part II

Part II
The Empath Report 101
By Christel Broederlow
The following are only a few of the many possibilities that exist:

A friend is telling you of a situation with another friend, yet trying to make light of it. You just “know” it’s affecting them far more deeply and you make a subtle comment. You may even be quite descriptive. Your friend turns around and says, “How did you know that’s how I was really feeling?!” (Note this is a frequent, rather than one-time, occurrence.)

A young child is playing at the local park a few houses away. He falls over and cuts open his knee. His mother, at home, gets a “gut” feeling and drops what she's doing to go “check-in” on her youngster only to find her child crying his eyes out and cradling his injury.

A mother is in a much-needed, deep sleep and manages to squeeze in a couple of hours throughout the night. She awakes without obvious interruption to go “check-in” on her baby, who is stirring awake. (Again, this is a frequent, rather than a one-time. occurrence.)

A woman is feeling happy, relaxed, and has had a great day. Her partner comes home from work, grumbling the moment he walks in the door about how stressful the boss was and the pressure that was placed upon him. Within an instant, the woman is grumbling back.

A young man is talking with a girlfriend about something that is of concern and the girlfriend’s lack of interest starts to show in her becoming irritated with the conversation. In return, the young man picks up the irritation and shows it openly.

A parent senses that a teenager has had a rough patch with new boyfriend and is feeling down. The parent openly talks to her with obvious concern and understanding. In turn, the teen opens up and feels much better!

A child walks into a house and instantly feels a chill in the air, disharmony or as though something unpleasant has occurred at some point in time in the house.

The family is going to visit someone, and prior to arriving, the oldest son suddenly feels anxious for no apparent reason. Upon arriving at the destination, the family finds out that someone has just had a heated argument.

A young boy finds that he “knows” or senses bad news before it arrives. He has “felt” the illness, injury or death of a loved one. Some of these loved ones live thousands of miles away.

A woman is thinking of someone just as the telephone rings and guess who it is?

A father has a strong feeling of prevailing danger. Later that afternoon, his son is involved in an automobile accident.

A teen is particularly good at problem solving with mechanical devices, even though he doesn’t know precisely how they are made.

A teacher is particularly good at problem solving in many areas and has the ability to “look” deeper and find creative solutions.

A fisherman is “sensitive” to weather and knows when a storm comes. He gets a tingling sensation running through his chest that always precedes stormy weather.

A medical intuitive has the ability to sense illness/disease in others. She can “read” deeply and find cause of the illness or disease.

A woman walks by a stranger in a mall and feels an intense weight and feels like she is being lost in a fog. As soon as the person leaves, so too does the energetic vibration, weight and confusion.

A man awakes in the night and feels as if his recently departed wife is standing beside his bed.

A hiker has a strong sense of direction and a natural ability to navigate, in the car, walking etc. Even under the canopy of a dense forest, he is able to find his way.




Empathy is often mistaken for sympathy. Having empathy is not having sympathy for another. To sympathize is to feel for another’s situation. (For example, it involves a concern of sadness or helplessness in watching another suffer. You might hear, “I couldn’t help her and I felt so sad.”) The sympathizer often may not know what to say or confuses the situation more by unintentionally saying the wrong thing.

A sympathizer may have difficulty comforting another for one feels uncomfortable just thinking of it. They may not understand where the person is coming from, let alone going. It is a different form of understanding than empathy. In death, one often says, "I sympathize with you"," I am sad for you", or “I am sorry for your loss". (There is nothing wrong with this form of understanding.)

On the other hand, in flowing empathy an empath feels, to some degree, what the other is going through as though it were the empath's own true feelings. An empath may know what to say and do so comfortably with affection, compassion, warmth and understanding.

In true empathy, an empath will share the other's experience without judgment, bias or harsh, thoughtless words. It's as though they experienced the same situation and have walked in the other’s shoes. Many people believe they are empathic when, in actual fact, they are sympathetic and vice-versa.




"My empathy is so overwhelming.” This has to be one of the most frequently expressed sentences I hear from empaths. It is generally followed by, "How can I control my empathy?"

Yes, it most certainly feels overwhelming! If one is not aware of how to control it and/or has little understanding of what empathy is all about, he or she will struggle to maintain emotional balance in life. The less known, the more overwhelming the life of an empath “feels” because he/she cannot determine the origin of many of the emotions, illnesses or symptoms that he/she experiences.

It can affect relationships with a partner, family, friend or potential friends. The empath can get overloaded with other people’s emotions and even become seriously drained of his or her own personal energy. Learning to become aware of his or her “own” feelings as just that, belonging to and originating from one's self only will help tremendously. Otherwise, an empath can unknowingly take on board another's feelings/emotions.

This is most noticeable in situations where an empath can take on the “anger” or “stress” of others. Suddenly, without reason, he or she may become angry, have outbursts, or find him or herself retaliating. Essentially, the empath is sending the anger or stress back to its owner, although he or she will assume the anger or stress is his/her own. If an empath finds him or herself in this situation, he or she can expect to have taken on someone else's feeling.

This situation often leaves one feeling bewildered, if not confused as to how it started. It is no fun taking on board another’s feelings. A large part of learning about empathy is becoming aware what originates from one's self. When the empath learns about him or herself, he or she will learn that much more about others.

Although the following varies from empath to empath, a few examples of what empaths may experience are Chronic Fatigue, lack of energy, feeling exhausted in the company of certain people, experiencing extreme anxiety in crowds, in shopping malls and in public places, and/or feeling drained when arriving at the workplace. Again, these experiences are dependent upon how well the empath knows him or herself and how well the empath understands empathy.

Many a time an empath will feel (through empathy) and/or hear (through telepathy) the thoughts of another that are directed at the empath. These are words or feelings from another that aren't said out aloud. Rather, they have a “behind one’s back” kind of feeling and can be very difficult to deal with. The empath's thoughts will be along the lines of, "Why don't you just say it out aloud, and get it over and done with?” Unfortunately, those thoughts and feelings ARE the other person's, not the empath’s. Until (if ever) they express them openly, it is the empath's job to literally ignore them. As difficult as it may be, there is a privacy matter that comes into place here regardless if we like it or not or understand it or not. The ethics and morals involved in being empath are discussed in Part III of this Report.




To a degree, empathic interactions can be controlled. That degree depends upon one’s willingness to learn what empathy is continuously teaching us firsthand. Being aware of empathy is a great start. Detaching yourself when necessary is the next thing.

When you find yourself in a “heated” or stressful situation, STOP what you are doing and THINK quickly. Rewind the scene in your mind and go back to how you felt just prior to the situation getting out of hand. Were you calm, happy, relaxed? And then did you suddenly feel overwhelmed with anger, etc.? If so, empathy is calling for your attention! You may have just taken on board the other person’s feelings as though they were your own. For the unaware empath, this is an unconscious act and hence, the dire need to learn to be in awareness.

On the other hand, have you found yourself thinking about a situation throughout the day? You find yourself feeling irritated, insecure, angry, annoyed, upset, to the point that, when you finally had the chance to express yourself, you were “heated”. In this case, it was your emotion initially and not an empathic interaction.

When you STOP and THINK --analyze the emotion as not yours-- then KNOW it is not yours. Confirm this mentally: “Oh, it is not I that am angry.” or “These are not my feelings.” This mental act detaches one from the “mix-up” of emotions from all parties concerned. When you become aware of how to separate your emotions from others’, you will learn to remain calm in yourself, focused on the other, and able to allow the other to express him/herself without prejudice or critical judgment.

You are not detaching yourself from the other as though you are heartless. You are simply not taking on another person’s feelings in a literal manner, confusing them as your own, or expressing them as if they were.

In learning empathy awareness you are able to step back and allow your natural compassion to come through with no deep underlying effect on yourself. You are able to understand others in a nurturing way because you “know” and “feel” their emotions. This whole situation applies to all that come your way. It is without a doubt beneficial to you as the empath and helpful for any relationships you have with family and friends.

Sometimes not being detached from others, especially close loved ones, can appear quite the challenge. Another method of not picking up others so easily is a very simple method called FOCUSING. You intentionally focus on something else fully; immerse yourself in it--an object, tree, and/or picture--in order to distract your attention from what (or whom) appears to be “draining” you.

You can also listen to music, preferably without words, as certain lyrics can enhance your empathy and feeling of another and literally re-create what you're trying to distract yourself from. You can watch a lively “funny” movie/video, go for a walk, clear the air, clear yourself, sit beneath a tree, or read a book.

Focus away from the one that appears to “load” you up with his/her emotions. It is highly possible that he/she has no idea that they are projecting their emotions/thoughts so strongly. Nor do they know that you, as an empath, are receptive to that projection of emotion/thought. After all, the other person is most likely unaware that you are an empath and what empathy means.

NOTE: Just as empaths pick up the feelings of others, empaths also project their own feelings powerfully. We're not just talking about powerful words, but words that are packed with VERY strong emotions. Can you as an empath imagine what it would be like to be on the receiving end of an empath?

Sometimes it appears inevitable to be in situations where another person’s feelings can't be so easily pushed aside. Empaths can reach a point where the feelings flow through them rather than crash into them. They can learn that not all emotions are theirs and allow them to move on without need of analyzing. It is possible. It is possible to “go with the flow”.


Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 Christel Broederlow
Please NOTE: Not all empaths fit the descriptions below as each person has unique strengths and weaknesses in certain areas, just as all people. Some of the examples given below may apply, while others may not. This is a general guide only.