Is There A Difference Between Being An Empath Vs. Being Highly Sensitive?

Empath vs. Highly Sensitive

Is there a difference?

Not too long ago, I was faced with the question “Am I an Empath or am I just Highly Sensitive?”

JUST Highly Sensitive !?

Every time I asked myself that question I came up with the same thing… JUST Highly Sensitive?

Many people believe them to be totally different and some, in the Empath community, believe that if you do not meet certain guidelines you are not an Empath. Well… I believe you are!

So what does it mean to be an Empath or even Highly Sensitive? I’m sure that you’ve heard both terms before. If you are reading this article you have at least seen the terms or are curious. There have been many debates within the spiritual groups regarding these two terms and how to define them. There are even some spiritual groups that will tell you that you are not an Empath if you don’t feel this or that. So what’s up with these terms and why does it make you feel less of a person if you are labeled JUST Highly Sensitive?

In order to make sense of what these two terms mean, we will need to go on a journey into a world called my mind. There are many debates that go on within it. I am a Gemini after-all and Geminis tend to do that.  So get a snack and a drink, sit back, get comfy and let the show begin! I promise it won’t hurt too much. LOL

▪Empathy: What Does It Mean?

I was going to list and quote definitions from different well known dictionaries but after doing that a couple of times I realized I was headed in the wrong direction. I mean, who hasn’t done that already right? So instead of rehashing what dictionaries tell us, I’m going to dive in and tell you what I think from my own experiences as well as experiences from others.

First, I want to talk about the word “empathy”. What is empathy all about? Empathy is something the majority of the population has already built into our psyche. Notice I said majority. There are some humans that simply are unable to experience empathy. These types of people have a mental illness that literally takes away emotion. They are born without the capability of expressing or feeling emotion. But we aren’t here to discuss that although that would make for a very interesting subject! So, on to empathy. Even animals experience empathy. Empathy is our reaction, usually an emotion, to someone else expressing an emotion. Let me give you some examples… when someone is crying over a sad circumstance… they are expressing an emotion and we react to that emotion, typically with an emotion. So empathy is a reaction to someone else’s expressed emotion.

Examples of Empathy:

So say a dear and close friend of yours is getting married and they just shared the news with you. They are totally excited! What reaction do you have typically? Typically you respond with excitement! That is unless you are one of those jealous types… then you will probably respond with a false response of happiness while inside you are sad that you have not been proposed to. That happens to the best of us. LOL

Another example… You see a homeless person looking very sad and lonely. Typically, you respond with a sympathetic reaction and feel the need to help them. Another response would be one of disgust saying it’s their fault they are in that situation in the first place.

One more example… A child is sad because his/her father/mother has gone off to fight for their country. The family pet comes over to comfort the child by placing part of its body on the child. The animal is showing empathy for the child… its friend. The reaction to the child’s sadness is one of comfort. Ya… that example brings a tear to my eye as well.

So I think we have a pretty good understanding of what empathy is. Let’s move on to what an Empath is or experiences.

What is an Empath and What Do They Experience?

An Empath, from my own experiences, is a person that can sense, feel, and sometimes take on another person’s emotion and/or pain as if it is their own. So using the examples above, if you are an Empath, there are many ways you can experience those emotions and/or feelings. Let’s look at each one more closely.

Example 1:

Excitement of a friend’s engagement. As an Empath there are many ways you will experience your friend’s excitement.

A. You can sense the energy of your friend’s excitement which causes you to react similarly.

B. You can feel the energy of your friend’s excitement surging throughout her body which will then send surges of energy into your body.

C. You literally experience the exact same emotion as your friend even if you were not feeling that way seconds before.

Example 2:

The homeless person: As an Empath, this experience could cause a major flood of emotions or sensations that can completely overwhelm you. The reason I say that is because by just looking at the person, sometimes we don’t always see what the person is feeling.

So here is a list of the many things that the Empath could experience.

A. You could get an overwhelming sense of depression which could cause you to become depressed the rest of the day.

B. You could feel the aches and pains from the person either caused by an illness, injuries, or drugs. Your body could literally be wracked with pain.

C. You could simply take on the emotions of helplessness, depression, sadness as if they are your own even though you were fine a few moments ago.

Example 3:

The sad child: This type of experience affects more than Empaths because it is a child but here is what the Empath can experience.

A. You could sense the deep sorrow of losing a parent.

B. You could feel your body droop and your heart sink.

C. You could take on an overwhelming emotion of abandonment and cry even though a few moments ago you were perfectly fine.

Being an Empath means you could literally take on the emotions and/or physical feelings/pain that others are expressing as if they are your own.

Have you ever gone into an area, anywhere all of a sudden have the urge to cry?

You have no idea where that emotion came from and then find out that there was a person close by that had just lost a loved one? Sometimes you never know why… it just happens.

Some people have been diagnosed as being bipolar even though it does not fit the description as being bipolar.

Now there are other types of Empaths that can take on physical pain and/or illnesses.

Have you ever been around someone that had broken their leg and is in a cast and then start to feel the same pain in your leg?

Or have you ever been around someone who has a cold and then you start to experience cold symptoms even though you were perfectly healthy a few minutes earlier?

Yep… these things truly happen. I kid you not!

One other type of Empath is the kind that senses the energy from others emotions.

Have you ever walked into a room and the air seemed so thick you feel like you could cut it with a knife? You find out later that there was a highly emotional discussion that had just taken place.

Yep… you sensed the energy from those highly charged emotions.

Or have you ever met someone, shook their hand and felt almost a zing of energy giving you all kinds of information? You can sense that they are really very depressed but they don’t act like it at all?

Even as you ask others what was wrong with that person they think you’re crazy and then you find out a few days later they had commit suicide? Ya… that one is a little over the top but it truly happens. That sense of knowing is also a clairsentient ability but that’s for another discussion.

There are many Empaths out there that don’t believe the last section, about sensing, is an Empathic ability but I have come across many that have this ability. I would still consider them an Empath.

One thing I want to make clear because you may think that everyone experiences these things.

Not everyone can experience emotions the way an Empath does. Not everyone can sense emotion the way an Empath does. The example that I used above of walking into a room where you feel you can cut the tension with a knife… seriously… not everyone feels that.

I was seriously blown away when I discovered this. I truly thought everyone experienced what I experience but was totally wrong. So, the things you feel… the things you sense… they truly are a gift and NOT your imagination. Quit believing people when they say you’re crazy because you’re not.

So… with that said… we’ve gone over quite a bit about the Empath. In Part 2 of this discussion I will talk about what it means to be Highly Sensitive and how I believe it fits into being an Empath.

▪The Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)

Have people always told you that you are too sensitive and that you need to “grow a thicker skin” or “toughen up”? Do you sometimes feel like you are constantly being singled out or being picked on by everyone around you? Being overly sensitive doesn’t stop with our emotions… it can also effect our other senses such as our sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell and… yes… our sixth sense.

Being highly sensitive can be difficult to deal with. When you realize that you are experiencing things that only a small portion of the world’s population (around 20%) experience, you start to see things differently. Your perception changes.

Learning that you sense things that most people do not can be un-nerving. It can make you question yourself and what you are sensing. “Am I crazy?” you ask, desperate to find answers but too afraid to ask for fear of being locked up.

Some HSPs become angry and some become relieved. But most, when their eyes are open to this, begin to see what is happening.

This is when things start to kick into high gear. You want answers and you want to learn how to control it if you can.

You, my friend, are not alone.

As I said before, roughly 20% of the world’s population are highly sensitive. So let’s look at what exactly is going on with the highly sensitive person or HSP.

1. The HSP is very aware of subtleties in the environment. They can sense the energies around them.

The energy field of the HSP is hyper-sensitive and their physical body, and mind, is simply more connected to their energy field than most.

They can sense the energy of a room, person, group of people, buildings, objects, animals, and plants… the earth as a whole.

Highly sensitive people will scan a room before they walk in to determine the energy within it.

In my own experiences, when I attend a meeting, I will scan the room and then sit next to a person whose energy is more positive or one that makes me feel safe.

So this “scanning” is a trait of highly sensitive people and they don’t realize they are doing it until they begin to learn that they are an HSP and have accepted it. If they sense something that doesn’t feel right, they typically will want to leave as soon as possible or will become nervous or agitated until they can leave the situation. This is a protection mechanism, “survival mode”, if you will. They know, innately, that there is danger and so they want to leave the situation. Others moods can literally cause an HSP’s mood to change as well because of the energy that they are so highly connected to.

2. The HSP usually has a deep inner life. They look within for answers instead of seeking outside help. Now, of course everyone is different and if you were raised to look outside of yourself for help then you will do so but you will feel a struggle with it. They long for a deep inner connection.

3. The HSP tends to get overwhelmed more easily than others. They take in all of their surroundings, with all of their senses on alert so they get overstimulated which causes a reaction within the body. A lot of HSPs have anxiety because of the over-stimulation. Energies can become too intense. When this happens, the HSP tends to become depressed and wants to draw inward or find a secluded area so they can get away from all the stimulants. It can become very difficult to live in an over-stimulated environment and can eventually wreak havoc on their health. Negative stress is the result of too much stimulation.

4. Many HSPs have low self-esteem. This is because we live in a society where being highly sensitive is not valued. They are constantly looked down upon as being weak.

5. Some HSPs steer away from violent or high action movies and TV shows. The intense emotions are just too much for them although I have known some that are not affected. They may have been de-sensitized from this kind of energy.

6. Music and the arts are usually something an HSP enjoys deeply. They can feel the energy used to create music and works of art. Sometimes that is very intense energy and sometimes not.

7. Nature and water usually soothes the HSP. Nature, water especially, calms down the energies and allows them to feel seclusion, protection, and feel as if they are home.

Water is an emotion element and is used to wash away or cleanse so being around water, running especially, is a very calming experience for the HSP.

This is not, by any means, the only things an HSP can experience.

So that is the HSP in a nutshell.

In Part 3 I want to compare the Empath’s abilities with the HSP’s and determine if they are the same or not. We can then look at how to develop these abilities and start protecting ourselves from the harmful energies we face everyday. Accepting that you have these qualities is the first step. So, what do you think? Do these traits sound familiar to you?

A Comparison

So we’ve looked at both the Empath and the Highly Sensitive Person, or HSP as most have come to call them.

We’ve discovered that the Empath is someone who feels emotions and sometimes physical sensations in three different ways.

1. Sensing but not taking on the emotion or physical sensation.

2. Feeling – You feel the emotion and/or physical sensation but you know it is not of you.

3. Taking on the exact emotion and/or physical sensation as if it is your own.

Those are the three “levels” (couldn’t come up with a better descriptor) that I have discovered from doing this research.

Some people believe that when you experience the first level only, you are not an Empath but only an HSP and then there are others who say that you are still just an HSP if you experience both levels one and two.

The only way you can be an Empath, in their eyes, is if you are experiencing level 3.

Well, I disagree… of course that is my opinion. So let’s do a comparison. Let’s see how different or similar the two are. To do this, I want to take the examples I used in Part 1 so that we can explore these abilities more fully.

In each example we come across a myriad of emotions and physical sensations. Instead of going through each one separately, I will lump them together drawing out each difference.

Sensing the emotion/physical sensation.Visually we can see each situation which is examined by using our regular vision.

We can see the girl’s excitement by the smile on her face and her gleaming with joy.

The homeless person we can see a myriad of emotions as not every homeless person exhibits the same thing.

We can see the sadness from the child from the frown and possible tears. We take that information in and while some people see it… they don’t always react to it or feel it. The visual does not go any further than this step although seeing someone visual emotions can cause a reaction… even in those who do not have either ability.

As an HSP, you see the visual but you also can sense or see the energy the person is emitting. Some can even sense and see the aura change color or brighten. It’s almost like a force field that you can touch.

As an Empath, you see the visual but you also sense the emotion and it sends sensations within your body. Almost as if you are going to experience the emotion or physical sensation.

Feeling the emotion/physicalness.

As an HSP, you feel the energy of each person. You can extend your energy to meet theirs.

Each situation can cause a different energetic reaction.

Excitement can actually send you a boost of energy, sadness can sometimes draw energy from you or push you away depending on the circumstances, and anger can make you feel pushed away or even evade your energy field. These sensations are not felt strongly in this level but you definitely know they are there and close.

As an Empath, you begin to feel their emotion within you but you know it is not your own.Taking on the emotion/physicalness.

As an HSP in this level, you are so open to the energy that different circumstances can actually cause you harm because their energy is invading yours. In the case of the excited woman you can become excited or even agitated depending on how strong the energy is and how well you can handle it.

There are many things that can happen with the homeless person all depending on what they are experiencing within themselves.

In the case of the sad boy, the energy can literally pull from your energy field or push away, of course depending on the situation.

As an Empath, you literally take on their emotion and physical sensations as if they are your own. There doesn’t seem to be a line where yours stops and theirs begins.

There are some Empaths that are at this “level” that do not take on the physical sensation but most definitely take on the emotion.

As I sit here typing this I have begun to see a pattern. Much like the chakras and how our sensations change with them being balanced or un-balanced but we can still be wide open energy wise and still control our sensations.

Of course a lot of protection is required. The energies of others can do harm, intentional or unintentional of course, so it is very important to keep yourself protected at all times.

You can see the similarities and begin to see the differences of the two abilities. I had come to believe that being an Empath means you are naturally going to be an HSP but I don’t believe that is true anymore.

HSPs seem to be more in tuned with energy but does that mean that an Empath is? Maybe not. Some Empaths do not sense or feel the energy of another person… but isn’t emotion and physical sensations merely energy? I believe so but not all people see, sense and feel the energy part of it. They simply see, sense and feel the emotion or physical sensation. I hope that makes sense to you because that small little part was huge for me and made my perspective open up to other possibilities.

I’ve been thinking and reading and experimenting with these ideas for a few years now and I have only barely scratched the surface.

Our minds and abilities are so diverse just as every human is. Not one person is going to experience the same as another. There are similarities but never exactly the same.

We are creatures of the Divine, of God, of the Universe and we were not created to be exactly the same. We all learn and grow at different paces for a reason. That reason is to help each other learn and grow.

So, do I think and Empath is the same as an HSP? No. Do I think one is better or more advanced than the other? No. As I stated before… we are all different… even down to the smallest of small details. Embrace your differences… embrace each other for their differences. We are different for a reason.

Some have been struggling with being “labeled” and I agree with them and their feelings about it. Some, however, need labels. Those who need or want a label are no better or less than the rest of us. It’s just how they choose to be. And that’s ok.

So… after reading these articles… what do you think? Do you think you fall into one or both of these categories? Do you feel you are in a totally different category altogether?

I would love to hear from you!

So, until next time… be kind to each other… and yourself.