10 Subtle Signs of an Empath

Have you ever felt someone else’s physical pain during a conversation? When someone is telling you about stomach nausea or shoulder pain, have you wanted to stop them from telling you more? Did you start to feel the pain or discomfort as if it were your own?

Empaths are highly sensitive individuals, who have a keen ability to sense what people around them are thinking and feeling. Psychologists may use the term empath to describe a person that experiences a great deal of empathy, often to the point of taking on the pain of others at their own expense.

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Here is a list of most common empathic traits

Read a room

An empath can walk into a room and instantly notice a negative or positive vibe before anyone else. They have a keen sense into how they should approach the room, and of the mood that will follow for the duration of their time in that room.

Sense someone else’s discomfort

Some people may not notice when another person is feeling emotionally uneasy, embarrassed or judgemental. However there are some who can sense and almost see what others don’t. An empath will automatically feel empathy for someone if they are uneasy. This uneasiness is not necessarily noticed by others. The empath will see a momentary expression or pick up on subtle body language to show discomfort or embarrassment of another.

Feel someone else’s physical pain

When someone mentions to a highly empathic person of any physical ailments, the empath will most likely begin to feel the pain themselves. It’s possible this is the result of Dr. V.S. Ramachandran’s Mirror Neurons which provides the ability to read compassion from the perspective of someone else. Wikimedia definition; “A mirror neuron is a neuron that fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another. Thus, the neuron “mirrors” the behavior of the other, as though the observer were itself acting. Such neurons have been directly observed in human and primate species, and birds.”

An interesting video of Dr. V.S. Ramachandran’s explanation of mirror neurons:

Sense trouble

If you’ve ever just met someone and within the first moment sensed their shadyness, then you may be an empath. Highly intune people can notice immediately if someone has negative intentions or untrustworthy. It’s an instinctive feeling they get, it’s a certain look in their eyes, it’s everything an empath can read and pick up on.

People oriented

The empath always seems to know how to talk to people. They are an exceptional judge of character. This is especially true in public places. They will be friendly and joke with one person and then switch with ease to a more subtle conservative tone for another. The empath tends to always be right about their first impressions too. This skill is no doubt priceless in business, sales and customer service.

Anxious in crowds

An empath however can be overstimulated in a crowded room, regardless of how good they are at reading the room. This is possibly due to their sensitivity of others emotions and well-being. They are so intune to the people around them, they can pick up non-verbal cues instantaneously and therefore it’s no wonder they become overwhelmed in large social gatherings. An empath’s favourite environment is serene.

Spot BS a mile away

An empath has an uncanny ability to detect when someone is lying. Honestly… I wouldn’t lie about that! They can pick up on subtle expressions that perhaps an otherwise ‘normal’ person would not. This is where I confess that I have strong empathic tendencies, and have been told I’m an empath… and I truly can detect a lie, at least a good portion of the time. I’ve learned over the years to trust my instinct. On the flipside, an empath can be completely trusted. Since they feel someone else’s pain, it’s pretty safe to say they wouldn’t deliberately deceive others. This would literally keep them up at night.

Deeply intune with nature

As mentioned above, an empath’s favourite environment is within serenity. They also tend to have a proclivity towards nature. This would make sense because nature, trees and water give off peaceful vibes. An empath couldn’t help but be drawn by the solitude and peacefulness of nature.

Know when someone doesn’t like them

One of the least favorable aspects of being an empath is the intuitive inclination that someone doesn’t like them. This is a terrible quality to have, however at the same time I would imagine it’s best to know exactly where you stand with other people.

Do you think you’re an empath? Do you know someone with the same qualities feel free to share in the comments, I would be interested to hear!

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This post was previously published on The Narrative.

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