Empaths: Here Are 8 Ways to Cope With the Weight of the World + Thrive

Being an empath is hard. Experiencing other people’s thoughts and feelings as though they are your own is exhausting and it can feel like the weight of the world rests on your shoulders.

The physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual exhaustion that we feel is sometimes too much to bear, causing higher levels of stress, anxiety, and burnout – even when we are with people we know and love.

Now imagine this experience with the weight of the world – the entire world. It’s enough to break anyone.
 
 

Empaths Often Take on the Weight of the World

Empaths feel everything so deeply.

When we see a celebration story on television, we feel the joy and happiness being experienced. When we turn on the news to see someone in pain and suffering, we also feel that pain and suffering.

(Not to mention the shame and guilt from thinking about all of the ways in which we could have prevented the pain that others experience or the guilt of not being in a place of suffering ourselves.)
 

Empaths feel everything so deeply.

 
The weight of our world is crushing. It’s disheartening to turn on the television or open social media to see another sad story or social injustice.

Couple this with a global pandemic and seemingly never-ending quarantine, and empaths all over the world are experiencing levels of emotional and spiritual upheaval like never before.

That’s why it is so important to protect our energy.

Empaths: Use These 5 Tips to Protect Your Energy
 

 
 

Here Are 8 Signs You Are Absorbing the Weight of the World as an Empath:

 

1. Deep Exhaustion

You are exhausted all the time, no matter how much sleep you get.
 

2. More Sleep Issues

You have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.

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3. Mental Loop

You replay something you saw or heard in your mind over and over.
 

4. Pain

You experience physical pain – headaches, migraines, or pain in the shoulders, neck, and hips.
 

5. Stagnation

You feel stuck and aren’t sure how or where to move.
 

6. Indecisiveness

You can’t make any decisions, even a simple “What should I watch on Netflix?” is triggering to you.
 

7. Deep-Seated Fear

You are living in a state of fear or scarcity mindset.
 

8. Panic and Depression

You are experiencing panic attacks and/or depressive symptoms.

16 Signs You’re a Highly Sensitive Person and What That Actually Means
 
 

Empaths: Here Are 8 Ways to Cope With the Weight of the World and Thrive:

 

1. Turn Off the News

The news is full of negativity and misinformation, both of which are energetically exhausting for anyone – especially empaths.

Of course, it is important to keep up with what’s going on in the world. But not to the point of risking your mental health.
 

2. Stay Away From Social Media

The same goes for social media. Not only is social media another news outlet where we see more injustices of the world, but it is so easy to get caught up in scrolling through Instagram and TikTok, comparing ourselves to the people we see there.

Before we know it, we’ve spent hours looking at social media, picking up that energy as we do so.

Don’t fall down the rabbit hole that is social media. Allot a short amount of time to spend on social media each day and set a timer or app limit for yourself so you remember to come back to reality.

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3. Get Outside . . . Away From Others

Getting outside and away from other people and other energies is important for an empath.

Connecting with the Earth by grounding and focusing on the sounds of nature is soothing and can help clear your mind as you give yourself the energetic space you need.

Try a guided walking meditation to help you replenish your energy system.

Want a Moving Meditation? Here Are 4 Different Forms of Walking Meditation to Try
 

4. Cleanse Your Energy

We are constantly picking up energy – in everything we look at, every place we go, from the people we see on the street, and the people in our own homes.

When you suddenly feel a change in mood or an emotional overload, you are likely absorbing the energy of the people and places around you.

Using crystals, sage, or palo santo will help you clear your auric field of others’ energy so that you can create a calm, peaceful, and balanced energetic space for yourself.

Here Are 6 Effective Ways to Cleanse and Protect Your Energy (Try Them All)
 

5. Be Present

With all that is going on in the world and in our personal lives, it is so easy to focus on what we want for our future or what we had in the past.

In an attempt to go back to the past or rush into the future, we forget about this perfectly beautiful moment we are living right now.

Staying present is important for an empath. Empaths experience the energy of everything and everyone, including those in the past or future. When we focus on something we don’t have, we are giving our emotional, spiritual, and mental power away.

Remaining present allows us to be more connected to ourselves.
 

6. Help Someone Else

Is there a place you can volunteer to help those who are suffering during the pandemic (e.g. a food bank)? An organization you can support that fights social injustice?

Can you make masks and donate them to hospitals or other places where they may be experiencing a shortage of protective measures?

Reach out to local community groups and ask how you can help.
 

7. Transmute Your Energy

As empaths, not only do we absorb the emotions of others, we feel so much guilt and shame if we are not in the same space.

Why are so many people suffering when we are not? Why is there so much injustice in the world?

Instead of giving your power away to situations and circumstances that are not yours, harness the power that is your empathic being.

Transmute the energy that is not yours into something creative. Connect with others at a soul level. Share your own experiences so that others feel seen and heard.
 

Harness the power that is your empathic being.

 
Empaths are natural healers, guides, and supporters. Harness this power you have to start a compassion revolution and save the world.

Remind yourself that this isn’t your fault and that, while you can’t control what the future will bring, you can always focus on what you can do NOW to create a brighter future for yourself and someone else.

10 Thich Nhat Hanh Quotes to Cultivate Compassion, Empathy and Peace
 

8. Ask Yourself THIS Question

Personally, I have felt myself in a constant battle with: “I should watch this video that has sparked such outrage and political movement throughout the world” and “I know that this video will trigger me and I will fall into an empathic rabbit hole of energy that is not mine.”

Each time this happens, I take a step back and ask myself:

Am I using the fact that I’m an empath as an excuse not to get involved?

I know I’m guilty of this.

But we need to get involved. Sometimes it is our responsibility to take on the energy of others – to experience what they are experiencing, even in this smallest of ways.

THIS is what makes being an empath special. Our ability to connect with people on such an emotional and spiritual level creates a world built on empathy, equality, kindness, and love.

Here’s the thing, empaths – we are the energetic changemakers of the world. We are the people who are here to teach compassion, kindness, and empathy to those who need it most. We are here to create the next generation of light.

Here Are 6 Racial Equality Organizations to Support and Get Involved With
 
 

You Don’t Have to Carry the Weight of the World as an Empath

A lot goes on around us every single day. It can be a lot for an empath to handle. Remembering these simple practices will allow you to stay connected to yourself and your own energy.

Give yourself the time and space you need to let go of what is not yours, recharge, and reconnect within.

Whenever I feel myself getting caught up in the weight of the world, the first thing I do is ground my energy – usually through meditation, getting outside, or dancing to release energetic blocks.

While it might seem selfish to focus on your own energy first. it isn’t. As the saying goes, You can’t pour from an empty cup.
 

You can’t pour from an empty cup.

 
It’s important to be rooted in your own beautiful energy before you share it with others. Otherwise, you are only sharing your chaos.

The next thing to do is this: Spread love and light.

Anger, sadness, and fear do not heal. We cannot heal from the same emotions that evoke pain. We cannot heal by holding on to or pushing away the thing that needs to be healed. We cannot heal in the darkness.

Compassion heals. Love heals. Empathy heals. Light heals.

Ask yourself, How can I share my light with the world? And, then, go do that.

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