Anyone Super-sensitive To Emotional/environmental Energies?

[Misul]

My reaction to the video is this: I didn't watch the entire thing, since it's over an hour long, but along with intuitiveness should be wisdom. I never trust anyone who says, "follow emotion." That goes against my core beliefs. I say listen to emotion, but have the wisdom to understand what emotion really is. Decisions should not be based on emotion; they should be based on reflection and a sense of humility (we don't know everything). It's very difficult for me to explain. "What your EMOTIONS are trying to tell you" is an extremely incorrect subtitle for this book, in my opinion. Our emotions aren't telling us anything at all. It's intuitiveness, sensitivity to energy, etc. I really feel it's important to make that clear. We might have an emotional reaction to what we pick up on (and we should use thinking to counteract that, NOT give into emotion or we will be spent, and yes that's easier said than done), but it's not EMOTION doing the "reading". Does that make any sense at all? Emotions need careful consideration, examination and are not always truth. Intuitiveness is something different altogether. Coming from an emotional perspective means injecting our personal bias and paradigms onto a situation.

I'm pretty sure that most of you know the difference. For some reason, I feel it needed to be put out there. I don't know why. My reaction was based on the video, not anyone's posts.

 

[Hashi]

I unfortunately don't know anything about psychic protection but if it can help. I'm very interested in finding out.

I had trouble finding anything I particularly liked or found helpful about protection from outside energies, but I thought William Bloom's book was better than the others. I think it's called "Psychic Protection". Not all the ideas clicked with me, but more of them than other things I've seen, and I think his explanations are quite good.

 

[Abstract]

Our emotions aren't telling us anything at all.

Oh I don't agree at all. In fact I very strongly disagree I am afraid. Especially as someone who dismissed my emotions and for most of my life.

Learning to listen to and manage my emotions has been an important part of what has enabled me to manage my depressive symptoms, recover form my long term eating disorder, hugely reduce me continuously ending up in unhealthy relationships, develop my sense of self and much more. Ignoring emotions does not do any good at all in my opinion.

I think DBT's "wise mind" says it all. When we consider emotions and take rational thought into consideration then the two combined add up to more than the sum of the parts. Empathy is emotions. Being an Empath is about having more than average empathy. I recommend the book, "Don't Let Your Emotions Run Your Life: How Dialectical Behavior Therapy Can Put You in Control " for more information about how useful emotions are.

The problem comes when we confuse others emotions for our own or our emotions for others. And the way to stop that from happening is to tune in not tune out.

Emotions are extremely important sources of information for decisions and actions in our lives. Used correctly they are the road signs that tell us what we need to do to protect ourselves, care for ourselves or what we need to address to heal ourselves (where our damaged areas are).

Reacting to past emotions as if they are being caused by the present or confusing our and others emotions are a recipe for disaster but we can learn to manage these things.

A large part of intuition is related to reading emotions. Empathy is about being able to feel the feelings someone else is feeling.

When it comes to empathy there are many different types of empathy and there is quite a bit of information available out there on what they entail.

I particularly liked her separation of what she describes as empathetic action and empathic action. The one a knee jerk reaction from feeling others feelings and the other a considered response that is in the best interests of the person and as a result of reading their emotions.

I liked Karla McClarens description of how important it is to not confuse whose emotions are whose and and how important it is to stop ourselves being overwhelmed and absorbing too much unnecessarily.

I used to almost feel disabled by my empathy and empath tendencies but I have come a long way and can manage them fairly well now thank goodness and so no longer resent them as I once did.

 

[Misul]

I think we are essentially saying the same thing, but using different words.

From my point of view. it wasn't your emotions which helped you. It was your wisdom which was LISTENING to and MANAGING them. It's a higher function. Following emotion is what leads us to things like addiction because we are seeking an escape from the terrible emotions we're feeling. Then something in us says, "Wait, this isn't making me feel better at all... I want to stop this in order to have a better life for myself." The struggle to stop is difficult because, aside from chemical dependency, it's so easy to give into the bad emotion and seek whatever pleasure or dulling effect the addiction gives.

I don't disagree with you, I just think we are coming at the same point from different perspectives. :)

 

[Abstract]

it wasn't your emotions which helped you

It was directly to do with me learning to listen to and understand my emotions. I always had logical thought and abilities. Ignoring my emotions caused serious havoc and impairment in my life. It caused my addictive behaviour as well. In fact a main focal point of addiction treatment is to get people to connect to, experience and manage their emotions rather than blindly just converting them into the addiction.

I have had to loosen my grip on logic and rationality in order to progress in my life. For me.

Seeking pleasure and dulling affect is about denying emotions not listening to them. Its a blind reaction not an aware attunement with emotion. Listening to emotions does not mean just reacting to them of course. Once we understand what they are telling us there are helpful ways to react or unhelpful ones.

I certainly agree with you that rational thought is important though. Some people blindly react to emotion without any thought and I think that is what you are saying.

 

[Misul]

Seeking pleasure and dulling effect is about denying emotions not listening to them. Its a blind reaction not an aware attunement with emotion.

I see what you mean about denying emotion instead of confronting it. I guess I see it is a direct response to emotion and that's what I mean, that we shouldn't directly respond to emotion, but think it through; what we really know about the situation, long term consequences, etc. I'm not very good at explaining, though. An example might be years ago when my anxiety was higher. My friend had given me some expensive cigarettes he'd bought because he didn't like them. They sat on the kitchen counter for awhile and I remember the overwhelming temptation to have one because I thought it would calm me down. Just thinking about doing it felt good. I even said things like, "I deserve it, I'm so stressed." To me, that's a direct response to emotion (stress). But my brain said, "No, that's not a good idea. It's unhealthy and you might like it too much and get addicted. Best not to even do it once." I broke them all in half, and poured water on them so there was no way I could smoke them. From my perspective, that's my logical thinking overriding my emotional reaction. Although I could see that from your perspective you might be saying that it was emotional since I was observing my emotion and then decided to stop and deal with stress in another way.

 

[Abstract]

I understand what you mean now Mlsul. Hopefully gms will not feel I am taking her thread off track.

If hope you don't mind but this is how I would see the situation you describe. You feel anxiety. Your response is to want to reject it and get rid of it. You are thinking "bad emotion". You want to suppress it and so you act out with the cigarette in an impulsive way.

Whereas if you: Felt anxious. Stopped and listened to the anxiety. Considered what the anxiety was telling you. Are you anxious because your friends boyfriend is looking at you too intimately? Are you anxious because you are seeing your t later? Are you anxious because you had some visual intrusions earlier? Are you anxious because your friend is anxious and you are absorbing her feelings?

Once you decide which it is you can then take appropriate and considered action. Each of those require a different action. Listening to and taking evasive action could stop the first possibility from developing into something nasty later.

One of the most revelationary things I have ever learned is that anger is an indication that our boundaries have been crossed. We can have very fragile and unrealistic boundaries of course (and sometimes because of the past). But realising that something is a boundary crossing, for us, can be extremely helpful in managing much of our lives. That alone changed my life totally and changed my relationship with anger.

I hope that better explains what I meant and what the book meant.

 

[Misul]

Now I understand what you are saying perfectly and I agree 100%. That's exactly what I mean by "not acting out of emotion." Thanks for sharing and helping me understand. :D

 

[Expat in Australia]

I'd like to chime in, if that's cool. I'm new here.

1) Knowing: I know when people are talking about me, even if they're across the room. That MAY be chalked up to my hyper vigilance, but I'm usually right. I can walk into a room and know which males I threaten. I have never been in a fight but I do look fairly 'tough'. I'm a teddy bear. If there's bad vibes in the air, I can feel it and act accordingly (which usually means, "Let's go..")

2) Being in public places can be overwhelming: I used to love it, now, the older I get, I can't be bothered with crowds anymore. Which is odd, because I'm a guitarist and I perform in front of large groups of people. I no longer go to clubs anymore because of the fights/glassings out here. But I hate malls, supermarkets, etc. My lovely wife likes to hang out, look and feel every single piece of anything, and I'm a typical male; get in, get out. That causes arguments. I'm pretty mission oriented if we leave the house.

3) Feeling others emotions and taking them on as your own: I doubt it. I'm probably too dense for that. But if I'm at home playing music that someone else doesn't like, I'll have to change it because it bothers me that much that they don't enjoy it that I can't enjoy it.

4) Watching violence, cruelty or tragedy on the TV is unbearable: I can watch human/human violence, be it real or drama, but I cannot watch human to animal violence, can't hear it being spoke of, anything like that. If I hear of an animal being tortured I go out of my mind with rage and my wife needs to tell me to settle down. Kids and animals flock to me, for whatever reason. I guess they know I'm coming from a good place, or they can sense my sincerity. It's frequent enough to where other people comment on it. I'm just used to it.

5) Creative: From singing, dancing, acting, drawing or writing an Empath will have a strong creative streak and a vivid imagination. Worked in radio, currently doing music.

6) You know when someone is not being honest. My wife's female friends date, and lots of times I meet these guys. I can spot a clown within seconds. I even tell my wife when someone's off and then we sit back and see what happens. I often tell my wife's girlfriend my thoughts, and I've never been wrong. When I was five I knew my mom's bf was off, we learned later that night he had been in and out of institutions. He didn't seem off, but I knew. He scared me. I don't know what to chalk it up to. Hyper vigilance?

7) Love of nature and animals: More animals than nature, but the older I get, the mature nature grows on me.

8) The ability to feel the days of the week: I hate Sundays and Mondays, like every other human who works. I hate Winter and probably have that "seasonal depression bla bla bla" thing. I love sun/Summer forever.

9) Finds routine, rules or control, imprisoning. Wife and I will discuss plans for the future. Within 5 minutes I'm so stressed out that we either need to take a break or we just stop altogether. We both need routine; I have PTSD and she has anxiety. Quite a party at our house.

10) Addictive personality: Was probably sex when I was younger, it's more the binge drinking now. I feel 'normal' and relaxed after two beers. My thoughts aren't so frantic and random. I'm slightly tipsy and just chilled. I don't drink all the time, but if it's party time, watch out.

I'm not sure how much of an empath I am, I just read that word earlier in the week (reading a book written by a sociopatch-whom I also think I can spot out in seconds)...I regard any quirks I may have down to my PTSD-ness.

 

[gms1976]

I'm not sure how much of an empath I am, I just read that word earlier in the week (reading a book written by a sociopatch-whom I also think I can spot out in seconds)...I regard any quirks I may have down to my PTSD-ness.

Expat you have some wonderful sensitivities. I'm new to this - a complete novice - and I don't have a clue how to work it all out yet, but you seem to be really emotionally intuitive which is really great for a guy. So many men I know, including my own family, are almost emotionless in their expressiveness. I want to shake them til their teeth rattle sometimes! Just the fact that you can read people without even getting to know them says a lot. I have a similar experience, although my brain often reads "Is this person a threat to me or not?"

I can walk past someone on the sidewalk and feel uneasy. Some people just don't "feel" right. It's almost like their energy is prickly/jagged or something - for lack of a better explanation. It's more a sensation than a picture. Whatever it is, it's uncomfortable and it pushes me away from them. Some people just seem to radiate negativity like a beacon - I work with one - and it is really hard to deal with. I often - to my own dismay - find myself taking on some of her negative characteristics. It's that sponge phenomenon I mentioned above.

About a month ago I met someone and we bonded instantly. It was weird and wonderful at the same time. There was this smooth, calm, emotional feel about her (I think I was recognizing her energy) that just felt right. Something felt right and so right, in fact, that we ended up sharing a lot in only a few hours. I'm normally quite socially awkward and she and I hit it off like we'd known each other for years. I'm thrilled to have a new friend. I wish it would happen more often.

I've been putting all this quirkiness down to my PTSD too, until I started realizing something was whacky (if PTSD can get any whakier) - no one could be that crazy and I can do Mad Hatter balancing on one hand. I'm always too emotional, even when things have little connection to me at all and I think I'm picking up on subtle background energy but that's just my thoughts and theories - I'm a newbie at this. I would like to turn the volume down if possible. Some days I wish I could turn it off entirely because I want nothing more than to be normal and fit in.

I liked what you shared above. Thank you for doing so!

 

[Whitneys story]

@gms1976, I am glad to see you are getting a mix of responses! No matter what name or title is used a complete understanding is required.

Please use caution as an incorrect understanding can be hazardous. It is different for everyone.

This is a great thread with a lot of information. Yet I would re qualify with your therapist. Your opening post of what criteria by therapist claims has no proven records. It may be their opinion which they are entitled to. I wish you success with your journey! Whitney

 

[Expat in Australia]

Expat you have some wonderful sensitivities.

Cheers, I attribute that to having three older sisters. I love and respect women and get along with them very well. I've had PTSD for roughly 40 years, was diagnosed maybe 3-4 years ago (we thought it was ADHD), and now I'm just trying to live with it as best as possible. It'll never leave me, I doubt it will diminish, so I may as well learn from others in here and try a few different things until I find something that works.

I hope we all get some peace, that's for sure.