As a veteran Empath since a time before we even had a word for it, I can tell you, I understand what younger or newer Empaths go through every day. In the beginning, especially, being an Empath can feel like a curse and many of us wish we could turn off our feelings, just so we can find a little peace and quiet. After living with this gift for over 50 years, I’ve picked up some pretty handy tools to help make social interactions more manageable. I’d like to share them with you in the hope of making your life a little easier.
All empaths feel the energy and emotions around them, we are very sensitive to it. At times, we have all felt overwhelmed and drained by OPE (other people’s energy). This is normal and there are many 3D tools you can use to build your strength and shorten your recovery time.
- Spending time alone or in Nature
- Listening to music
- Taking a shower/bath or a walk
- Engaging in a creative activity
- Doing something nice for yourself
Meditation is another important 3D tool that could be included on this list. Being able to quiet the mind is a skill that every empath needs, and to me, all of the activities above incorporate a meditational quality. There are more ways to meditate that sitting cross-legged with your eyes closed.
In addition to these valuable and highly recommended tools for self care, there are some lesser known tricks and tools that you can activate on an energetic level. These can be used right in the moment of a stressful situation, which means they can reduce the level of depletion you feel and the need for recovery time.
To use these tools, we’ll need to agree on a basic understanding of Energy and your own Personal Power. Energy, as I refer to it here, is the energy that runs through all living things. It animates us, and connects us. It’s what Empaths feel from others. Personal Power is your own little bit of this universal Energy. It runs through you, and around you. It’s what people feel when they feel you.
Energy is fluid. It flows. You are not at the mercy of it, you have power. Just as you can feel the Energy around you, you can push it, manipulate it and send it back to Source, just with the strength of your own Personal Power. You can use your will to direct your Personal Power and influence the Energy around you. This is the mechanism you will use to activate the following techniques. You may need to practice some of them, but they are worth it:
- Breath and Intention – We should all understand the value of being able to control our breath in stressful situations. So many times we’ve heard, “Breathe!” and realized we had somehow forgotten or our breath had gotten caught in our throat. Breath and intention should be your first line of control when you feel uncomfortable. I use it like a mantra, saying the words in my mind as I regulate my breath.
I have used this technique to get through some of the most difficult situations in my life where my whole intention was merely to keep moving forward. When I am called upon to do something uncomfortable in front of others, I can use breath and intention as energetic blinders, meaning I tune out everything around me and focus completely on what I need to do in that moment. Practice this one to weather any storm. - Shield – Most empaths have heard of this one, but many don’t really know how to use it. The idea is to imagine your own personal energy surrounding you like a bubble of light. You can control the thickness and strength of your field: a clear or translucent bubble will allow more energy in than a solid or opaque bubble.
Using your Personal Power to maintain a solid bubble around you, or a shield, will work to keep out much of the energy around you, both positive and negative, but be warned, it can be very draining. It is not sustainable to walk around like this all the time, but it can be a blessing in a moment when you feel overwhelmed, particularly by someone you may be talking to. - Break Up the Energy Beam – For those of you who feel a lot of Energy enter your body through the solar plexus (just below the center of the rib cage), it is possible to reduce that pressure to make social interactions more enjoyable. Visualize the Energy as a stream of light. See it enter your body and immediately break into four beams that flow toward your hips and shoulders.
You should feel immediate relief from this technique. Another way to affect the beam is to put your hand over the area or cross your arms, to physically block the stream. I find physically blocking the stream does help, and many of us do this subconsciously, but breaking up the beam seems to be much more effective. - Energy Exchange – People who are energetically aware, or at least open, can give each other strength. The thing to remember with this technique is, the right hand sends and the left hand receives. So, if you’re feeling depleted while you are out, and you have a friend or kindred spirit nearby, extend your left hand for your friend to grasp with their right. Hugs can really work, too.
In many cases you will actually be able to feel the energetic exchange and instantly feel bolstered. If both of you are feeling uncomfortable, try holding both hands to create a flow that will straighten both of your Energies out. - Energetic Transformer – This one is my favorite. Imagine a mechanical box, sort of like a ghost trap in the movie Ghost Busters. Then, in your mind, throw it out in front of you to literally transform the energy around you.
When I first tried this, I was walking, so I didn’t want to throw it in front of me. I tried letting it trail behind me (in my mind), or off to the side, and it didn’t work. When I imagined it in front of me, I was blown away by a definite, positive shift in energy that originated in the center of my chest and spread across my body like a ripple I should say, this one seems to draw on your own Personal Power, like shielding, so it’s not sustainable all the time, but boy is it fun! And you can get a burst of strength from the new, transformed energy around you. - Spiky Energetic Field – When you really want to keep people away from you, this is the one you need! It’s like shielding, but instead of a simple, opaque energy field, let your field go all spiky, like a puffer fish.
This works really well. Even people who are totally unaware of energy will give you a wide berth. And again, because you are using your own Personal Power to generate the field, it’s not really sustainable in the long term. I just use it in bursts when there is someone or something I really want to avoid. - Deleting Someone From Your Reality – This one is ideal when you have to be around someone you know, but you don’t want anything to do with them. Basically you downgrade their status to stranger. You ignore them completely, as much as possible. When you must interact with them, be polite, like you would with a stranger, and then move away as quickly as possible. Do not smile or make any meaningful eye contact. Act as if they do not exist.
This works really well, even with people who don’t understand energy. While you’re not doing anything wrong or mean, they will understand that you want nothing to do with them without having to say a word and risk an argument. It will make them uncomfortable enough that they will leave you alone.
I hope you will experiment with these energetic tools to protect yourself and improve your confidence in a world that is overrun with negative energy. You might even come up with some new ideas of your own, and that’s great! Have fun with it, play with the energy around you. You are a conscious part of this energetic reality, be a part of it.
I’d also like to thank the Empaths I’ve known over the last 30 years for sharing their tips and tricks. If you have any techniques that are not included in this list, please contact me so I can add them for the benefit of Empaths everywhere.