Empaths and Letting Go of Toxic People
by Diane Kathrine
To the Empath being in harmony with people in life is essential to their health and wellbeing. Toxic friendships can cause untold pain and damage to the Sensitive one. If there are people in your life who cause you any kind of emotional pain, which lasts long after you’ve left them, it may be time to evaluate the relationship and perhaps release them for your life.
Before we can really help or be of service to others we have to find balance within and that means taking care of our physical and mental needs and stop exposing ourselves to that which is toxic, in the form of food, substances and people.
Most Empaths will have at least one toxic person in their life that can cause a wave of intense, negative emotions to rain down, just by being in their presence. These people, who may be a friend or family member, seem to spew venom when they talk which can be felt in any of the main energy centres (chakras), especially on the front torso, in the form of an ache or pain. To some, it can feel like hot lava is being poured over the solar plexus area (seat of emotions) with an intense burning sensation. It is normal for toxic people to talk negatively of everyone and everything, which can drain the life force within a matter of minutes.
Even after trying every trick in the book for self-protection, nothing seems to stop their venom seeping into the Empath’s physical and energetic body.
Typical sensations which can be felt by being with toxic people:
A toxic friend will probably be a family member or lifelong friend and because of this you have a natural fear of letting them go, not least because you probably love them. Chances are, you have already tried helping them by sharing what has helped you, in dealing with the rigors of life. Sadly, they do not want to hear or listen to what you have to say about any kind of self-help, preferring to offload their negative rants on you. You may have also tried getting them to see situations from different perspectives, hoping they may recognize that by changing their attitude and outlook, it would change their whole life…to no avail. The Empath would never want to hurt or cause unnecessary pain to others and it is for this reason, many keep in their lives, those who cause much emotional pain. Yet, one must always put the emotional health of self-first. If you know a food or substance made you violently ill or caused you to feel depressed, you would avoid it; the same should be applied to those who cause emotional turmoil. We have a responsibility to keep our bodies and mental wellbeing strong and healthy, and if another is causing us damage (all stress will eventually lead to illness), it is our duty to either confront the said person or remove them from our life. I am not talking about having our ego’s dented by another’s random disrespect. We all have people who offend, hurt or make us angry, by their lack of understanding, at some point. And we in turn will no doubt do the same to others. This issue is about those toxic friends or family members who repetitively bring you down and do immense energetic damage. It can be so intense that you know exactly when they are having negative thoughts about you. For the Empath, navigating friendships can be a grey area, as most people will invoke an emotional response within. It is often the kindest of people in whom we feel the most pain. Yet feeling another’s pain is nothing compared to what some can make us endure. The point will come in toxic friendships when one has to decide if it is causing more harm than good. Here are some questions to ask yourself that may help evaluate your friend/relationship and hopefully help you see if it is a healthy one:
From my experience there are many reasons why we encounter toxic people in our lives. One of the most common being the mirror effect. Certain experiences or encounters with others act as a mirror and show us weaknesses or issues we need to resolve within ourselves. You may already have seen a pattern of behavior in family and friends towards you. Examples are: others being either overly needy of you or not being there for you when you need them. If you have noticed any such behavior being a trend in others actions towards you, it is most definitely not happening by chance and will be an area where, when questioned and understood, a wealth of knowledge will be attained. Another reason we may endure difficult relationships with others could be we are there to highlight flaws or issues within their life story that they need to work on and learn from. We all learn from experiences and situations presented to us in life. Yet if the same emotional scenarios keep playing out with another and all that comes from it, is you being left with their emotional baggage to clear up, that they have refused to take responsibility for, no one is gaining, learning or growing from the situation and it may be time to cut the cord. Empaths take on and feel others emotions and energetic attributes. Some people show up in our lives to press our buttons or to make us aware of patterns of behavior in self that needs addressing, which in turn helps us make the necessary changes to ourselves. Beyond that, we have to see the lesson we may need to learn from a relationship is about having the courage to let it go. It can be in loss that we and others learn and grow the most. We can learn a lot from bad people and bad experiences, but we don’t need to keep on experiencing other people’s negative emotions. It is not helping them or us. Once we have learnt from an experience, we don’t need to re-learn it over and over. Our repetitive painful emotions can and will turn into illness, if we continue to let them occur. If another continuously leaves us with a painful energetic imprint, simply by being in their presence, it is time to let them go. This is not about hating or turning against them, we can be grateful to them for all they have taught and shown us in life and in the long-run, will benefit both parties. Empaths can powerfully project their emotions out and this includes that which we take on from others. We are each responsible for the energy we put out into the world in the form of words, emotions and thoughts. If being in another’s presence is causing our emotions to fluctuate so profusely that we emit negative vibrations, it is up to us to stop being in said person’s presence, until the time when we know they cannot or will not affect us. |
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Leo - 2017 HoroscopeAbout the Author: Diane at Just Be is an Empath and has spent the past 15 to 20 years ('since waking up') researching and learning ways to make life as an Empath easier. She has discovered many ways for the Empath to stay healthy and in balance and shares her findings on her blog.Articles written by Just Be were published on Awakening People with the author's explicit written permission.
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