Yes, I am an empath like 20% of the population classified as being empaths and highly sensitive people, empaths being the most sensitive. The majority of us are introverts but some are extroverts, yet all have the same need for alone time to process the large amount of emotional and sensory information that we take in. It has been discovered that we have many more mirror neurons in our brains mostly found in the pre-motor cortex. After being called too sensitive or drama queens, we now know they were born with brains wired to pick up more sensors than 80% of the population. We are not weird or misfits, we just have different equipment which makes us very sensitive to feeling, perceiving, and sensing a great deal of the energy around us.
I created True Heart Training to support sensitives to live better lives in a world that often sees only our emotional nature or introversion. We have gifts, many gifts, such as compassion, intuition and insight to give to this world if we only we recognized them in ourselves and taught others who we were. After being told that we were "too much", we often stopped sharing our passion and energy for fear of being criticized and ostracized. Many of us have important insights to share but because of our fear of criticism, we keep quiet and play small. We can be overwhelmed with fear, drink too much, get involved in destructive relationships, or worse because we don't feel deserving. We simply believe we don't fit it. Even the many highly functional ones of us who have achieved great success question their right to the heights that they have achieved. That is called impostor syndrome, and this denial of achievements and talents is more prevalent in sensitives, I believe.
Ask an average person to describe an empath and often you get a blank scare. There was never information available to the public about sensitive people until about ten years when studies began to pop up and books were available that describe our many common traits. One important one is shying away from large gatherings because we get easily exhausted from all the sensory input. People then mistakenly think we are anti-social or loners.
We also like to be alone or in very small groups of people and we enjoy others who like deep conversation. We love to think about life and sometimes that makes us seem odd ducks in a world of emojis and texts. We don't do social chatter, either. What is amazing is how much we have in common with each other which makes us feel a strong kinship to other sensitives. We thought we were the only ones that could felt so much and we rarely met each other except by chance. What a relief when we discover that our sensitivity is normal because it is a gift from birth. These extra mirror neurons makes us part of a group of talented people waiting to blossom. How exciting!
There are 1.2 billion men and women sensitives in the world many of whom are not aware of their special gifts and therefore they hide and underachieve. Many cultures around the world make these gifts unacceptable. Often, we develop unhealthy addictions, are in therapy, and take antidepressants for years which does not always alleviate the problem because we are seen through the lens of diagnosis' for the other 80% of the population.
Do these interventions help? In my opinion, without knowing about our special equipment, we cannot actualize ourselves. Healthy people find their true identities within themselves, learn to trust their intuition, and build the courage and skill to speak up when appropriate. I believe that no one is whole unless they take the journey within themselves to find their authentic selves. Yet the first step and it is a big step and is finding the courage and desire to explore this inner territory while throwing off the false labels society and uneducated people put on us.
Why care about sensitive people? Your kids, your husband, neighbor, church friends, friends and work colleagues might be limiting themselves and their happiness because they are not aware of their extra neurological gifts and how to care for themselves as sensitives. This is key to a healthy life and success in relationships, career, and life.
If you think you know someone who is an empath or a highly sensitive person, tell them to check out my homepage, www.trueheartraining.com, where there is a link to a test that will help them identify as empathic or highly sensitive. In the meantime, give them support and listen to them with deep respect. They might just be feelings or sensing something that will help you at that very moment.