17 Survival Tips For Empaths And Highly Sensitive People

By a conscious rethink on 27th January 2016 Mind

If you are an empath or highly sensitive individual, it can seem like your personal world is
continually invaded by the energy and feelings of those around you. This can wear you down
and drain you of your own life force if you are not careful, which is why it is so vital to utilize
all of the coping mechanisms discussed below.
Your giving nature and highly attuned senses are gifts to this world, but without proper care,
they run the risk of being lost. If youre an empath, I urge you to keep this list close at hand
for those times when the outer universe is harming your inner universe.

1. Identify Drains & Energizers

The first and most important thing that any empath can do is to figure out when and how their
energy gets drained and, similarly, those things that act to energize them.
With this knowledge, they can try to avoid situations, places, and even people who sap their
energy, while making sure they spend enough time doing the things that replenish their stores.
It may sound simple, but stemming the flow out and boosting the flow in are essential
elements for empaths to not just survive, but flourish.

2. Create A Shield
There are bound to be some situations that you, as a highly sensitive person, would rather
avoid, but simply cant because of their significance in your life. Important work functions,
large family gatherings, and other social events could all involve people and energies that you
find difficult to deal with.

Since they are somewhat necessary, you have to find a way to cope with such circumstances
and an energy shield is one way to do that.
It will require effort and practice on your part, but eventually you can form a mental barrier
that lets in what you wish to let in, but deflects anything negative away. You just need to
image a bubble surrounding your being a bubble of light is a good way to think about it.
Inside this bubble is your world, where you can focus inwards and find your balance, while
everything else is on the outside.
When you sense your energy being drained by other people or the occasion, you can retreat
inside your bubble and stop the flow. It all comes down to awareness of you and whats
within you.

3. Watch Your Thoughts

If you find it difficult to build yourself a shield to prevent negative thoughts and feelings from
invading your mind, the next best thing is to keep careful watch over your mind to identify
their source.
For example, when you find yourself thinking angry thoughts, ask yourself whether this is
your anger, or something that youve absorbed from another. Once you have worked out
whose feeling it is and where it came from, you can begin a dialogue in your mind to find a
solution.
Ask yourself what the anger is trying to tell you perhaps you feel something is missing from
your life in the present moment or maybe you find another persons behavior unacceptable.
Go through a quick question and answer session to see if there is something that can be done
to release the anger, and then do it.
Identification is the key here working out what the thought is trying to tell you and where it
came from is a sure fire way to either own it or dispel it.

4. Repeat Positive Affirmations

Empaths are usually very open and giving people, but this is not to say that they always
remain positive. Because they feel whats around them, they can suffer from sadness and grief
that isnt theirs. To remain positive, it can be helpful to have a selection of positive
affirmations on hand to push away from the negativity and swim back to the light.
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5. Grounding

You may find that you have a stronger connection with the Earth than most people and you
can use this to your advantage if you know how.
It is possible, with practice, to take any downbeat energy and feelings that you may be having
and send them into the Earth where they are absorbed. Similarly, the connection can send
positive vibes upwards and into your center.
It all comes down to identifying and strengthening that bond between you and the Earth.

6. Forgive
Genuine forgiveness is the process by which negative energy that has been pent up inside, is
released and waived on its way.
Whether it is a person or something else that occurred in your past, as long as you hold on to
the hurt, it will continue to sap you of your life force. Only when you detach yourself from it,
can you begin the healing process.
As a sensitive soul, you probably find yourself getting used and hurt more than most its a
by product of your caring and giving nature so knowing when and how to forgive is
especially important for you.

7. Catharsis
Empaths will often have busy minds that are trying to deal with the many emotions that
bombard them on a daily basis. It can be the case that they get so wrapped up in their thoughts
that they neglect to process and purge the feelings that they have; instead they get stored up
and continue to affect them.
Catharsis happens when you let yourself feel the emotions at their most vivid crying when
sad, laughing when happy, and screaming when angry. These are all expressions of emotions,
but they are so much more too. They become outlets for the pent up energy, whether positive
or negative.
So dont be afraid to embody the emotions, albeit temporarily, so that you may process and
overcome them.

8. Schedule Some You Time

Many of the tips in this list are best practiced alone, which is why it is critical to give yourself
plenty of you time to do just that.
Dont feel bad if you have to say no to other people; your wellbeing is a high priority and
your family and friends will get the very best out of you if they first allow you to be by
yourself.
So whether you set aside two evenings a week, or an hour before you go to bed each night,
make sure you put some alone time in your diary.

9. Create A Safe & Welcoming Place

Tied directly to the previous point about being by yourself, you will be able to recover your
energies and rediscover your balance much quicker if you create a comfortable place in which
to relax.
More than other people, empaths benefit from having a place that is solely for relaxation
purposes. Whether its a bedroom, bathroom, or somewhere else, dont watch TV, organize
your life, or take phone calls in it at any time. Make it a place for recuperation only.

10. Eat Well

It might sound strange, but highly attuned individuals are far more in touch with the food and
nutrition they put into their bodies. When they eat crap, they feel crap.
With this in mind, be sure to try and stick to a diet that is healthy and balanced. By eating the
right mixture of fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, pulses, and a few little treats (in
moderation), you will help top up your energy stores effectively.

11. Meditation & Yoga

Keeping the body and mind supple and flexible can give an empath the additional coping
skills they require to navigate the world around them. The benefits gained from practices such
as meditation, yoga, and other similar arts can never be underestimated, and this is no more
true than for an empath.

12. Get Out Into Nature

The link between an empath and the Earth has already been discussed, so it should come as no
surprise to you to learn that exposure to nature in all its glory is a powerful healer for them.
Nature is awash with vibrant energy and just by immersing yourself in it for a short while,
you can soak this energy up and revitalize yourself.

13. Change Your Perspectives On People & Energy

As a highly sensitive person, it can sometimes be puzzling to witness and experience other
people. You are on the upper scale when it comes to caring and kindness, and when you see
people exhibiting neglectful or hurtful behavior, it can trouble you greatly.
For this reason, it is recommended that you try to remove yourself from your mind and
observe these other people not as bad or evil, but as misguided or hurting.
Quite often, those who act at the opposite end of the spectrum to you, do so because of their
upbringing or some trauma they have suffered in their past. They simply may not be able to
envision the world as you do and therefore dont treat it, or the people in it, the same way that
you do.

By changing your perspective of these people and their energies, you can lessen their effect
on you through pure understanding. You may even find that you can experience love and
sympathy for them where you once experienced bewilderment and frustration.

14. Cleanse Your Chakras

Your chakras are your spiritual and energetic centers within your body and keeping these free
from damaging negativity is of paramount importance.
A popular and effective means of doing this is to use aromatherapy and/or smudging. The
power of fragrance has been used for thousands of years and scents such as those from sage
and lavender can help clear your chakras of anything that may prevent them from working at
their best.
Some also believe that certain crystals can be used to absorb negative energy from your
surroundings and from within yourself.

15. Be Grateful For Your Gifts

Being an empath or a highly sensitive person may sometimes seem like a burden, but it is
actually a great gift. You are able to experience the zest and zeal of life to a high degree and
one that many other people will struggle to attain.
Just by showing gratitude for your abilities, you can aid the rejuvenation process. Your thanks
is itself a positive energy which can force out the negative and leave you with serenity.

16. Set Boundaries

Sometimes there will be people in your life that, without knowing it, cross into your energy
zone that bubble from earlier in the article. This is why it is crucial that you set boundaries
when and where they are needed.
These boundaries can be physical, conversational, temporal, and many other things depending
on how a person invades your energy.
Be firm with these limits and dont let your caring nature leave you with your guard down.

17. Take Responsibility

If you believe that the world ought to change to accommodate your sensitive ways, you are
going to be gravely disappointed to learn that it never will.
Instead, it is empaths that have to take some responsibility for their own wellbeing and the
previous tips should enable you to do this.
You should know that your peace and your joy are products of your own making; while you
may feel the world like nobody else, you are also capable of managing it. Be empowered,

believe in yourself, and practice practice practice. Nothing is easy when youve got an
empathetic soul, but everything is achievable.