Overly Sensitive Or Highly Intuitive?

Overly Sensitive or Highly Intuitive? Do you notice yourself getting easily overstimulated? Do you have a tendency to pick up and take on the moods and emotions of others? If you go from enthusiasm to overwhelm to exhaustion in a short cycle, this may be worth listening to. It could be that you are an Empath. Includes suggestions for self-care and soothing strategies.

Transcript

Hello,

This is Jennifer from Lighting the Path and I just wanted to share some reflections on anxiety and how that may be interpreted in other ways.

So what I'm thinking is,

Is it that we're highly sensitive,

Overly sensitive,

Or are we highly intuitive?

So in other words,

How do you know whether you're an empath?

Do you notice yourself getting easily overstimulated or tend to pick up on and take on the moods of others,

The emotions of others?

Does scrolling on the internet make you worry?

What about crowds and lots of social interactions?

Does it feel like you need a day or more to recover after a big family or social event?

These are a few things that I noticed in myself too.

As a child,

So back in the 80s,

Early 90s,

I would panic that I would get whatever ailment another person had because I could feel it so deeply whenever I witnessed it.

In other words,

I internalized it.

Also in those younger days,

I felt like I didn't quite fit in and actually felt alienated from my peers.

No one was particularly mean to me or intentionally tried to exclude me as far as I could tell.

I just didn't really feel like I belonged.

So thinking I needed to improve on my coping skills led to many stress management courses,

Personal growth,

Even misdiagnosis of anxiety and depression,

All in ways to just manage the overwhelm and overstimulation.

And along the way,

I learned what it meant to be an empath and was amazed that it could check up on most,

If not all of the boxes.

So it wasn't just me after all.

Managing overwhelm became a focus,

Continued focus,

Because it was something I definitely needed to fine tune.

And being tuned into many things at once can actually make you feel hypervigilant and may appear a lot like generalized anxiety.

Because of the sensory overload,

It might feel soothing to turn off the radio and other devices,

Your phone,

TV,

Especially the news or violence or any graphic images can be a little bit triggering.

So hanging out in nature among animals or alone in your room can be so quieting for the mind and calm frazzled nerves.

It's easy for a highly sensitive person to get overloaded from caring too much and boundaries,

Especially psychic boundaries.

And so trying to create healthy boundaries really takes on essential meaning.

And I'll share a few ways that I use to take clear and protect my energy in a moment.

One thing I know for sure is that I often need downtime to restore and replenish.

Does any of that sound familiar to you?

Before I knew about being an empath,

I would explain that I was really sensitive to lights and noise,

And often preferred spending time on my own in quiet solitude,

Very much an introvert,

But I think it was a little bit more than that.

Heightened sensitivity to electromagnetic frequencies or EMFs is also common among empaths.

And this sensitivity increased as my vibration elevated.

And when I learned to tune in more,

It was more helpful than trying to tune out.

And it was easy to recognize this empathic ability was more of a gift,

Actually,

Than a curse.

Because empaths can pick up on subtle cues,

They can provide insight into what might be going on with another person or an animal or a plant.

Empaths have a strong intuitive ability that is channeled through clear cognizance,

Which is about clear knowing,

And clear sentience,

Which is about clear deep feeling.

And there's a lot of articles on the internet that you can read about this,

And I encourage that you do if you suspect that you might be an empath too.

So for people that are highly sensitive person or empaths,

We tend to absorb all the energy around it,

Not just feel it,

But actually absorb it.

So some of the ways I'd like to offer declare and protect your energy,

No matter how you identify,

The following steps will guide you to direct your energy in a more healthful way so that you can clear and protect your energy and take back your power.

So the three things are to understand your energy and to establish psychic boundaries,

And then to cultivate resilience.

So to understand your energy,

You need to cultivate self-awareness,

Awareness of your own energy,

So that you can best discern what belongs to you and what doesn't.

It does take a lot of energy to continually protect and deflect all the time,

And you can quickly feel worn out and exhausted.

So what about reflecting on how you currently manage your energy and direct your energy flow?

How do you practice discernment?

In other words,

Are you able to differentiate your own feelings from the feelings and emotions of those around you?

Sometimes,

And particularly for empaths or those who are highly sensitive,

One has a tendency to absorb the thoughts,

Feelings,

And emotions for others.

For example,

You could feel happy and content one minute.

Then if someone who's feeling angry walks by you,

You start suddenly feeling upset or tense and become irritable.

Start noticing how you may be affected by the other's moods and get to know yourself really well so that you're better able to discern what belongs to you and what doesn't.

If you're highly sensitive or have a strong empathic gift,

You can become easily overwhelmed and move from enthusiasm to overload in an instant and in certain environments,

Whether you're conscious of the impact or not.

For example,

Think of a time when you walked into the store to buy groceries.

There's music playing overhead and you're considering what to make for dinner along with a million other things in your to-do list.

Then you start singing a song or you leave the store with the song stuck in your head.

You picked up the song,

Which you were just exposed to and you may not even have been conscious of it at the time.

Has that ever happened?

Subtle influences impact you and your energy every minute of every day,

So it's vital to become more aware of what you're tuning into and then consciously choose what you will allow into your body,

Your mind and your spirit.

And then it's important to establish psychic boundaries because without them you become a sponge and start absorbing everything.

And it's okay to care,

You just don't want to carry.

So some signs that you may be carrying the burdens of others or their emotions is a hard time forgiving,

Or you're feeling angry or cranky,

Irritable or tired in the presence of certain people,

Or even just after thinking about them.

So or having a phone call with them or a text,

Aversion or trying to avoid certain people is another thing.

So this could be co-workers,

Neighbors,

Friends,

Family members,

Or even people you don't know that you're just crossing paths with.

Having healthy boundaries is important and it's about being honest with your needs,

Truthfully saying yes or no in response to a request.

In fact it's I think really helpful to create some space between a request or a demand and a response.

It just gives you the freedom from any emotional attachments and just be able to discern what it is if you're picking up on stuff from them or if it's your thing,

It just gives you a chance to get that sorted before you actually respond.

And then really look at your motivation behind what you're saying yes to.

Be conscious of what you put out there too,

Because what you put out there is exactly what you attract back to you.

And then the third thing is about cultivating resilience.

Where does your energy go?

Decide where you want to direct it.

An energy leak is something that leaves you feeling drained.

So pay attention to that.

It can be a bad habit or behavior,

Unnecessary worry,

A relationship that takes and never gives back,

Or any time your obstacle gets the best of you.

So energy leaks can also manifest as distractions or obsessive thoughts.

So remember that momentum will attach itself to whatever it is focused on.

So in order to become strong and centered,

You must strengthen your being physically,

Emotionally,

Mentally,

And spiritually.

We tend to focus more on basic survival needs such as proper eating,

Sleep,

Or exercise.

And there's higher needs too,

To feed ourselves spiritually,

Which are also important.

So honor these needs by taking the time to regroup and engage in self-care practices.

You can cultivate healthy energy habits.

So search deep inside for what is meaningful for you and engage more in those things.

You'll naturally build more energy this way and life will shift.

I know that when I moved from a frantic life,

Moving from one thing to another,

To the next,

And shuffling various projects and tasks,

To a life that was more fulfilling and aligned with what my heart truly desired,

I felt freer,

Lighter,

More at peace.

What I learned from this shift is that practicing self-care regularly is vital for your well-being.

So here's some other ideas to get started in that.

Maybe you can soak in a salt bath.

Himalayan salts,

Rapsom salts are really great to detoxify your body and also to cleanse the soul.

Take some time to pray or meditate or even just sit in solitude.

Any of these practices can be verbal,

Silent,

Or with movement.

And it deepens your connection with yourself and your true power.

I know for me I really enjoy meditative therapies or dancing or embodied practices.

For me I need to move.

I'm not so good at sitting still.

So there's a whole plethora of practices that you can choose from.

So find what works for you.

One thing where you don't have to do much of anything is that you can place a plant near your back and ask the plant to help you replenish overnight and then tune back into your own natural rhythms.

Just avoid the plants that are pointing to your prickly because they can induce conflict.

Spending time in natural sittings is really nice.

Being around animals of course or happy children.

Playing music that soothes your soul and gets you singing and dancing.

Or you can use aromatherapy.

Just make sure there are therapeutic grade oils,

Essential oils and not the synthetic types.

And you can put them in a bowl of boiled water to diffuse in your bedroom or your office unless of course you're in a scent-free environment.

Bring them into your living space.

Or there's some that you can get even to plug into your car.

Those are fantastic.

There's all kinds of blends you can get too.

So take a look at that.

That's something that can just be going on in the background.

And down time is absolutely required to regroup and replenish.

So make sure you give yourself a rest.

And stop as often as necessary to reconnect your energy.

Stay full,

Stay in a state of love,

Stay solid.

And remember,

Once you achieve this state of love,

No thing nor anyone can pull your energy away from you more than you can replace.

So one last thing I'll say is that you must be conscious of this process for it to work,

Especially when you're interacting with others.

I hope you found this helpful and I'll talk to you again soon.

Thanks for listening.

Reviews

Thank you so much for this track . That explains a lot to me about myself . Much love and gratitude ❤️🙏🕊️

This talk was spot on Jennifer, thank you for supporting us empaths.🙏

Wonderful insights and tips. Thank you !!

Excellent comprehensive, explanation on being an empath. Useful suggestions to manage and flourish as a highly sensitive/intuitive person. Thank you.