The Empath
If you self-identify as an empath, then there's a strong possibility that you experienced a heavy dose of trauma in your life, particularly in early childhood. Unlike the narcissist who decided to wall up and has little empathy for others, you became overly sensitive to others.
The polar opposite of a narcissist is an empath; the narcissist is a dark manifestation of trauma, and the empath is the light side of this polarity. Both archetypes were born out of the necessity to self-protect by being hyper-aware of the environment and the temperaments of those in it. Your nervous system is hardwired to pick up on the littlest shifts in mood and constantly scans the environment for safety threats. While this behavior is helpful as a child and you're dependent on others for safety, food, nurturing, etc., this gets in the way of genuine connection and authenticity as an adult.
If you identify as an empath, it's important to note that there's both an embodied and empowered level of this superpower and a shadow or dark side.
The disempowered empath lacks boundaries (mentally, emotionally, and spiritually), overgives, overshares, creates relationship attachments or trauma bonds, takes on the burdens of others as their own, and is enmeshed and messy with others in connection.
An empowered empath uses their heightened sensitivity as a superpower by maintaining healthy boundaries (mentally, emotionally, and spiritually), sharing purposefully, creating meaningful and mutual connections, allowing others to hold their responsibilities, and offering right-sized support that empowers others.
To become an empowered empath, you must do the inner work and reparenting to heal the inner child that was left unprotected, experienced abuse (physical, emotional, mental, and sexual), was neglected, abandoned, had emotionally unavailable or immature parents, was in a home with an active or dry (non-recovered) addict, had parent's with untreated mental health issues or who were highly narcissistic. Self-led programs, workshops, therapy, 12-step programs, and coaching are all great resources to help you balance out your superpower.
One of the beautiful gifts an empowered empath possesses is allowing others to feel safe with themselves, with another person, and with their emotions. Because an empath is compassionate and emotionally articulate, they naturally help others recognize hidden pain and understand themselves more deeply, but this is where boundaries and empowerment are necessary.
If you identify as an empath, you must honor the autonomy and journey of others. Ask permission before you share insight or wisdom from your personal experience because it's not always welcome or necessary. Simply being yourself and shining your light wherever you're at is a gift for those around you.
Keep on shining friends!
