I understand that most of the narc content out there is there to give people the courage to leave relationships with narcissists. Those videos were definitely very reassuring when I was in my depths of depression after breakups.

But the obsession doesn't sit right with me. Think about the emotions most of the narc content invokes: fear, validation. It's either validating your past or making you more anxious about a future encounter with a narcissist. Plus these videos are addictive because of the emotions it invokes. It's a huge source of dopamine because it's either "validating" or trying to "help" you.

Our brain craves pattern recognition and easy explanations to things… explains why bigoted beliefs are so common. We are also pulled to blame someone for any problem. Sadly nothing is black and white in this world.

One of the major reasons behind someone's narcissism is how they were raised (nurture) and in some odd cases they are born with those tendencies (nature). Now how is villainizing someone for how they were raised or who they are empathetic? To me, that's not empathetic. Labeling someone narcissistic and villainizing them is kinda narcissistic imo.

I’m not excusing narcissists. In fact leave any situation that is toxic to you. But idk how obsessing over narc content and demonizing anyone is helpful.

… what do you think?

Being in a toxic relationship with someone who constantly manipulates you, lies to you, and makes you question your own reality is a kind of pain that is difficult to explain unless you've experienced it yourself. As an empath, I loved deeply, cared genuinely, and gave my all to someone I truly believed loved me. I was patient, understanding, forgiving, and always willing to see the good in him, even when his actions kept hurting me. I kept making excuses for his behavior because I wanted to believe that the person I fell in love with was still in there somewhere. But slowly, I began losing myself in the process of loving him. There was a lack of commitment, endless excuses, broken promises, and a constant feeling that I was asking for too much when all I wanted was honesty, consistency, loyalty, and emotional security. Whenever I tried to express my feelings or address something that hurt me, somehow, the conversation would turn around, and I would end up apologizing for things I hadn't even done. That was the manipulation. That was the gaslighting. He would deny things I knew had happened, twist situations to suit his narrative, and make me question my own judgment. Sometimes, I would lie awake at night wondering if I was overthinking, being too sensitive, or expecting too much. I kept second-guessing myself, not realizing how much the relationship was affecting my peace of mind and self-worth. The emotional abuse was exhausting. One moment, I would feel loved enough to believe things could change, and the next, I would feel ignored, dismissed, or made to feel worthless. I kept holding on to the good moments, hoping they would become our reality, while trying to survive the painful ones. And then there was the infidelity. Deep down, I knew something wasn't right. His behavior had changed, his explanations no longer made sense, and the inconsistencies kept piling up. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt because I didn't want to believe that someone I loved so deeply could betray me so carelessly. But eventually, the pieces began to come together. I started noticing the contradictions, the suspicious behavior, and the things that simply didn't add up. Rather than relying on suspicion alone, I paid attention to the facts. I came across evidence that confirmed what my heart had been struggling to accept. The truth was painful, but it was undeniable. The hardest part wasn't just discovering the infidelity. It was realizing how many times I had been made to doubt myself while the very things I was questioning were happening behind my back. I cried. I questioned everything. I wondered what I lacked, what I could have done differently, and why my genuine love wasn't enough to inspire honesty and respect. I replayed memories in my mind, trying to understand how someone could look me in the eyes, tell me they loved me, and still betray my trust. But eventually, I understood something important: his decision to betray me was never a reflection of my worth. I had to stop blaming myself for someone else's choices. I had to accept that love cannot thrive where dishonesty, manipulation, and emotional abuse are allowed to continue unchecked. No amount of patience, loyalty, sacrifice, or understanding can make someone change if they are unwilling to take responsibility for their actions. Leaving wasn't easy. Please understand that. Walking away from a toxic relationship doesn't mean you suddenly stop loving the person. Sometimes, you leave while your heart is still attached. You leave with unanswered questions, painful memories, and a thousand reasons to look back. You leave because you finally realize that staying is costing you too much of yourself. As an empath, one of my biggest struggles was accepting that I could have compassion for someone without sacrificing my own well-being to save them. I had spent so much time trying to understand his pain, his behavior, and his excuses that I had forgotten to acknowledge my own. The day I chose to leave was the day I decided that my peace mattered, too. I gathered the courage to walk away, not because I was no longer hurting, but because I knew I could not continue living in a cycle of lies, betrayal, confusion, and emotional exhaustion. I chose myself, even when it hurt. I chose healing, even when I didn't know where to begin. I chose to believe that a life without constant anxiety, suspicion, and emotional turmoil was possible. Healing has not been an overnight journey. There have been moments of sadness, anger, reflection, and grief for the person I was before the relationship. But I am learning to trust myself again, to honor my intuition, to establish boundaries, and to understand that being a loving person does not mean tolerating disrespect. If you are an empath going through something similar, please hear me when I say this: You are not foolish for loving deeply. You are not weak for giving someone chances. You are not responsible for another person's dishonesty, and you do not have to keep proving your loyalty to someone who repeatedly betrays your trust. You can love someone and still choose to leave them. You can understand someone's struggles without accepting their abuse. You can forgive someone without giving them another opportunity to hurt you. And most importantly, you do not need to wait until you are completely broken before you give yourself permission to walk away. Sometimes, the greatest act of self-love is accepting the truth you've been trying so hard to avoid. I didn't lose because I walked away. I gained the opportunity to find myself again. Today, I am choosing peace over confusion, truth over empty promises, self-respect over false hope, and healing over a love that continually hurt me. My heart is still capable of loving deeply, but now I understand that it deserves protection, too. To every empath who had to gather the pieces of themselves after a toxic relationship: may you find the courage to leave what is hurting you, the strength to heal from what happened, and the wisdom to never confuse suffering for love again. ❤️‍🩹🦋 Sometimes, walking away isn't giving up on love. It's finally refusing to give up on yourself.

Hey everyone,
I wanted to share something I’ve been experiencing lately because I’m trying to understand what’s happening to me and whether anyone has experienced something similar.
When I’m sitting next to people in an Uber or around strangers, I sometimes get a really strong, unexplained feeling that I can sense something about them. It’s difficult to put into words. Sometimes it feels like I can pick up on their emotions, personality, or intentions without them actually saying anything. I don’t necessarily see or hear anything unusual; it’s more like a strong internal feeling that I can’t explain.
The strange part is that I can feel completely certain about these impressions, even though I don’t always have concrete evidence to support them. I don’t know whether this is intuition, subconscious pattern recognition, heightened awareness, or simply my brain interpreting things in ways I don’t fully understand. I want to be honest about that distinction because I’m genuinely trying to figure this out rather than jump to conclusions.
**A bit about my lifestyle and how my mind works:**
I’m extremely curious about life, consciousness, philosophy, psychology, and the nature of reality. I love learning and constantly stimulating my brain. I can spend 8–10 hours a day listening to philosophical discussions, audiobooks, and lectures about life, human nature, and the search for truth.
I’m particularly interested in philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, and Friedrich Nietzsche. I also love exploring literature, including Dante’s works, and thinking deeply about existence, morality, consciousness, and what it means to understand the world.
Sometimes I feel like my brain is a horse that wants to keep racing. The more I learn, the more I want to learn. I constantly want to challenge my mind, explore new ideas, question what I’ve been taught, and get closer to understanding the truth. I genuinely enjoy mental stimulation and can find it difficult to switch off from learning.
**Substance use and recent changes:**
I’ve also experimented with recreational substances, including MDMA and ketamine, and have used alcohol as well. I’ve had experiences after substance use where my perceptions and thoughts felt unusual, including an episode of looking in the mirror and feeling that my facial features were changing or distorting. I’ve also experienced jolts and unusual feelings when falling asleep.
The feeling of being unusually perceptive existed before my more recent experiences with substances, but it seems to have become stronger lately. I’m mentioning this because I don’t want to ignore the possibility that substance use, sleep, or overstimulation could be affecting how I perceive things.
At the moment, I generally feel calm and curious rather than frightened. I’m not trying to claim that I have special abilities or that I can literally read minds. I just want to understand why these experiences feel so convincing and why I’ve become more aware of them.
**I’m curious about a few things:**
Has anyone experienced a strong sense of intuition around strangers, where they feel they can pick up on people’s emotions or intentions without knowing exactly how?
How can you distinguish genuine social intuition and subconscious pattern recognition from assumptions or confirmation bias?
Can constantly consuming philosophical content and seeking mental stimulation affect how you perceive yourself, other people, or reality?
Has anyone noticed changes in perception, thought patterns, or their sense of intuition after using MDMA or ketamine?
For people who are naturally very curious and constantly thinking, how do you learn to switch your brain off and rest?
I’m interested in hearing from people with similar experiences, as well as people with backgrounds in psychology, neuroscience, or philosophy.
I’m not looking for someone to simply tell me that I’m psychic or that nothing is happening. I’d genuinely appreciate balanced perspectives, including explanations that challenge my current interpretation.
I want to understand my own mind better and figure out what’s actually going on.
Thanks for reading.

I’m not trying to come off as a pessimist, but people that are ALWAYS happy really tick me off. I have also noticed that these kinds of people lack any depth. AKA, very surface-level people. Another thing is that these kinds of people tend to make up a majority of the population (atleast, where I live), and it makes me VERY annoyed.

My main problem with these people is that they can’t seem to process my high emotions. I am a very emotional person. I am on the spectrum (autism), and I have been told by a psychiatrist I am an empath, so that makes it very hard to get along with these people. I get very overwhelmed very easily, and it’s frustrating because almost everybody I am around doesn’t get it. It makes me even more mad when I am having a bad time, and somebody just tells me to “get over it”, or continues to be all sunshine and rainbows and not give any care in the world

I’m not trying to sound selfish when writing this. I get these people are not responsible for me, and I shouldn’t expect them to take care of me. It’s just frustrating because when someone is upset I try my hardest to help and I care deeply for them, but it is never reciprocated.

Am I in the wrong? Or do other people feel like this too?

(I posted this to [r/empaths](r/empaths), I’m hoping this fits with other empaths, I don’t exactly know what kind of group this would go with)

EDIT: I just reread what I wrote and I should’ve explained myself better… I’ve had some issues with my friends, I liked a guy for a year and my best friend who I’ve known for a while got with him despite her knowing i liked him and basically convinced all of my friends to hate me after getting with him and calling me negative for being upset about it. It made me really upset because they were all happy and stuff without even caring about how they affected me/how they ditched me without understanding my side, and THAT’S what ticks me off so much. If I still sound wrong, I apologize.

Does anyone have good book recommendations about being an empath? My therapist recently “diagnosed” me as one and it makes so much sense the more I read about it, which is so validating. So I want to learn more but don’t know what good or accurate books are out there. TIA!

It feels like every time I fly, even if it's in the middle of the day. If there are people around me who are sleepy, I get like creamed by that energy and I'm out like a light :-(. Sometimes I fly long distances and I'm in the air for like 5-7 hours, and I have work to do. I specifically plan work tasks that I can work on on the plane. I get on the plane, I have coffee or get coca-cola, but like 9 times out of ten, none of that works, if people are sleepy around me, suddenly i'm sluggish and then next thing I know, I'm asleep :-(. Does this ever happen to anyone?

I don’t think people realize when you’re highly intuitive, you have the ability to quite literally FEEL betrayal & deceptive energy without any tangible proof or evidence of it.

That’s why empaths move solo, being around any type of false performative energy is draining & overstimulating. That’s why we are so pressed to only keep around genuinely authentic individuals.. If you know what I mean, you know what I mean.

Do do you know without thinking that there is not connection potential with a person? And

Do you sense those who don’t drain but give back energy?

Do you stay kind and just walk away?

Do you find most of speaking is waste of energy and is just nice to be around together?

Do you see how people’s feelings drive their behaviour?

Have you stopped playing taking part in people’s drama?

Do you see how most of people’s talking is discharging anxiety?

Does you see life as simply about living ?

Do you protect your energy as this gives you clarity ?

Do you see your energy as a shield agains the people’s drama?

Do you see life life is simple and there is not point to overthinking it.

12 months ago I had a nervous system breakdown and now I see the world very different?

Did this happen to anyone else ?

Some empaths can communicate with the deads. I cannot but I would like to know how it does work.

If ghosts and reincarnation are two real phenomenons, how can they co-exist? Can a soul be both in a new body and in the limbs as a ghost? I would think that ghosts don’t exist, that the medium is communicating with a huge energy left in the past, caused usually by a trauma. Seems possible as Einstein used to say that past, present and future are an illusion. That time isn’t a straight line.

But… I have never heard of someone communicating with deads from the future.

So, please, how do you mediums feel like it works?

Not gonna lie, it is exhausting trying to decipher motives in people’s conversations because so many people have hidden agendas and are trying to manipulate situations. I would love to be around people with no envy, hostility, or ulterior motives. Is that really too much to ask? 🤦🏾‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️

I realized that energy vampires always pulled towards to the light energies like a moth to a flame. Those might happened to you with one of the people you know.

• First stage is ''loveboming''. They become pretty interested in you and act like they're in the same mindset as you. But it's just for to gain your trust.
• Second stage is ''bread-crumbing & devaluing''. They devalue you so much or expects you to accept their ''bare minimum''. They compliment others, cut the interest they showed you at the first stage or barely shows it.
• Third stage is ''gaslighting''. Whenever you say what makes you uncomfortable with this person or speak your voice when they disrespect you, they always to blame you as if they did nothing wrong.
• Fourth stage is ''ghosting & power play''. They cut texting/communication or saying the simple ''hello'' when they saw you. They act like you're not even there. When they talk to you, it's always crossing your boundaries. With this way, they try to make you feel guilty and when you ask what is the problem, probably they won't be honest. They will always cross your boundaries and try to dominate you.

EXTRA:

They're looking for people who can benefit them, not genuine relationships. They claim to have empathy but do it for the show like ''Look how good person I am'' but they're far from being empathetic. They claim to be charming but people don't know them pretty well. They feed on people's misery. But usually, energy vampires are a fool. They're not good with senses. Their tricks might work on ordinary people but when they met a person who is immune to their manipulations, they lose themselves. They might try to gossip behind your back, do smear campaigns but when you still shine, they absolutely lose it. It is very easy to protect yourself one of them once you're aware of some things.

I can’t explain this feeling properly, but I’ve always been a sensitive person when it comes to other peoples suffering. If i got to know that Other person is going through pain especially physical (i don’t care about emotional) it effects me more than i can explain. Doesn’t necessarily have to be someone i know or close to, Just knowing that someone is hurting, struggling, feeling helpless, or going through something they don’t deserve makes me feel really sad. I get this urge to comfort them and talk to them and help them in my best way, just anything that could make them feel better. I don’t think it’s about wanting to save everyone or being a saint. I just find it difficult to emotionally detach myself from someone else’s pain, even when it’s something I have no control over.
I wonder if anyone else experiences this. How do you live with being this sensitive without letting other people’s suffering consume you ?

Is anyone else an old lady, like myself, who just discovered that she might be an empath? I mean, I've always been really good at "reading people and social cues." I'm pretty good at easing tense situations, breaking the ice, and making people laugh. I also really like uplifting others because it feels so damn good. I always thought it's because I flexed my social muscles so much throughout my 20s (I was a party kid), which is why I was good at those things.

But just now I'm watching the new Crystal Lake show, and a girl running through the woods steps into a deer trap, and it crushes her calf, and I literally get those shocks, the shiver up my back legs and butt like I always do when I see or hear about something so painful or visceral. And, woe, the wonders of the internet, I decide to Google what that sensation is called, and I learn it's part of being an empath.

Umm, whoa. What? (Suddenly something unlocked in my brain.)

And then I start asking why narcissists are always drawn to me... and then I'm hit with even more thoughts.

So, I've never wanted to call myself an empath. I have some female friends who proudly (and loudly) call themselves empaths, and it gives me the ick because I've instinctively felt that's not true. Their actions always reveal extreme emotional immaturity. I feel like calling myself an empath puts me in that same camp, like it's more self-gratuitous rather than true, and that's not what I want to be.

I'm pretty good at protecting my inner peace, though. So I feel that's a little misaligned for what it says about empaths. Emotional vampires try to suck my energy, but I feel like I can easily walk away or shift the conversation so they stop draining me.

But there's one thing I struggle with: allowing myself to feel my own emotions. Because when I do, it literally feels like my chest might crack open and I'll die. So I shove it all away and try to ignore it. Is this common for empaths or am I simply something else?

I have a lot of... thoughts. And questions. Thanks for reading. 🙂

I have a friend who i met when i was recovering from a dark place in my life. I find a lot of meaning in this friendship because I help them as they’re from a very rough background (no mother, abusive father, poverty, mother killed the previous child born etc). Speaking to this person always made me feel good and didn’t feel unease energy wise and they’re younger. I’m also very connected to this friend’s energy very intensely and I’ve felt it’s a good platonic friendship. I can always sense his energy and thoughts
But there have always been people on the outside who have had issues with my friend. My previous neighbour who was a witch found his energy “off” and “dangerous “ and had an issue with him coming over and even warned him. My flatmate with whom I don’t really have a dynamic has a problem with him due to “bad” vibes from him and now doesn’t want him to come over as he brings a lot of bad luck and he threatened with moving out if i called my friend over. His ex also had an issue because he was open about his family to me. A colleague was always jealous of my friendship as she had a fall out with her friend at the time. Two of my other friends also did not like his vibe.
I’ve always felt good energetically (never felt drained )speaking to this friend yet I’ve had to face so many challenges trying to be in his life. I can objectively say that his life has improved after he’s been my friend. I’ve not had bad luck in my life personally after this person became my friend but I’ve had to deal with so many people giving me grief and very intensely so.

I notice everything. And honestly, it’s kinda disheartening sometimes, having a mind that picks up on things I wish I didn’t have to notice. It’s a blessing the good Lord gave me, but sometimes I wonder if it’s a blessing I’m still learning how to carry.

I notice the little things. The changes in people’s behavior, the difference between their words and their actions, the intentions behind certain moves. I notice when something doesn’t add up, when someone’s energy changes, and when people think they’re getting over on me.

And the crazy part is, a lot of the time, I don’t even say anything.

I just watch.

Not because I’m stupid. Not because I’m oblivious. And definitely not because I don’t know how to stand up for myself. Sometimes I genuinely want to see how far somebody is willing to go when they think nobody sees what they’re doing.

I want to see what’s really in a person’s heart when they have the opportunity to do right without anybody forcing them to. I want to know if their morals mean something to them when there’s no consequence for doing wrong. I want to see how much of God is actually in somebody’s heart when doing the right thing requires them to sacrifice something, tell the truth, or treat somebody fairly when they could easily do otherwise.

Because it’s easy to talk about God. It’s easy to preach about being a good person. It’s easy to put on a good image when everybody is watching.

But what do you do when you think nobody notices?

That’s what interests me.

Sometimes I’ll allow somebody to show me exactly who they are when I could’ve stopped the situation before it ever got to that point. And I’ve had to question myself about that because I know how it can look from the outside. It can come across as manipulative, like I’m setting people up to fail some test they don’t even know they’re taking.

And maybe sometimes there’s a lesson in that for me, too.

Because if I already recognize something isn’t right, why am I allowing it to continue just to see how far somebody will take it?

Am I looking for understanding, or am I looking for confirmation of what I already believe about them?

That’s something I’ve been reflecting on.

I think part of me just wants to understand people. I want to understand how somebody can look you in your face, talk about loyalty, love, honesty, and God, and then turn around and move in a way that contradicts everything they claim to stand for.

I want to understand how people justify certain things to themselves. How they can hurt somebody and still convince themselves they’re the good guy. How they can know the difference between right and wrong but still choose whatever benefits them in the moment.

And maybe that’s why I observe so much. I’m trying to understand the heart behind the action.

But I’m learning that understanding people doesn’t mean I have to keep putting myself in positions to be hurt by them.

I can have discernment and still establish boundaries. I can give somebody grace without giving them unlimited access to me. And I can forgive somebody without pretending I didn’t see what happened.

I’m not perfect, and I’m not claiming to be some holy man who has everything figured out. I’ve got my own flaws, my own battles, and things God is still working on in me.

But I do believe there’s a responsibility that comes with the way I see things.

I’ve always felt like I’m supposed to help people in some capacity. To recognize things that might help somebody grow, to guide when I can, and to understand people beyond what they show on the surface.

In my heart, I see myself as a shepherd of men. Not because I’m better than anybody, but because I believe God calls some of us to help others find their way, even when we’re still trying to find our own.

And being a shepherd doesn’t mean judging everybody. It means having enough love to care about people, enough wisdom to recognize when something isn’t right, and enough humility to understand that you can be wrong, too.

I know I don’t know everything. I know my observations don’t automatically make my assumptions true. And I know God sees things in people’s hearts that I’ll never be able to see.

But I also believe we’re supposed to pay attention to the fruit people produce, not just the words coming out of their mouths.

At some point, actions have to mean something.

And I think one of the hardest things about being somebody who notices a lot is learning when to speak, when to stay quiet, when to give grace, and when to remove yourself from a situation altogether.

Because sometimes I see the good in people so clearly that I want to give them room to become better, even when their current actions are showing me something different.

Sometimes I understand why somebody might be the way they are, and that understanding makes it harder for me to hold them accountable.

But understanding why somebody does something doesn’t automatically make what they did right.

And having a good heart doesn’t mean I have to keep letting people take advantage of it.

I don’t want to become so focused on seeing what’s in everybody else’s heart that I neglect what’s happening in my own.

That’s the part I’m trying to get right.

I want to be able to recognize wrongdoing without becoming bitter. I want to be able to see through people’s actions without thinking everybody has bad intentions. I want to be able to stand up for myself without feeling like I’m going against the same grace I believe God has shown me.

And most importantly, I don’t want to confuse being a man of God with being a man who has to tolerate everything.

Jesus showed love, but He also spoke the truth. He showed compassion, but He wasn’t afraid to confront hypocrisy. He served people without making their approval the measure of His worth.

That’s something worth thinking about.

Maybe part of my growth is realizing that I don’t have to let somebody do me wrong just to see if they’ll choose to do right. Maybe sometimes the lesson isn’t in watching how far they’ll go, but in recognizing what I’ve already seen and having the courage to respond accordingly.

Because I can’t control what’s in somebody else’s heart. I can’t make somebody honest. I can’t force somebody to have integrity. And I can’t love somebody into becoming a person they’re not willing to work toward being.

All I can do is make sure my own actions line up with what I claim to believe.

So call me the bad guy if you want. Think I’m naive because I give people chances. Think I’m calculated because I stay quiet and observe.

I know I’m still figuring things out.

But I’m trying to become a man who can see the truth without using it against people, love people without abandoning himself, and walk in faith without believing he’s responsible for saving everybody.

I want to be a shepherd, not a judge. I want to lead by example, not by control. And I want to have enough discernment to recognize when God is calling me to be patient and when He’s giving me the wisdom to walk away.

Because there’s a difference between being able to see what’s happening and knowing what you’re supposed to do about it.

And maybe the real blessing isn’t just being able to notice what other people miss. Maybe it’s learning how to carry that awareness without letting it turn your heart cold.

I’m curious if anybody else thinks like this.

Have you ever caught on to something but stayed quiet because you wanted to see how a person would move when they thought you didn’t know?

Have you ever struggled with the difference between giving people grace and allowing them to take advantage of you?

And how do you know when your silence is wisdom versus when you’re just avoiding a conversation you know you need to have?

Because I’m learning that just because I can see something doesn’t mean I have to sit there and watch it happen.

Sometimes the lesson is in what other people choose to do.

And sometimes the lesson is in what God is trying to teach me about myself through it.

Sent from my iPhone

Lots going on in the world right now. Two events happened I feel like this energy is just so merky right now. Woke up late felt extremely drained. I went to work for a bit then just came home because I wasn’t feeling good either way. Now I have no desire to leave the house till it improves

It's so common to see someone and relate their appearance to some celebrity. And the most common thing to say to that person is "omg, you remind me of _____________."

The problem: I think the natural internal response from many recipients is to think that you're saying that they're a lesser copy of that celebrity.

The solution: I forget where I learned this, but it's way more appropriate to tell people, "you know who reminds me of you?"

With this subtle change in language you're reversing roles and saying the person you're talking to is Prime, and the celebrity is Secondary.

I'm not just making this up. Since I've adopted this method, I've used it for years and at least a couple people have specifically taken note and thanked me for saying it this way instead of the other way. I never expected it to be something that people would consciously note, but the fact it causes a clear conscious response I think makes it clear it's the better method.

I tend to slip really easily into fictional characters' heads and it's like I would transform into them for days (or even weeks). I can't control it and my speech patterns and moods get affected too, making it hard to get out of certain mindsets. I don't know anyone who feels like this and I've been struggling to find a label for myself. People in real life affect me too, but not so much. The person who affects me the most is probably my mum. My emotions basically sync with hers if I'm around her, and it's frustrating cuz we often start fights because of this. Could I be an empath?

I really don't know why, but I cannot stop thinking about this.

I understand how empaths can feel drained just by being around someone carrying heavy, unsettling, uncomfortable emotions. But I can't help feeling for the ones who are avoided because of those very emotions, which, of course, can be overwhelming and draining for the people around them, too.

Maybe it's because I'm someone who can relate to both sides.

Lately, I've been keeping more to myself until I'm at least in a better place emotionally. I guess I don't want to burden anyone with things I'm still trying to work through myself.

And that makes me sad, because I wonder how many others are doing the same.

Does anyone else find it really intense to look people in the eyes? Especially people you haven’t met yet. It feels very intimate to me. Once I get to know someone, it gets less intense, but at first it can be overwhelming.