Tips For Empaths
This article is specifically for those people who already know they are Empaths -- which is far more involved than just having empathy. Most of you are not Empaths, lucky you, and this will likely seem insignificant. That's ok; I'm writing this for those people who read a previous article on the subject, and have been asking me to list the tips I referred to in it. I'm sorry it took so long for me to get around to it.
I’m not going to give background on what an Empath is, other than to say it’s a specific form of psychism and one that is particularly unpleasant to deal with on an ongoing basis. There are, however, some tricks that can help one cope with it. They will seem simple and obvious, but things that are simple and obvious often go unutilized, for some reason. Using a smudge stick, for example. These can be used for prevention, but are mostly being listed as a kind of cure, if you will, for when it all starts to really weigh you down.
There are ways to prevent yourself from being overwhelmed by this sort of thing, but if you've only just learned that you're an Empath, it's best to start here (energy clearing). I'll try to get round to an article on preventing and blocking out negative energy in the near future.
(If you want to read more on Psychic Empathism, see my 7 Signs You're an Empath article.)
Take a Clary Sage bath.
This is the single most effective thing you can do to clear all that emotional funk away. And I do mean bath – a shower doesn’t permeate in the same manner. You don’t need candles or anything else, just a nice hot bath and some privacy. Give it a good 15 minutes and you will feel much, much better. I recommend it before going to bed, as you can carry all that crap through your sleep and still wake up with it, otherwise. If you can't find sage bubble bath, it's ok, anything will work, I just really love the sage.
Breathe.
Wherever you are, stop what you’re doing for 5 minutes and just breathe. You should be inhaling through the nose and from the diaphragm. Slowly. And then you should be exhaling slowly, through the lips – don’t just open your mouth and blow it all out. Pretend you’re blowing on a cup of hot coffee; that’s the kind of blowing you want. Slow and steady. Imagine that each time you inhale you are drawing all that crap up to the surface, and then expelling it when you exhale. If you practice, that will be precisely what you learn to do, eventually. Do not overdo it initially – deep breathing can release all kinds of emotional junk you weren’t previously cognizant of, and that will just make you feel worse. Really, really worse. So take it slow until you’re more skilled at it. A few deep breaths is enough when you’re just learning.
Smudge sticks.
Purifying your environment with a sage smudge stick is pretty good stuff. It stinks, in my opinion, but a lot of people seem to like the smell. Regardless, it’s not the smell that matters, but the way the sage clears the air. An Empath should be able to really feel it as they walk around, it’s fairly tangible, really. It’s good in a pinch, when you don’t have time to take a sage bath.
Drink something hot.
Tea, coffee, hot chocolate – these will help you feel cleansed from the inside. Do not, however, use soup or something of that nature for this purpose. Soups will have the opposite effect, due to the additives, oil, and whatever else they contain.