too sensitive” or need to toughen up? Do you feel exhausted and anxious after being in crowds or around certain people? Do you have a sensitivity to light, sound, and smells? Or perhaps it takes you longer to wind down after a long day at work? If you answered, “yes” to these questions you may be an empath.
To determine how empathic you are take the following self assessment test.
Empath Self Assessment
1. Have I’ve been labeled as “overly sensitive,” shy, or introverted?
2. Do I frequently get overwhelmed or anxious?
3. Do arguments or yelling make me ill?
4. Do I often feel like I don’t fit in?
5. Am I drained by crowds and need alone time to revive myself?
6. Am I over stimulated by noise, odors, or non-stop talkers?
7. Do I have chemical sensitivities or can’t tolerate scratchy clothes?
8. Do I prefer taking my own car places so I can leave early if I need to?
9. Do I overeat to cope with stress?
10. Am I afraid of becoming suffocated by intimate relationships?
11. Do I startle easily?
12. Do I react strongly to caffeine or medications?
13. Do I have a low pain threshold?
14. Do I tend to socially isolate?
15. Do I absorb other people’s stress, emotions, or symptoms?
16. Am I overwhelmed by multitasking and prefer doing one thing at a time?
17. Do I replenish myself in nature?
18. Do I need a long time to recuperate after being with difficult people or energy vampires?
19. Do I feel better in small cities or the country than large cities?
20. Do I prefer one-to-one interactions or small groups rather than large gatherings?
To calculate your results:
- If you answered yes to one to five questions, you’re at least partially an empath.
- Responding yes to six to ten questions means you have moderate empathic tendencies.
- Responding yes to eleven to fifteen means you have strong empathic tendencies.
- Answering yes to more than fifteen questions means that you are a full blown empath.
More Information About Empaths
Being an empath is different from being empathetic. Being empathetic is when your heart goes out to someone else. Being an empath means you can actually feel another person’s happiness or sadness in your own body.
In empaths, the brain’s mirror neuron system – a specialized group of cells that are responsible for compassion- is thought to be hyperactive. As a result, empaths can absorb other people’s energies (both positive and negative) into their own bodies. At times it may even be difficult to tell if your are feeling your own emotions or someone else’s.
There are different types of sensitivities an empath may experience. Physical empaths, for example, are especially attuned to other people’s physical symptoms and absorb them into their own bodies. Emotional empaths pick up on people’s emotions and become a sponge for their feelings, both happy and sad. Food empaths are another type of empath who is attuned to the energy of food and may even experience sensitivities to certain foods.
Being empathic has incredible benefits such as greater intuition, compassion, creativity and a deeper connection to other people. But living in this state of high sensitivity also comes with its challenges such as becoming easily overwhelmed, over-stimulated, exhausted, or absorbing the stress and negativity of others.
If a person isn’t aware that he or she is an empath, everyday interactions that others find tolerable could be causing and empath stress. Those who are not aware of their empathic abilities may be inclined to use food, alcohol, and drugs to unconsciously numb their emotions.
Empaths are the medicine the world needs and they can have a profound impact on humanity with their compassion and understanding. As you learn to identify your special talents, you will find that you not only enrich your life but you can enrich the lives of others too. The key skill is to learn how to take charge of your sensitivities and learn specific strategies to prevent empathy overload.
To learn more about being an empath and strategies on how to stay grounded and centered purchase Dr Orloff’s book The Empath’s Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People
Qigong For Empaths-How To Discharge Negative Energy You May Have Absorbed
Click here to read how to perform a simple 5 minute method of Qigong for empaths whereby you can rid any negative energy you may have absorbed from someone else due to your empathetic nature.
By discharging waste Qi in this way you will feel:
-much more energised
-relaxed
-able to sleep much better at night
This Qigong (Chi Kung) method feels almost like you are “taking a shower on the inside”. The removal of waste Qi from deep down makes you feel much cleaner on the inside which makes this the perfect method of Qigong for empaths.
This is a short extract from the full exercise of “Discharge Waste Qi With Vibration”. If you are interested in learning the full exercise then click on my Space To Relax homepage. At the top of the page you can sign up for a free 3 part Qigong video course which will be delivered to your e-mail. The exercise featured here is Exercise 3 in the FREE course. The first exercise shows you how to breathe much more efficiently so that your mind becomes instantly calmer and more focused. The second exercise shows you how to quickly increase your energy levels in the space of only 5 minutes!
Also, if you head over to my free group on Facebook, “Space To Relax Free Group” you can leave any questions for me there and I’ll be happy to answer them.
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button when you head over there. When you do that you will receive my videos which are packed full of useful health enhancing tips and some additional useful methods of Qigong for empaths. Also, please give this video a “Like” if you learned something new here today. Got questions? Just pop them in the box below and I’ll be happy to answer.
