As a psychiatrist I treat many empath-patients who come in exhausted with a syndrome known as adrenal fatigue. This is a collection of symptoms such as exhaustion, body aches, anxiety, trouble thinking clearly, and insomnia. In this condition, the theory is that the adrenal glands can’t keep up with outside stress so the hormones such as cortisol that normally keep you energized begin to get depleted.
In my books, "The Empath's Survival Guide" and "The Power of Surrender" I discuss the very real situation of empathic illnesses where empaths literally take on the stress\ and symptoms of others. Unfortunately, conventional medicine doesn’t have a context with which to understand this and many empaths are left in the lurch or misdiagnosed. Because empaths can be emotional sponges and take on the literal symptoms of others, it adds to their stress levels and leaves them more vulnerable to adrenal fatigue. To learn more about Empathic Illnesses including strategies to stop absorbing other people’s toxic energy read the chapter “Harmonizing with Illness & Pain” in my book.
Here are some solutions for empaths to treat adrenal fatigue that can turn your symptoms around and restore your energy. But remember, for empaths this isn’t a one-time fix—it requires some basic life style and diet changes so that you can effectively manage your energy over the long term.
Strategies to Relieve Adrenal Fatigue · Get a blood test to measure your cortisol levels. · Consider temporary natural cortisol replacement per your physician’s recommendation. · Get as much rest as you can on a regular basis (sleep is very healing and restorative!). · Eliminate the energy vampires in your life or at least set clear limits and boundaries with them so they don’t chronically sap you. (Read Chapter 5 in the Ecstasy of Surrender for tips and strategies.) · Eat a natural whole food diet and avoid junk food · Add Himalayan Red Salt to your diet and get rid of low quality salts (always check with your physician if your blood pressure is high). · Avoid white flour and other toxic grains · Minimize your sugar intake · Gentle exercise and stretching—gradually build up stamina and challenge yourself as your energy increases · Meditate: Use the three minute surrender to your heart meditation in The Ecstasy of Surrender to take mini breaks throughout your busy day to replenish yourself · Take 2,000-5000 mg Vitamins C orally every day · Consider IV Vitamin C drips (10-25,000mg) delivered intravenously that can jump start your energy level and support adrenal health (holistic physicians often offer this treatment in their offices). I get one whenever I feel like I’m coming down with a cold to build up my immune system—and it works!
In addition to these practical tips, get in the habit of practicing positive thinking. By this I mean, do not beat yourself up with negative thoughts such as “I will never feel better” or “I am weak and sick.” Rather focus on the surrender affirmations I present at the end of every chapter in the book such as “I am healthy, happy, and deserve to have vibrant well-being.” You might not have control over some stresses in your life but you can have control of your attitude. To relieve adrenal fatigue, you can remove a great deal of inner stress by surrendering patterns of self-loathing and embracing self-compassion and self-love! http://www.drjudithorloff.com/_blog/Dr_Judith_Orloff%27s_Blog/post/why-empaths-are-at-risk-for-adrenal-fatigue/
Do you suffer from the Empath blues? Impaired Empaths © have a high risk of experiencing “unexplainable sadness”. Constantly feeling the negative emotions of others can trigger a form of emotional exhaustion where nothing feels good anymore. Here’s how to spot and alleviate “emotional fatigue”. According to wikipedia, “decisional fatigue refers to the deteriorating quality of decisions made by an individual, after a long session of decision making”. This concept has been studied extensively in psychology where people who have to make a lot of decisions as part of their daily job, like judges for example, become worn out over time and tend to make poorer choices later in the day. The mind becomes exhausted and has a hard time evaluating trade offs, a critical skill in decision making.
In a similar vein, Empaths can become overly activated by the constant emotional information that they have to process. This is especially true for Impaired Empaths who have a hard time regulating the influx of emotions they pick up from other people. Overtime, their ability to appropriately respond to emotions can become erratic, leaving them feeling powerless and depressed.
Under a spell of the Empath blues, you might start to feel sad without knowing why. You are also more likely to feel depressed later in the day, waking up fine in the morning but experiencing a decline in your positive emotions as the day goes by. The Empath blues is typically temporary but can become chronic if left unattended. Please note that anyone who feels depressed over a long period of time might be suffering from clinical depression and should seek medical help as well as therapeutic counselling.
So what can you do when you find yourself in the throes of the Empath blues? There is a very common misconception that the remedy for emotional fatigue is to try to get “happier”. Meaning that you should try to think positively, even though you feel utterly crappy. Have you ever been with someone who was trying to cheer you up while you felt sad? Despite their best efforts, you kinda want them to shut up and go away.
This reaction makes perfect sense when you consider that alleviating emotional fatigue requires emotional quiet, which is the absence of strong emotions. Feeling happy is a strong emotion and strong emotions, whether positive or negative, are exactly what caused emotional fatigue in the first place! Since you’re trying to jump from one end of the emotional spectrum (sadness) into the opposite end (happiness) while being exhausted, you’re more likely to fall flat on your face mid jump. In other words, trying to cheer up when you are emotionally exhausted can leave you feeling even more tired, in addition to feeling angry at yourself for not being able to “snap out of it”.
Most Empaths are not familiar with the state of emotional quiet required to address emotional fatigue. They are so used to feel tugged in all kinds of emotional directions that feeling nothing is often equated with feeling dead or empty. They wonder if something’s wrong. And yet, this is no different than sleep for the body! We need down time where we let out body, mind and emotions rest.
Fortunately, Empaths are often very intuitive beings. They feel drawn to what is good for them. That’s why you’ll probably recognize some of your own urges in the 4 most effective ways to relieve emotional fatigue!
Being alone: Empaths need time by themselves where they are less likely to be tuning into the emotions of others around them. It doesn’t mean you’re anti-social or that you don’t like people! It just means you need to refuel before going back out into the world. Make sure you have plenty of alone time during which you’re doing something that is not emotional, such as knitting, gardening, cooking, etc. I like to play video games which requires strategy but has no emotional triggers for me. Be creative!
Being in nature: Many Empaths report feeling most at peace in nature, among trees and in large bodies of water like the ocean or a lake. With good reasons! Trees and water provide a natural “white noise” when it comes to emotional vibration. It’s like wearing a noise cancelling headset to drown out the emotions of other people. I walk 5 miles a week in the forest around my house which rejuvenates and energizes me for the day.
Being physically active: Physical activity can provide a great buffer against emotional fatigue by taking your focus away from emotions and into your own physical body. For our purposes, the physical activity needs to be challenging enough that it requires your full attention. Rock climbing and yoga are my favourite activities to get emotionally quiet.
Meditation: Meditation provides a powerful way to guide your focus away from other people. This can be very challenging for Empaths who tend to always want to tune into others. It can feel unnatural or difficult at first. But being able to create a quiet space within, whether by focusing on your breath or by following a guided audio meditation, can give you the space you need to rest both your mind and your sensitive emotional system.. https://www.eliselebeau.com/empath/the-empath-blues-4-ways-to-relieve-emotional-fatigue/2155
12 Reasons Why Female Empaths Will Always Struggle to Find ‘The One’ Being in constant company of an empath can be extremely hard. Not all people are meant to take on this job. Those who do means they are truly ready to be with this person. Empaths are definitely amazing people. They don’t just date around and enjoy romantic flings; either you are in it for the long run or you are not. It can be harder for them to find the right men and we are here to tell you why! 1. THEIR EMOTIONS ARE POWERFUL It often rushes beyond bounds. An Empath feels strongly. While it is beautiful, it can be too much for some people. That kind of emotional intensity needs to be controlled or it can wreck havoc on both people. 2. THEY ARE DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND AND OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD There are parts of themselves that they will never let anybody see. You’re going to have to make peace with that. Or in case they do open themselves up completely, there will be parts of them you just simply won’t understand. Most human beings are not willing to put in that kind of effort or end up not truly understanding that person and that harms the relationship. 3. THEY KNOW WHAT THEY WANT Empaths generally do not indulge in anything meaningless. The casual dating is not for them. They are not interested in one night stands. If you start dating them, they will offer you a serious emotional intensity, which may not be accepted by most people. 4. THEY ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS It is not because they don’t trust you so they are questioning you. They simply must know and understand everything happening around them. Being logical and with rational minds, they will need you to be in the clear about your actions and reactions, instead of leaving it to mere intuition. 5. THEY PREFER HONESTY They are honest to the point of being harsh, even though the last thing they wanted to do was to hurt you. They do not mean to hurt you, or make you sad. It is just who they are. They see things for what they are, and do not change the truth. They will present situations to you in their most honest version. Their bluntness can be too much for some people. 6. THEY NEED EMOTIONAL SATISFACTION For them, it is not so much about the sex. They need to be happy emotionally in order to function in the relationship. This means no lies, all honestly, no unnecessary anger or any other form of abuse. People can find this kind of emotional investment a bit overwhelming sometimes. 7. THEY NEED THEIR FREEDOM At no point in a relationship should an empath feel like they are being chained down. This means that you cannot impose any sort of restrictions on them. They will do what they want, and dress however they want. You cannot cage them. Most men generally find it difficult to give women this kind of liberty. 8. THEY TEND TO TAKE THINGS A BIT TOO PERSONALLY Because of them feeling so much more and deeper than other people, they might take things a bit too seriously and personally. This leads to having their feelings hurt and owing them an apology when you weren’t even aware that one was needed. 9. THEY DO NOT BELIEVE IN FLINGS They are in it to win it. An Empath will not be interested in the kind of relationship that won’t last forever. They are looking for their soul mate and will only invest their emotional labor into something worthwhile. 10. THEY WANT SOMEBODY WHO IS RELIABLE That means that the partner needs to be trustworthy. She needs to be able to feel at home with them, and speak to them about absolutely anything. The person needs to support them, and motivate them through their lives. 11. THEY SEE BOTH GOOD AND BAD IN PEOPLE It will be extremely difficult for you to predict which one is more important to her. Sometimes, she will choose the good side. Sometimes, the bad side will push her away. You cannot control or predict this behavior. 12. THEY LOVE VERY STRONGLY It is the kind of love only the luckiest people have had a chance to experience. You will feel like you are the luckiest human being in the world, and will be engulfed by all the feelings. Words will never be enough to describe what an Empath is capable of making you feel if she chooses you as her partner. Fall in love with one to find out! source : simplecapacity.com
