You’ve heard of psychopaths, you’ve heard of narcissists, but have you heard of “dark empaths”? The dark empath is the latest personality type to pique the collective interest of chronically online types, and guess what? They’re not very nice! So named after a 2021 study, and characterized by “dark traits” combined with empathy, the dark empath is apparently like a narcissist, but harder to spot.

They won’t empathize with you, exactly, but rather cognitively recognize how something might make you feel, and use that knowledge to manipulate you. Think: Amy Dunne’s gradual and calculated revenge plot in Gone Girl. Or that colleague who you thought was your friend but was actually a low-key saboteur.

By Allaya Cooks-Campbel

Empathy helps you relate to others on a profound human level, understand their problems together, and support the people around you. If you’re a highly empathetic person, you might identify as an empath: someone who can sense others’ feelings and relate to them on a deeper level.

But being constantly aware of other people’s emotions can be exhausting. It might even have significant impacts on your own life and make you feel tired and drained — a phenomenon sometimes known as empathy or compassion fatigue.

So what are the emotional triggers for empaths, and how can you avoid them? Recognizing the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that affect you most is the first step to understanding your role as an empath and developing self-awareness and self-control.

by Michelle J. Howe

A vast amount of Empaths are just now waking up and looking for answers.  Many Empaths are now in Facebook groups.  Many are relieved to finally find like-minded people and explanations for why they are affected by others – why they know or feel more than others.

Most Empaths have a HUGE heart.  This heart LOVES to help other people.  There is nothing more fueling to an Empath than to be of service to others.  Mostly, an Empath feels a huge burst of energy when they step forward in this way.   Empaths love to listen, solve and/or sprinkle the great energy into helping others.

Empathy is often seen as a superpower. However, Thomas Lewis's work explains empathy as an ability that develops in mammals and is especially strong in primates.
There is research proving that elevated empathy can be created by trauma, and it seems to me that the word 'ELEVATED' is often omitted, leading to a misguided association of empathy with traumatic childhood experiences.

Do you take on the stress of others? Are you very sensitive? Do you feel overwhelmed in crowded spaces?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may an empath.

An empath takes on the feelings of others and can relate to what someone else may be feeling, whether that’s emotionally or physically. And while being an empath can mean you’re a caring, thoughtful person, it can also be overwhelming and leave you with little or no time for yourself.

  kaleidoscope of feelings, an emotional rollercoaster if you will. Sounds thrilling? Sometimes it was. But at other times, it was a little too intense, like riding the world’s scariest rollercoaster without a safety bar. Why? Because Riley, mu

We often think of empathy as an amazing thing. Most of us believe that empathy is the solution to cruelty and aggression and generally leads to better outcomes, from sales to productivity to customer relationships. Hence, empathy training is recommended for anyone, from prisoners to doctors to teachers.  

Indeed, deficits in empathy are thought to be at the heart of dark personality types such as psychopathy, narcissism, sociopaths, and Machiavellianism. But if a certain subset of dark personality types are successful in ascending their careers or becoming community and spiritual leaders, then clearly they have some empathy to charm their way around.

This image e,mpath test will show if you are truly in tune with the emotions of over living things Only True Empaths Can Pass This Test

Here is a list of 13 qualities that a real empath has:These traits are innate and not learned. You are either an empath or you are not.

Being an Empath is not actually easy. It requires constant effort and spiritual guidance in order to avoid energy depletion, depression, and severe anxiety.

You’ve heard of psychopaths, you’ve heard of narcissists, but have you heard of “dark empaths”? The dark empath is the latest personality type to pique the collective interest of chronically online types, and guess what? They’re not very nice! So named after a 2021 study, and characterized by “dark traits” combined with empathy, the dark empath is apparently like a narcissist, but harder to spot.

They won’t empathize with you, exactly, but rather cognitively recognize how something might make you feel, and use that knowledge to manipulate you. Think: Amy Dunne’s gradual and calculated revenge plot in Gone Girl. Or that colleague who you thought was your friend but was actually a low-key saboteur.

by Tania Israel Ph.D.
As a psychologist. I know the power of empathy. Putting ourselves in another’s shoes, we gain insight into their thoughts and can mirror their feelings. When we communicate our understanding, empathy has the power to heal, to create connection, to motivate action. Empathy is a superpower of therapists and other caring people. For decades, I’ve been teaching how to demonstrate empathy in helping relationships, and more recently in dialogue across political differences.

Given my interest in empathy, I took notice of this study in the American Political Science Review.

Your capacity for empathy is one of your "genius" qualities—but it’s also so challenging. What are the practical skills that you can learn to heal your heart and nervous system, your relationships, and the world? Don’t miss this invaluable interview with Dr. Judith Orloff, MD

Empathy is often seen as a superpower. However, Thomas Lewis's work explains empathy as an ability that develops in mammals and is especially strong in primates.
There is research proving that elevated empathy can be created by trauma, and it seems to me that the word 'ELEVATED' is often omitted, leading to a misguided association of empathy with traumatic childhood experiences.

“Jourdan Travers 
True empaths” feel everyday emotions more intensely than most and absorb the emotions of those around them.
Empathic partners may be overwhelmed by intense emotions and have a greater fear of abandonment.

Source: Tim Marshall/Unsplash
In the vast array of personalities, there exists a unique group of individuals who experience emotions on a profound level—not only feeling their own emotions deeply, but also attuning to the emotions of those around them.

by Liz Nissim-Matheis Ph.D

What is empathy, and how do I help my child manage it?

• Highly attuned people are sharply intuitive and proficient at both identifying emotions and attending to the needs of those around them.
• Children adapt and secure their relationships by maximizing the accepted parts and minimizing the rejected aspects of the self.
• Staying present in the moment is the first step toward fully knowing oneself and forming accurate perceptions of others.

#EmpathyCircles: The best #Empathy building practice.  http://www.empathycircle.com

The trademark of an empath is feeling and absorbing other people’s emotions and, or, physical symptoms because of their high sensitivities. These people filter the world through their intuition and have a difficult time intellectualizing their feelings.

As a psychiatrist and empath, I know the challenges of being a highly sensitive person. When overwhelmed with the impact of stressful emotions, empaths may experience panic attacks, depression, chronic fatigue, food, sex, and drug binges, or exhibit many other physical symptoms that defy traditional diagnosis.

Judith Orloff

Empaths have the tendency to absorb the energy and emotions of people around them which can affect their energy and make them feel drained

Empaths are natural healers and tend to take everything they experience by heart which can often lead to low self esteem in them.

Being an empath, you need to let go and release of such people from your life and to protect yourself from unnecessary emotional pain.