Empaths are highly sensitive individuals who have a strong attunement to what other people are thinking and feeling. It’s more than just feeling empathy (when your heart goes out to those in joy or pain) for those around you. When you’re an empath, you can feel another person’s emotions in your own body. At times, it may even be difficult to distinguish your emotions from someone else’s.
Let’s say your best friend has just lost her dog of 10 years. With empathy, you’ll understand the pain she’s feeling, even though you’ve never had a pet. But if you’re an empath, that pain becomes yours as if it’s part of your own experiences. You turn someone else’s pain and joy into your pain and joy.
If you have been frequently labeled as “too sensitive,” told to “grow a thick skin,” felt exhausted and anxious after being in crowded areas or with certain people, are sensitive to light, sounds, and smells, or take longer to wind down after a long day, then you might be an empath.
Books for Empaths
Empaths can lead a challenging life due to their extra-sensitive nature. While it makes them superb listeners and excellent friends, some of these qualities can be hard on empaths themselves. If you’re an empath, then these books can guide you into better understanding and controlling your abilities.
1. The Empath’s Survival Guide by Judith Orloff, MD
A practical how-to book for empaths.
Dr. Orloff has been called the “godmother of the empath movement” due to her leading research on empaths. This book is an excellent starter that offers practical insights and strategies for better managing your empath abilities and protecting yourself from the risks of taking on another person’s emotions. If you’re an empath who’s just starting your journey to self-understanding, then this is the book to go to for foundational know-how.
2. Help! I’m Sensitive by Ronni Ann Hall
A quick reference guide to empath coping strategies.
When you’re feeling heavy emotions, it’s often hard to calm down and think clearly. The giddiness of joy or the crushing weight of sadness can be distracting. What more if you’re an empath? This book identifies common empath problems and offers practical solutions.
3. The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine N. Aron, PhD
A how-to book for empaths.
Dr. Aron is internationally recognized as a leading scientist in the psychology of love and close relationships. As a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) herself, she’ll teach you how to come to terms with your abilities and use them to their fullest potential. This scientifically grounded book outlines the changes you will need to undergo in order to lead a rich, comfortable life as an HSP.
4. Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
For a broader look at the importance of emotions.
IQ has long been the standard we use to measure intelligence, but others have stressed that intelligence is not a one-dimensional element; rather, it includes different facets, such as emotional intelligence. This book offers an in-depth study of how motivation, persistence, empathy, self-awareness, impulse control, and social deftness are essential in life. More than that, it offers techniques to help us develop and strengthen our emotional intelligence for us to lead happier lives.
5. Empath by Judy Dyer
A spiritual guide for empaths.
Empaths have a largely spiritual nature due to their emotional gifts which is why it’s hard to contain empaths from a solely scientific viewpoint. In this book, Dyer will show you n how to accept and utilize your gifts, cope with your spiritual hypersensitivity, and utilize spiritual tools to heal from negative energies. This book offers a set of spiritual yet practical tools for living life as an empath.
The Science Behind Empaths
Empaths are frequently depicted as science-fiction characters with the ability to feel and sometimes manipulate the emotions of others, but studies show intriguing scientific insights on empaths and empathy in general.
Mirror Neurons
Researchers have discovered a particular set of brain cells that are responsible for compassion. These cells enable people to imitate and share emotions, such as joy and sadness, from other people.
These mirror neurons are triggered by outside events, so when your partner is sad, you feel sad too, and when your children are happy, you feel happy as well. In contrast, psychopaths are labeled “empathy deficient,” which may be caused by mirror neurons that aren’t working at full capacity.
Electromagnetic Fields
According to the HeartMath Institute, your brain and heart produce electromagnetic fields that transmit information about your thoughts and emotions.
Empaths may be more sensitive to these fields than the average person, and are also known to be more sensitive to the changes of the Earth and the sun, as both transmit electromagnetic energy.
Emotional Contagion
Studies have shown that a lot of people pick up the emotions of those around them. For example, a worker having a stressful day and showing signs of anxiety can affect their workmates. This ability to synchronize emotions can be crucial to maintaining good relationships. Empaths, having more sensitivity, have a need to center themselves before confronting any powerful emotion.
Increased Dopamine Sensitivity
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that increases the activity of neurons and is commonly associated with our pleasure response.
According to Dr. Marti Olsen Laney, introverted empaths are more sensitive to dopamine than extroverted empaths. This can explain why most empaths are content with reading, meditating, and spending time alone.
Synesthesia
Synesthesia is the neurological condition where two different senses are paired in your brain. For example, you might see colors while listening to music, or taste words.
Mirror-touch synesthesia is a particular type where you can actually feel the emotions and sensations of other people in your body as if they were your own. It’s been shown that this ability has a direct correlation to heightened emphatic abilities. So, though not every empath has this ability, their chances of having it are higher.
Understanding Empaths
Empaths can be the medicine that our world needs. They can have a profound impact on how we understand and relate to the hardships and joys that other people feel, leading to a more closely linked society that recognizes the importance of considering others.
If you’re an empath who’s struggling with your abilities, hopefully these books can help you out in your self-discovery as you learnt o use your gifts to make a positive impact.
Are you an empath or do you know someone who is? Share your experiences in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- Sympathy vs Empathy: Understanding the Feelings of Others
- How to Have Difficult Conversations: 8 Tips for Navigating Uncomfortable (But Necessary) Talks
- How to Be Less Judgmental: 7 Steps for Being More Accepting and Open-Minded
- How to Communicate Effectively: 9 Tips for Clearer Exchanges and Fewer Misunderstandings
Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
