Written by: Tricia Dycka, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
I found out I was an empath 10 years ago, and it wasn’t a pretty sight. When they say the hardest breakdowns create the most amazing breakthroughs, it was so true for me and a pivotal turning point in my life.
It started in September, and I just started to feel nothing! Absolutely nothing. I was a shell of a person going through the day. Doing what needed to be done and going to sleep, this went on until Thanksgiving. Suddenly, the pressure cooker top blew off, and all the emotions I refused to deal with and took on as mine from others came bursting through.
Years of being told that you are too sensitive and hiding emotions, pushing them down so nobody will see the tears or how hard I was trying to cope came bursting through the vault I had erected to be dealt with. I was always super busy to avoid feeling all the feels that blew up in my face. IT was one of the best things that happened to me.
The uncontrollable sobbing started, and it went on for months. At my job, I would run to the bathroom and have tears silently course down my face. At home, it was anyone’s guess when the next wave of sobbing came, and all I could say to my hubby when he asked what was wrong was 'I don't know,' I could not explain what was going on. All I knew is I was completely overwhelmed with feelings, and it did not make sense. Even when the tears stopped, the anxiety was on full throttle, waiting for the next explosion.
Finally, one day I had a chat with the Universe. "This is not who I am, and if this is it, I do not want to handle it." I fell asleep that night, fully expecting my life to be over. When I woke up the next day, I said, “so I am guessing this is happening for a reason." What is it? “Please help me because I do not want to go another day like this.”
When you reach rock bottom and ask for help, help does arrive in many ways. The answers started rolling in. I had a friend on Facebook reach out to me saying I have a message for you. When we chatted that night, she announced that I was an empath.
What?
I had no idea what an empath was. I started the research and realized so much of my life started making sense.
Empaths are born with their gifts.
Empaths can pick up emotions from people they know, people they have never met, and from the collective. One day I was at home trying to work, and my anxiety started to shoot through the roof. I began to walk around the house feeling tremendous pressure throughout my body, and my hubby opened the window and said, look across the street. My neighbor and his son were having a very heated debate, and I was picking up all their emotions.
A great example of emotional collective issues was the beginning of the pandemic and the world shut down. There were many collective emotions of fear, anxiety, uncertainty, anger, worry, and loss.
An easy tool that I use is the empath symbol. It is super easy to implement and add to your morning ritual. My symbol is a bear, and I ask the universe to show me the bear when I feel it DOES NOT belong to me. You can use animals—fish, places, instruments, mammals, rainbows, etc.
Empaths can pick up physical issues. They can actually feel someone’s pain in their body. This is a big problem when the empath does NOT KNOW the physical issue is not theirs. Several years ago, when I went into work, I was feeling like a million dollars. I slept well. I was happy and ready to take on the world. When I sat at my desk ALL OF A SUDDEN, I had a headache and felt drained. I just thought it was weird until I heard a co-worker say I am exhausted and have a really bad headache.
An easy tool is to ask the universe to remove any physical issues that are not yours.
Empaths can pick up mental issues or what I would like to call the empath fog. The inability to focus, have clarity or make a decision. During Christmas, I was at the mall with a list of gifts I wanted to buy and stores I wanted to browse. Instead, I was walking around totally befuddled, trying to figure out what I wanted to do.
An easy tool is to ground your energy. Hug a tree, put your feet in the grass, or if you are inside a mall like I was, I went into the restroom and washed my hands. Water is a great cleanser and grounding tool.
The most important part for the empath is the spiritual aspect of how you feel about yourself and what it means to empathize. In the beginning, I felt cursed and that I was being punished. If this is you, I can relate and understand how you feel. It wasn’t until I learned my energy and realized how much I was picking up that things started to change for me.
I was not dancing in the streets, but my anxiety levels were way down, and I could breathe. In this space, I could see my mindset, and how I saw being an empath was a huge block.
If you want something different, ask the universe for people, tools, and resources to come your way. To give you a new perspective and create a supportive environment. That is very important for an empath to be supported and understood by the people in their life.
If you pulled out being an empath, ask yourself, what are my beliefs? How do I feel about myself? What do I want from life?
Those answers will start you on a path to freedom, and being an empath will help you understand these things for yourself at a much deeper level.
Always remember the happier you are, the easier emotions will flow through you.
Tricia Dycka, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Tricia is an intuitive empath coach, Reiki Master, bestselling author, teacher, & speaker. Her mission is to help other empath coaches and healers go from emotional overwhelm to learning how to manage their energy to be more visible and enjoy inner peace. Tricia has created quick and easy tools so people can recognize their energy and quickly clear anything they pick up that is not theirs.
