6 Ways To Deal When You Feel EVERYTHING (An Empath's Survival Guide)

Ever feel like you're reading the minds of everyone else in the room? Like you actually experience what they're thinking and feeling, sometimes to the point that it feels like you ARE them? Do you ever feel immensely drained after conversations with certain people or with big groups? Maybe you've always felt like you pick up on energy in an instant and read people right away—almost as soon as you come into contact. If you answered yes to any of the above, chances are you may be an empath.

Empaths are people who can feel what other people are feeling and experiencing without actually being in the same circumstances themselves. It's like being a psychic of sorts but with more emphasis on experiencing others' emotions.

Before I knew I was an empath and before I came to learn about all the tools and practices that help me feel balanced and taken care of on a regular basis, I used to feel like I was going crazy. How was it that I could feel so deeply and so much at once? Under the guise of having fun and partying, starting at the age of 14 (when my sensitivity began to heighten), I turned to alcohol and drugs to self-medicate. I didn't want to feel so much.

That worked for a while. Until one day, about a decade later, self-medicating simply stopped making a difference. So, I sought support in finding and forging a new, better path. Initially, getting sober opened the floodgates to feelings I had repressed for years and years. Everything flowed in at once, making an already arduous lifestyle change even more challenging. But eventually I evened out and began to explore alternative healing modalities and transformational work for further clarity.

Learning that I am an empath changed my life forever. I know myself. I love myself. Most of all, I understand how profoundly useful my abilities can be in helping myself and others heal, transform, and grow. I often wonder how many people, in any given moment, are struggling with their own empathic abilities, unaware of their gifts and their unique capacity to connect with the world.

Because it is. Getting pumped about self-care will change your game. Treat yourself like your own favorite project. How well you take care of yourself is how successful, connected, happy, and free you are every day.

Care for yourself on every level: mind, body, and spirit. Nutrition and healthy eating are huge. The cleaner you eat and the better equipped your physical body is for optimal performance, the clearer your intuition will be and the stronger your abilities will be. Physical activity is also crucial for moving energy and releasing any buildup or blockages that you might be storing from absorbing other people's "stuff" along the way.

There are plenty of options, there's no one-size-fits-all method. But the baseline routine is striving to eat organic, to consume more plant-based foods than otherwise, to take in less sugar and fewer processed foods, to eat only consciously raised animals (if you eat any), and perhaps to switch to minimally processed dairy (if you use it at all).

Even if you've never meditated before, there's no better time to start than right now. For so long, my empathic nature made me want to take care of everyone else first. I thought that as long as the people around me were happy and taken care of, I'd feel that way, too. I found it unbearable to sit still—being alone with my thoughts wasn't even an option.

Next-level guided meditations rocked my world as soon as I became curious about trying them. Plus it helped to listen to someone else's guidance, especially as I was getting comfortable with my own practice. You can try searching YouTube for "Empath Meditation" and "Aura Cleansing Meditation" to get started.

Anything that doesn't feed your soul, that you might be doing to please others, has to go. If a single bit of you feels unaligned with an activity or plan, say, "Thanks, but no thanks." I used to be so uncomfortable turning down invitations. I wanted to say yes to everything because I was so grateful to even be invited, and I wanted to make sure I didn't miss out on anything. Well, news flash—FOMO is not a real thing. Practice saying no more often, and it'll become much easier for you to respect and tend to your own wants and needs.

I've deeply connected with the beauty of my empathic inclination to help everyone, to feel deeply connected to humanity and all living things, and to want to use my abilities and experience to help as many people as possible live incredible, fulfilled, happy lives. That intention has manifested in magical ways—some of which I could never have predicted. When I reflect on all I've accomplished in just a few short years, my life sometimes feels like a dream.

So let me ask you: How do you want to show up in the world? What is your gift? How are you called to make an impact? Your unique talent—your vocation—is utterly, urgently needed.