In the world that we live in, which is filled with such a diverse variety of experiences, emotions, and realities, being an empath and experiencing anxiety can be quite an intense experience.
The good news is that when we become aware of this as being a possible cause or contributor to our anxious feelings, we can seek to become empowered.
How Can You Deal With Anxiety As An Empath?
As an empath, you can effectively release your anxiety by welcoming beneficial holistic practices. These will help you to heal anxiety and assist you with empowering and upgrading your empath abilities so that they stop contributing to your anxiety.
The content of this article will provide you with a deeper understanding of the link between being an empath and experiencing anxiety as well as various practices of alignment that will help you not only to just deal with anxiety as an empath but grow and thrive through it.
Understanding The Link Between Being An Empath And Experiencing Anxiety
Firstly let me talk about Empaths and the ability to feel others' emotions.
Empaths have the heightened ability to tune into and feel the emotions of other people around them or people they are connected to.
The title ‘empath’ originates from the root word ‘empathy’ which can be defined as the ability to feel and understand the experience of another.
Therefore, an empath is someone with a heightened natural ability to deeply empathize.
Some empaths feel others constantly and unconsciously and others are conscious of their gift and have the ability to deliberately tune in at will or at least identify where the emotions that they experience emanate from.
If you are still at the stage of wondering if you really are an empath and would like to learn more about this powerful ability that many of us have I recommend reading the following article: 5 Powerful Abilities Empaths Have.
Do Empaths And Anxiety Go Hand In Hand?
It is not a given that anxiety and empaths go hand in hand but it is definitely more likely that empaths will experience anxiety especially if they are not yet fully aware of or consciously working with this extrasensory gift.
Anxiety is essentially the body responding to stress and it can arise for various reasons which can manifest as over-thinking, physical discomfort, fatigue, panic attacks, tumultuous emotions, fear, and worry.
These feelings can be experienced at different levels of intensity depending on the type of anxiety, your mental state as well as the type of stress you may be experiencing.
When we understand the nature of anxiety is an experience that is affected by mental and emotional stress we can see the link between empaths and anxiety.
When an empath experiences the emotions of another person or the collective quite intensely it can become tricky to determine what emotions are actually their own and what stress is actually from their own human experience.
Therefore to us empaths, it may seem like the anxiety is often sudden or unexplained.
You may be doing quite well in your life and not actually have any intense stressors but unconsciously picking up the stressful emotions of others which can cause heightened anxiety.
How Can Empaths Effectively Deal With Anxiety?
Often time’s it is empaths who have not yet learned to hone their empathic abilities that easily experience anxiety, when this skill goes unacknowledged it can result in anxiety that seems to come out of nowhere.
There are various practices that can help with anxiety for empaths.
Many of these solutions help with anxiety in general and also help us empaths to consciously get in touch with our power.
Once you start taking active responsibility for your energy and experience you may actually find that anxiety is like an indicator that lets you know to check in with yourself and to align, to be aware and not just passively absorb the emotions of those around you.
When you consciously accept your gift you can choose to use it with grace to help those that you can (you can do this by small simple gestures such as sending energy, prayer, a smile or hug or actively helping someone if it is a situation that you are able to assist with ).
Remember, you can be of true service to others when you are healthy and aligned within your own being first; it is always worth taking the time to integrate beneficial practices and refine your inherent skills.
Related post: Delve into the world of empathy by learning about the distinct signs of an empath.
Powerful Practices For Empaths To Release Anxiety
Below are some higher perspective concepts and suggestions of practices that can help you with anxiety and with mastering your empath abilities.
You should intuitively gravitate towards the suggestions that resonate the most and try to commit to a consistent practice to see empowering lasting alignment within your experience.
1. Meditation
Meditation is one of the most powerful practices that can assist you in dealing with anxiety and emotional regulation.
Meditation allows for a conscious pause and resets time.
It also allows the attention to focus inwardly instead of on external stimuli, this can be especially important for empaths as this time of inner reflection helps us to learn what emotions are truly ours and what emotions are from others.
Knowing the difference can strengthen empath abilities allowing us to maintain sovereignty and being able to use this skill for the benefit of all.
Meditation allows for deep relaxation which can give our nervous systems a valuable opportunity to rest and reset.
You can explore meditation in various forms; explore different methods and options to see what works best for you.
You can simply dedicate time to stillness and inner focus or choose guided meditations that are specifically created to deal with anxiety and emotions.
There is a wealth of amazing resources that you can find online to form or deepen your meditation practice.
2. Breathwork
The practice of breathwork often goes hand in hand with meditation but can definitely also be a powerful practice on its own.
The benefits of deep breathing include oxygenation of the body and help the body to regulate hormone production (hormones such as serotonin play a key role in mood regulation) this can help us cope with the effects of anxiety on a physiological level.
Breathwork can have an added dimension of power when we acknowledge that the substance of breath is our energy and life force (prana).
When breathing we can consciously allow this prana to fill us, this has an incredibly powerful cleansing and aligning effect on both the physical and energetic body.
Breathwork can be engaged through various techniques such as simple intentional awareness of breath, yogic techniques such as the breath of fire and pranayama, holotropic breathing, or even more modern interpretations such as the Wim Hof technique.
You can find a variety of guided breathing sessions on each of these techniques and more on YouTube.
3. Intentional Alone Time
Most empaths have no problem with this request, however, I invite you to dedicate a time of solitude specifically with the intention to nurture and learn more about you.
When you know your emotions and truly check in with yourself without outside influence it can be easier to identify what emotions are yours and what emotions are being received from others.
When you are able to do this it becomes less likely that the emotions of others will make you anxious or you will be able to deal with the experience in a more grounded manner.
If you feel like you need to recharge and align with beneficial energy you can also consider that this alone time is set in a natural space, this intentional alone time can also be the time that you practice meditation, breathing, journaling, etc.
It is also helpful to remind yourself amidst anxiety or an overwhelming experience that If you have the opportunity to do so it is perfectly fine to step away and take some alone time to realign.
4. Affirmations
Positive affirmations are a great way to set intentions and realign your energy.
Affirmations can help calm the mind and ground thoughts in truth.
They can be written down, verbally, or mentally repeated. You can create or choose affirmations specifically to assist you with what you are dealing with.
Utilize the frequency of the affirmation and its effect on the subconscious and conscious mind to call in the experience you wish to have.
Some example of a few affirmations you could work with as an empath with anxiety are as follows:
- ‘My sensitivity is a power’
- ‘I value and uphold healthy boundaries’
- ‘I acknowledge but absorb only what is beneficial’
- ‘My emotions are a powerful guidance system’
- ‘I release the need to fix everything and everyone’
- ‘I understand that all is in Divine order’
- ‘I am present’
5. Physical Health
As empaths, it is easy to become preoccupied with the more etheric and subtle sensitivities of emotion and spirit and so it is important to remember to intentionally care for your physical health.
Your physical health has direct effects on your energy body and mental health.
A diet that promotes vitality and a regular exercise routine can help you deal with the effects of anxiety.
Keeping your system in optimal condition will make you less susceptible to lower vibrational energies.
A healthy routine that is focused on your self-care will give you a dedicated focus and will build your physical and mental strength.
Exercise is a great way to release stagnant energy or unwanted emotions from your body.
6. Crystals and Symbols
Another really easy and enjoyable solution to assist you with anxiety as an empath is crystal healing.
You can work with various crystals that have protective and balancing energies, they will serve as helpers.
You can work with crystal during your meditation and you can wear specific crystals on your body as you move through life and different environments.
This is another instance where your empathic superpowers are to your benefit because as an empath you will easily be able to tune into the crystalline frequencies.
Some suggested stones to help empaths with anxiety are
- Black Tourmaline
- Hematite
- Fluorite
- Smokey Quartz
- Amethyst and
- Obsidian
Among many other amazing energetic properties, these stones have a protective and grounding effect.
Along with these stones, you can also incorporate intentional and protective symbols, rituals, elements, deities, and archetypes into your life.
Working with the elements above can help you to curate your energy space in a way that you choose and is most beneficial to your wellbeing.
If you want to know more about crystals healing abilities then this article may be of interest to you: Powerful Crystals for Healing Pain (Physical and Emotional).
7. Seeking Assistance
As great as it is to be self-empowered in your healing there are definitely times when help is appreciated.
There is no weakness in genuinely open-heartedly asking for assistance with anxiety.
As an empath, it is important to seek help from a trusted source and someone you feel completely safe with energetically.
Sometimes an outside perspective is what we need in order to fully reflect, to have someone who is a good listener holding space can bring a new layer of clarity.
You can seek help from someone close to you or follow your intuition to choose a counselor or holistic healer that resonates with your needs.
8. Self Love and Self Care
Understanding and cultivating self-love and self-care are extremely essential as an empath experiencing anxiety.
You can find an entire article on how this topic that details how to embrace and cultivate these practices, it is titled: Self-love vs Self-care and Why You Need To Do Both.
Learning To Fine-tune Your Empath Skills
Engaged consistently, the above-mentioned suggestions will help you with anxiety as an empath through refining and strengthening your emotional intelligence embracing the mastery of your empath abilities.
Ultimately as an empath, most of what you are experiencing is within your own being, even if it's unwittingly absorbed emotions that need to be dealt with; these emotions can cause anxiety until they are solved or you can graciously release them.
The practices mentioned above are extremely powerful tools; remember, it is not always about quick fixes but rather long term integration and impact.
You will need to experiment with various practices and see what works for you and what you are willing to dedicate time to.
One of the most valuable things you can do as an empath is fine-tuning your skill as this will allow you to experience it as a blessing instead of something that brings you unwanted anxieties.
❤️ Related empath posts you might want to check out:
- How To Love An Empath (11 Thoughtful Ways To Express It)
- Heyoka Empath – 11 Signs You Are This Powerful & Rare Kind Of Empath
- How to Deal With Life As An EMPATH and THRIVE!
- 7 Must-Know Triggers for Empaths & How to Calmly Deal with Them
Yasmin is a freelance creative, working through the mediums of fine art and writing. She loves deeply exploring themes related to the natural world, the metaphysical world, concepts and embodiments of spirituality as well as esoteric contemplations. An overview of some of her work can be viewed at https://www.instagram.com/faeiirie/