Am I An Empath?

Are you an empath? And if so, what TYPE of empath are you?

In this video and blog post, I’m going to share a quick overview of what it means to be an empath and talk about the three main types of empaths. Now, a lot of people have no idea that they’re empaths so they often move through life wondering why they’re feeling what they’re feeling or why they do the things that they do.

• Why are some social situations so hard for me?

• Why do I leave some places feeling so exhausted? 

• Why do I shy away from certain people, places, or situations?

For a long time, I didn’t realize that I was an empath. I thought I was just introverted. I figured, like other introverts, I just needed to recharge through plenty of alone time. But as I learned more about empaths and as I went deeper into my own meditation practice, I realized that I had many of the common characteristics of an empath.

Now that I know this about myself, I’ve started doing some things very differently in my life...and maybe you will too.

So let's dive in. 

What is an Empath?

The definition of an empath is someone who feels and/or absorbs other people’s emotions and/or physical symptoms because of their greater sensitivity.

They can also absorb energy from places or things. For example, they may feel the positive and grounding energy of the earth while taking a walk through the woods, or they may feel the negative energy of an office building where a lot of unhappy employees work.

Why is that?

First, everything is made up of energy and as we move through our day, our bodies (made of energy) are affected by all the different energy bodies around us, including other people, places, and things. 

When objects interact with one another, their electromagnetic fields also interact. 

If you’re an empath, you’re more sensitive to these fields of energy than many other people and that means that when you’re around negative energy (or energy of a lower frequency), you feel it more deeply, and often, it’s harder for you to release it afterward. 

But not everyone feels that energy the way that you do. Why is that? 

What Makes Empaths Unique?

One reason is that not everyone has the same level of sensitivity to energy. Researchers have found that we all have something called “mirror neurons” in our brains. These neurons, located in our prefrontal cortex, fire when we observe others performing actions that we can recognize. When we see a common behavior pattern, let’s say someone drinking from a glass of water, our mirror neurons "mirror" the behavior of the other person, as though we were the ones performing that action. 

For example, if I grab a delicious vegan cookie and take a bite in front of you, your mirror neurons might be simulating in your brain the sensation of taking a bite, chewing, and enjoying this delicious treat. 

Empaths are considered to have hypersensitive mirror neurons. 

So you might find that in watching me eat a cookie, you can smell the chocolate chips, you can taste the sweetness of the sugar, you can feel the chewy texture of the cookie in your mouth, or maybe even feel the sensation of satisfaction having enjoyed this yummy treat. 

Now I just mentioned a few different ways that you might mirror my cookie enjoyment: smell, taste, texture, and even a subtle internal sensation of pleasure.

That brings us to the three general types of empaths. 

3 Main Types of Empaths

The first type is a physical empath. You are especially sensitive to people’s physical energy and even their symptoms of illness or dis-ease. When someone is in pain, you may feel their pain in your own body. The plus side of this type of empathy? You can also become energized by someone’s good health and well-being.

The second type is an emotional empath. These are probably the most commonly recognized empaths. You absorb other people’s emotions, so being around angry, sad, or worried individuals is extremely draining for you. Arguments with a loved one can be especially taxing because not only are you feeling your own emotions, but you may unknowingly take on their emotions as well. This can leave you feeling doubly exhausted.

The third type of empath is what’s called an intuitive empath. They experience extra-sensory perceptions such as greater intuition, the ability to communicate with animals or plants, the ability to communicate with unseen energies like those who have passed on. 

Do any of these types sound like you? If so, let me know which type in the comments below. 

Which Type of Empath Are You?

So these are just the primary categories of empaths but we start talking about intuitive empaths, there are so many unique subtypes.

A really great book on this subject is “The Empath’s Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People” by Judith Orloff, MD. In it, she details 7 different types of intuitive empaths, like telepathic, precognitive, dream, mediumship, plant, animal, and earth empaths.

Plus you can be an endless combination of all those different types of empathy - how fun is that?!

To learn more about which type of empath you might be, I’ve created a really quick quiz that you can take to find out. 

If you found this blog post helpful, let me know in the comments, and if you know someone who might be an empath, I’d love for you to share this post with them. 

And be sure to subscribe so you can be notified of future blog posts including How to Protect Your Energy as an Empath and “How to Cleanse Your Energy as an Empath.”