5 Common Challenges for Empaths

5 Common Challenges for Empaths and 17 Coping Tips

By Lynn Zambrano

Empaths and HSPs are sensitive individuals who face many daily challenges because of the way they perceive energy, emotions, and non-verbal information contained in their environment. They also are deeply intuitive. When using the word energy it is referring to the energetic vibration being emitted. This vibration contains information, which you might perceive as emotion, or may have information that you know intuitively without being able to identify the source. You know but can’t explain why or how you know. According to writer and psychotherapist Elaine Aron, about 20% of the population is HSP, further she explains that being so was a desirable trait during mankind’s very early history. During hunter/gatherer times this attribute allowed us to be an early warning detection system, helping us survive harsh environments where predators were numerous. She has also done studies that appear to suggest that HSP have lower serotonin levels. This ties in with your ability to detect subtle change and fluctuations in your environment and also explains why many empaths and HSP’s suffer periods of depression.

 
The 5 Major Challenges for Empaths

1. Boundaries: Because your energy rushes forward to do the energetic handshake with others, boundaries can be tricky. Where do you stop and someone else start? It’s fuzzy because of how you connect. That means cognitively it’s difficult as well. Because you are perceiving others differently than the majority of the population.