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Welcome to my blog! As an intuitive coach, I specialize in helping empaths and highly sensitive people navigate their emotions and prioritize self-care. Over the years, I've noticed that one of the most requested and crucial lessons for my clients is learning how to set boundaries and practice self-care. In this post, we'll explore why boundary setting is essential for empaths and highly sensitive people, and how it can transform your life. So, if you're ready to dive deeper into the world of self-care and boundary setting, keep reading!
As an empath, taking on other people's energy can be a challenging and sometimes overwhelming experience. This natural ability is a gift that can bring great healing to ourselves and others, however it can be challenging to understand how it works and how to discern what belongs to us and what belongs to others. When we interact with people and we are constantly receiving information not only through their words and actions, but also through their energy and emotions. As we absorb this energy, we may find ourselves feeling exhausted, anxious, or even physically ill. For example, if we spend time with someone who is angry or stressed, we may begin to feel those emotions ourselves, even if we were in a good mood before. We may also pick up on other people's physical sensations, such as pain or tension in their body. This can make it difficult to distinguish our own emotions and physical sensations from those of the people around us, and can lead to a sense of being overwhelmed or drained and even burnt out.
To avoid these negative effects, it's important for us empaths to take care of ourselves and establish healthy boundaries in order to protect our own energy to maintain a sense of balance and wellbeing.
Here are some self-care and boundary tips:
Recognize when you're taking on other people's energy and emotions, and take steps to release it. Practice bringing awareness to how you feel before you spend time in public, with a friend or a group. Do you suddenly feel anxious but don't know why? Feel sudden flashes of anger or have aches and pains that leave when you get home? Being emotionally self-aware is a big part of caring for your empathetic nature. As a healer being able to feel these things in other people helps to get to the root of the problem quickly. However we can't heal everyone all the time so understanding how this works so you can release it is one of the most important lessons you can learn. Practice distancing yourself from an unusual emotion or sensation by simple saying to yourself "This is interesting that I suddenly feel anxious, angry, sad, or a pain here. I wonder if someone else is experiencing this." Often just the awareness will lessen the sensation. Usually if the emotion does belong to you, you will have a reason.
Set clear boundaries with people in your life who may be draining your energy. This could mean limiting the amount of time you spend with them, or being more assertive in expressing your needs. Most people don't mean to cause harm. We all have bad days and have difficult life lessons that cause intense emotions. As an Empath you need to live your life a little differently then someone who doesn't have this natural gift. Set boundaries with kindness. You will have days you are more sensitive like the full or new moons. Keeping a journal can help you sort out your personal life cycles and people that are more difficult than others.
Create a self-care routine that works you, and stick to it. This could include activities like exercise, spending time in nature, or practicing a creative hobby.
Practice mindfulness to help you stay grounded and centered in your own energy. This could involve techniques like deep breathing, body scans, or focusing on the present moment.
Your natural gift will let you know if a relationship is not a good fit for you. It helps distinguish between friend and foe. Your Empath nature is connected to a deep intuition and a sense of knowing. Listen to that voice. It's ok to not give all of yourself away when meeting new people. Empaths tend to give too away in an effort to make everyone around them feel comfortable. Empaths also tend to be deeply compassionate and can share too much too soon. Trust that other people can hold their own suffering and have what they need to work through it.
Seek out other Empaths! It's a beautiful thing to be surrounded with other people who experience the world in a similar way. Most of us have a desire to work on ourselves and enjoy getting to know the Real You! We tend to be honest, compassionate and accepting because we know that if the people around us are truly at peace then that's what we feel too. There's a deep understanding we're all here to work through our karma and life lessons and that there's beauty in every shared story.
Remember, as an empath, your sensitivity is a gift, but it's important to take care of yourself so that you can continue to use it in a positive and empowering way.
Gina Milanese
Founder and CEO of The Shining Soul Life Transformational and Empowering Workshops, Courses and Coaching.