Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Kristy Robinett, author of several books, including It’s a Wonderful Afterlife, Born Under a Good Sign, and the new Embrace Your Empathy.


What is Empathy?

Empathy: Noun: The ability to understand and share the feelings of another

What is an Empath?
Empath: Noun: Empath originates in science-fiction literature. Much like emotional telepathy, the term is first cited in Scottish author J.T. McIntosh’s 1956 “The Empath,” a story about paranormally empathetic beings, called empaths.

The original Star Trek TV series helped spread the word with its 1968 “The Empath,” an episode about a deaf woman with the ability to both experience and heal the wounds of others. This theme continued in Star Trek: The Next Generation with a character named Deanna Troi who can sense the emotions of others.

The term “empath” has become a trendy spiritual word, but it has helped some better understand why they feel the way they do, or react they way they do, or feel as overwhelmed as they do. It’s also helped to create a sense of community, some in person and many online, from those who have felt like nobody else understands their highly sensitive ways. It has also helped to mainstream what some felt was a taboo subject: something woo-woo, when the truth empathy is very much normal. Just as we use our eyes to see, and our ears to hear, our nose to smell, and our mouths to taste, an empath has a high sense of empathy to detect emotion of a place and/or person.

Being an empath can be the exhausting, exhilarating, and misunderstood. The definition of being an empath means you are always “on” while you process the feelings and energy of other people, and often ignore your own. This gift (yes, it is a gift) can really take its toll on your mind, body, and spirit if you aren’t aware you are even doing it.

If you suspect you may be an empath, here are some signs of empathetic abilities you probably have experienced at one point:

  • You are a helper
  • You are a fixer
  • You are a worrier
  • You have an uncanny ability to tell if someone is lying
  • You are sensitive
  • You may carry the role of being different or the scapegoat
  • You might push boundaries in the name of justice
  • You might cry at heartwarming commercials, tv shows, or a story someone tells
  • You can’t deal with violent television
  • You love animals
  • You are a chronic apologizer
  • You need soulful connections
  • Weather and/or moon cycles effects your mood
  • Strangers start talking to you, telling you the most private of information

Those who don’t understand might judge the sensitivity of an empath as being too much for them and criticized. It’s why many empaths feel shameful and lonely. In my book Embrace Your Empathy: Make Sensitivity Your Strength, I explain that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all empath and there are several types of empaths, which include: Physical Empath, Emotional Empath, Intuitive Empath, and Earth Empath. I also explain that an empath is never “too much of anything,” and teach tools to step into the gift with honor.

Just as we all have a different thumbprint, an empath has their own unique gift they give to the world. That gift can be used to help humanity and help their own self. It doesn’t have to involve sacrifice like so many have felt they were doomed to do and feel. An empath is often a safe haven for those that need it, empaths and non-empaths alike. They are the best secret keepers, and certainly keep the tissue companies in business.


Our thanks to Kristy for her guest post! For more from Kristy Robinett, read her article “5 Signs of a Burned-Out Empath (And How to Heal).”

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Written by Anna
Anna is the Senior Digital Marketing Strategist, responsible for Llewellyn's New Worlds of Body, Mind & Spirit, the Llewellyn Journal, Llewellyn's monthly email newsletters, email marketing, social media marketing, influencer marketing, content marketing, and much more. In her free time, Anna ...