Empowered by sensitivity? It sounds strange, doesn’t it? Sort of ironic, contradictory, even mutually exclusive.
How can you be empowered by something so soft, subtle and delicate, in a world full of hard, overpowering and loud people? Indeed, many of us Empaths get trampled, used, thrown around, and taken advantage of. But we have a secret.
Deep down inside, beyond the veil of our superficial appearances, we harbor something quiet, but powerful. Our gifts don’t dominate, tyrannize or overthrow people, but that doesn’t detract from their strength, or usefulness. If anything, our powerful but subtle gifts benefit us more in the long term, allowing us to gather emotional, psychological and physical information from our surroundings that is often inaccessible and undisclosed to the average, unreceptive mind.
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While we can’t bully, back-stab or use brute force, we can heal, guide, protect and deeply understand the lives of the people around us. In essence, we can gather immense amounts of knowledge. And knowledge, as they say, is power.
If you would like to discover whether you are an empath, take our empath test. Also, if you would like to discover what type of Empath you are, you will discover the 10 types at the end of this article.
Are You An Empath?
If you are an Empath, you will experience a combination of some or all of the following symptoms:
- You absorb other people’s emotions like a sponge, carrying them as your own.
- When someone close to you is physically ill, you can feel this as physical pains in your body.
- You often suffer from physical or mental fatigue and tiredness.
- You find Solitude immensely refreshing, and you require it to “recharge”.
- You often experience many mood swings or emotional states throughout the day.
- Witnessing violence or cruelty is unbearable to you.
- You are a very good listener.
- People often come to you with their problems.
- Animals and children are attracted to you.
- You are caring and nurturing by nature.
- You are hyper-aware of the physical environment, e.g. to smell, taste, sight, touch, hearing, etc.
- You can’t stand interpersonal conflict.
- Crowded places are very overwhelming and draining to you.
10 Types Of Empaths
While being an Empath can have its many positives and benefits, it can also weigh us down heavily with confusion, disorientation and anxiety. That is why it’s important to put a name to what we individually experience to better understand ourselves, and identify others who share the same abilities as us.
For this reason, I have included below a list, and small description, of each type of Empath. By understanding who you are, what gifts you possess and where you stand in life, you will be able to begin working with your soul. I elaborate on these types in our awakened empath book.
Claircognizant Empath
This is usually defined by the ability to simply know something needs to be done, or is true or misleading, without having any basis in logic or reason. Often this type of Empath will just “know” when something is right to do, or not, or when someone is lying or hiding something.
Emotionally Receptive Empath
Most Empaths are emotionally receptive, and can physically and emotionally feel the emotions from other people before they are even expressed.
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Physically Receptive Empath
Many Empaths are also physically receptive to other people’s illnesses and bodily pains. This often manifests itself in the Empath’s own body, and can be an especially useful skill in healing.
Fauna Empath
This type of Empath can hear, feel and interact with animals.
Flora Empath
This type of Empath can communicate with plants, being able to receive physical and emotional signals.
Geomantic Empath
The Geomantic Empath can read the energy and signals transmitted by the earth. Many are able to feel/predict natural disasters before they occur.
Medium Empath
This type of Empath can either see, hear, feel (or a combination of these elements) spirits, usually from deceased individuals.
Psychometric Empath
This manifests itself as the ability to receive information, energy and impressions from physical objects, e.g. photographs, clothing, jewelry, utensils, etc.
Precognitive Empath
This type of Empath can feel the occurrence of an event or situation before it actually happens. This is usually manifested in dreams, or as physical/emotional sensations, for instance: dread, anxiety, or excitement.
Telepathic Empath
The ability to accurately read a person’s unexpressed thoughts is the main defining feature of the Telepathic Empath.
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Free Test (Discover Which One You Are)
If you have trouble identifying which empathic gift you have, feel free to take our Empath Type Test
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Being an Empath can be difficult and confusing, but with awareness of your gifts and abilities, you can refine them and use them to guide, heal and protect yourself and the people you love.
My hopes are that the information within this article can continue to make ripples within your life. Please share with me any stories or experiences you have below. This will help all of us broaden our knowledge and understanding of what it is to be an Empath!
If you would like to keep reading about empaths, you’re welcome to click on one of our other empath articles below:
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Thank you for this article. I’m an empath & identify with a couple of the different types of empaths that you listed. I’m able to pick up on others emotions very easily, which is a constant struggle for me & people don’t understand why sometimes I just want to be alone & immerse myself in a good book. I also have the ability to communicate with the dead (it runs in my family, so I’m not the first & won’t be the last), fortunately for me I’ve learned to close my mind to this particular “gift”, unless its a very strong spirit.
I guess my question is this, is it possible to be more than one type of empath? Because I seriously struggle sometimes being around people. I can feel the negativity of people it seems from miles away & I try to stay positive, but it becomes increasingly harder as time goes on. So any help would be extremely appreciated.
I feel like I’m losing my empathetic touch. Like I do understand people, but its just different.
My own emotions are having a conflict. I can feel and understand others, why can’t they at least try to understand me. With these types of thoughts, I can’t feel others; my own emotions on the run.
What do you think I should do?
Amazing post though!!
Thank you…
PS. I’m an emotionally repressed person.
I felt misunderstood all the time from my childhood. My family blamed me that i always attract negative people and am melodramatic. I was tired of all these and during those dark period i pray to god to give me strength and send someone who can understand me. Finally i get that here. From my childhood i knew i am different and so much misfit to this society but never figured out the reason. Thanks a lot as today all of my questions are answered. I went everywhere from psyciatist to psychologist. Diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. My relationship with my family, my career was a real mess but now i am releaved and proud to be an empath. I went through the test and scored 96. I wanna use this to heal the people around me without damping my emotion. If anybody help me i will be greatful. I have those power but don’t know how to use it. Thanks again for helping me understand my true power.
This is very interesting, but scary, I think Iam an Empath. It is hard for me to except, but explains a lot, emotions all over the place, I knew a neighbor was dead even before knowing them I can meet a person and know more about them than I want to, thx
i’m a believer being an empaths not so bad but feeling other people emotions can be horrlbe sometimes i was confused at first why i was having pain , visions of other people ,and my head would explose all the time.
Another great article.
My empathic abilities vary with each type, full range of zero to very strong. And I find it all varies depending on my energy level at the time. As I experiment I usually get a new fascinating experience.
I have been sensitive all my life. My family tortured me over it my entire growing up years. I would honestly feel the emotions in movies and books as well as those around me. Almost got hospitalized as a teen as crazy. I’m 1 of 7 kids. I have always been able to feel others emotions so strongly that I could say even at 6 or 7 a person I’d never met before was good or bad. When a person was good I’d get a feeling in my stomach of pleasure and when they were bad it would make me ill. Life was very hard but instead of giving me fear it gave me strength. For example there was a night when a very bad man wanted to hurt my family. I felt him coming and stood guard the entire night. I can’t really explain why I wasn’t terrified I can only say instead I was determined. All my life I’ve had total strangers approach me. People in line at the grocery store tell me deep, meaningful things I believe without realizing til later what they are doing. I’m a draw for people. I feel like I’m a battery that… Read more »
Hi Luna, I must thank you and Sol for founding and maintaining this wonderful website, I’ve discovered so many new things about myself these recent months and it’s great to find comfort in knowing that I’m not the only one. I’ve always been a loner and an outsider, in kindergarten I had to stay for one more year because I had not developed ‘proper’ social skills yet and these past months I’ve found out that I’m definitely an INTJ, a highly sensitive person and also an empath, which I just found out. Of the ten different kinds of empaths I most strongly connect to the Claircognizant & the Precognitive Empath but I also feel a strong appeal to the Flora & Fauna empath (I’ve had many strange situations with wild animals and always feel empathic to both plants and animals). I’ve always instinctively had a belief in reincarnation and it also always seemed to be the most logical thing to believe in. I live in the southern part of the Netherlands, where there are more Roman Catholic communities and churches than in the rest of the country but most people are Atheist or simply don’t think about what they believe… Read more »
I can’t thank you enough for this information.. Finally I have more understanding as to why I’ve felt this way for so many years and I’m not so alone in that feeling.
While I was working abroad one time, i walked into a room where a girl who had a distinct dislike of me (who a reason a never did fathom) was saying in English that I had “bad energy” this hurt. A couple of years later someone slightly more ‘in the know’ said that I’m like a sponge to the energy around me.
This morning all sorts of things have gone wrong so I’m going to carry on reading more of your articles. Thank you again.
I just discovered a new world tonight that I can finally identify with, instead of feeling alone and like there is something wrong with me. I have already been attracted to many of the grounding techniques that have been suggested in my research tonight, after hitting a point of unbearable emotional upheaval and anxiety mid way through college. Meditation, self inquiry, silence, walks alone in nature, being by the water, reiki/massage, alone time in general after a week of work (I am a mental health counselor specializing in Crisis Services). I often find myself fully enthralled by a person, studying their faces, words, mannerisms and emotions. Often feeling as though I am loosing myself in them. I also can sense when people are disappoited and for a while had a hard time saying ‘no’, although I have gotten better at this. I have also gotten better at saying ‘no’ to doing things I don’t want to do, or being around people I don’t want to be around, although sometimes I feel guilty about this and worry I am being selfish. I often dream of water, and running away from it or seeing huge waves. These dreams are fully of anxiety.… Read more »