My previous post outlined my responses to some of the traits which are common to Empaths. Here is the second part of that response as promised.
Love of nature and animals: Being outdoors in nature is a must for Empaths and pets are an essential part of their life.
My garden is my pride and joy.
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- Hebe
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- Pink poppy
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- Aquilegia
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- Clematis
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- Apple blossom
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- Pansy
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- Poppyposts
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- Lily
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- Passion flower
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- Petunia
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- Lavender
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- Poppy
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- Boston ivy
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- Fuschia
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- Wisteria
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- Rose
I love being outdoors in open space and fresh air. I hate being cooped up all day and this particularly cold and drab winter has been very difficult to cope with on occasions. Golf is great for me as long as I keep it non-competitive. It combines the outdoors, mastery of new skills and gentle exercise. I only wish I had more time for golf.
I have always had pets and can’t imagine a house without them, even if it’s a hamster sleeping away in the corner all day and only coming to life when I’m off to bed! Our pets give us an immense amount of pleasure and they are totally spoiled. If I won the lottery, my first purchase would be a nice house, with a huge garden and paddocks for lots of animals.
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- Golf-a great outdoor pastime
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- Swan at Wistow
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- Lamb at peace
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- Lake Windermere
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- A winter walk Foxton Locks
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- Pitsford Water
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- Tom the 7 kilo lion cat
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- Tom waking up and smelling the roses
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- Tom eating breakfast with us
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- Tessa by the pond
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- Tessa
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- Tessa protest
Need for solitude
An absolute necessity and this is the main reason I am unable to work long hours. I need time to myself every day and if I don’t get this time, my mental health deteriorates very quickly. The consequences can be devastating. Getting home late from work, eating, then going straight to bed, having to get up again at 5am the following morning is not sustainable as there is no “me” time built-in for recovery. Some people can do this day in day out and take their mental health for granted. Sadly I can’t and without doubt, my career progress has suffered greatly over the years as I am limited to the amount of working hours I can do. This is something that has caused me much upset in the past but I am now reconciled to under-performing and not reaching my potential despite my best efforts. As someone once told me, sometimes doing just enough has to be enough.
Gets bored or distracted easily if not stimulated
Oh yes! I have a very low boredom threshold and love learning new skills. I have many and varied interests and those who read my blog regularly will know that this year I decided I wanted to learn to ice-skate at the tender age of 50!
Caroline finally masters backwards lemons
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- Week 1 on the ice
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- Passed! Level 2
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- Passed! Level 3
Intolerance to narcissism
I have no time for these people.
Feeling others emotions and taking them on as your own
The killer blow and something I was not aware of until 3 years ago.
It was in May 2010 that I admitted publicly that I suffer with depression and have done for many many years.
Why did I start my Blog-Part 1
Why did I start my Blog-Part 2
Following my admission and for the next 6 months I was inundated with people wanting to talk to me about their experiences of depression and I was only too pleased to be able to help. The only problem was that it wasn’t helping me and I didn’t realise that I was unconsciously absorbing much of their distress and taking it on board. This affected my mood badly and in November 2010 I was advised to take time off work to redress the balance. I quickly learned that if I wanted to keep helping others with depression, I needed to become more remote and detached from their feelings and whilst I could offer practical suggestions and advice how to cope, I couldn’t fight their battles for them.
Good advice but difficult to do if your natural instinct is telling you otherwise.
There are a good many other indicators to Empath “status” but they will have to wait until another day.
In the meantime I would be very interested to hear your thoughts and comments. This is new but fascinating territory for me and any and all views are welcome 🙂
Poppyposts 
New to me too…I have heard about being hypersensitive that has many similar traits. Might be the same thing with a different name. In many ways, you are describing some of the same things I feel…others are quite different. I love gardens, creativity, and learning new things. So far, in my opinion, many things about being an Empath are very good. Fatigue however is not fun and really puts a damper on everything. Your description, you sound so much like a person I would love doing things with and would totally understand that sometimes we would each want to do something alone and not feel offended. Thank you for sharing your journey.
Yes, to all this. This is difficult reading because I feel like I’m peeling off a scab over a wound that didn’t heal right. It has to be done, but that doesn’t make it any less painful. Any yet, it’s a relief, too. I sit here fighting back tears because I recognize all this, and I’ve spent my whole life hiding from it. I was willing to look at bits and pieces but never the whole picture. It was too much all at once. Writing this, I realize I wasn’t hiding; I was protecting it. Maybe I’m finally strong enough to accept myself. Thank you so much for bravely sharing this.