Are You a Rare Empath? The 20% of People with a Hidden Emotional Superpower
24 JUNE 2025
Are These Emotions Really Yours? Understanding the Life of an Empath
Do you ever find yourself overwhelmed by emotions that seem to appear out of nowhere? Maybe you’re suddenly frustrated with someone, deeply sad without a clear reason, or even consumed by anger that doesn’t seem to belong to you. These emotional shifts can be confusing, leaving you drained both mentally and physically. But what if some of these feelings aren’t entirely your own?
You’ve probably heard the term empath before. While many people experience empathy, understanding and sharing others’ emotions, empaths go far beyond that. They don’t just notice feelings; they absorb them. Someone else’s joy, sorrow, or anxiety can feel as real to them as their own. Some empaths even pick up on unspoken emotions, sensing subtle cues through body language, energy shifts, or tone of voice, almost like an emotional sponge.
Does this sound familiar? If so, you might be wondering: could you be an empath? Stick around because up next, there’s a simple self-assessment to help you find out!
What Is an Empath? Understanding Emotional Absorption
Have you ever walked into a room and instantly sensed the mood, whether tense, joyful, or heavy, before anyone even said a word? For some people, this isn’t just intuition; it’s a constant reality. They don’t just notice emotions, they absorb them, feeling others’ happiness, sadness, or stress as if it were their own.
These individuals are known as empaths. Unlike those who simply recognise emotions, empaths feel them deeply, sometimes to the point of physical exhaustion. It’s as if they’re emotional receivers, always tuned in to the signals around them, whether they want to be or not.
Where Did the Term “Empath” Come From?
The word empath comes from empathy, dropping the “y” to form a noun. Interestingly, the term first appeared in a 1956 science fiction story, where it described an ability often called emotional telepathy. While originally a fictional concept, the word eventually found its way into self-development and psychology discussions. Though not a formal psychological classification, the idea of empaths gained credibility through research on emotional sensitivity.
Are Empaths Rare?
Not as rare as you might think! According to Dr. Judith Orloff, a leading researcher on empaths, emotional sensitivity exists on a spectrum. While everyone has some level of emotional awareness, about 20% of the population are classified as highly sensitive individuals (HSPs), and some of them identify as empaths.
Some people recognise their empathic nature early in life, while others spend years feeling drained and overwhelmed, not realising their sensitivity is a unique trait. If you often: absorb the emotions of those around you, struggle with emotional exhaustion, or find yourself picking up on unspoken moods, you might be an empath, without even knowing it.
Empath vs. Highly Sensitive Person (HSP): What’s the Difference?
Many people ask, Isn’t this just being highly sensitive? Not exactly. While empaths and highly sensitive people (HSPs) share common traits, such as being easily overstimulated, needing alone time to recharge, and avoiding crowded places. There’s one major difference:
- HSPs are deeply affected by their surroundings but maintain emotional distance.
- Empaths absorb emotions as if they were their own, often struggling to separate their feelings from others’.
In other words, all empaths are highly sensitive, but not all highly sensitive people are empaths.
More Than Just Emotions: Empaths Feel It Physically
For some empaths, this sensitivity extends beyond emotions. They might feel uneasy before walking into a tense room, experience a sudden headache in a stressful environment, or even sense physical discomfort when someone else is in pain. This phenomenon is often described in spiritual and metaphysical circles as “energy sensitivity.”
On a scientific level, researchers suggest that heightened emotional attunement, overactive mirror neurons, and deep subconscious pattern recognition could explain why empaths seem to just know things without being told. Whatever the reason, one thing is certain, being an empath isn’t just about feeling intensely; it’s about experiencing the world in a deeply connected way.
The Science of Energy – And Why It Matters for Empaths
Before we dive deeper into how empaths experience emotions, let’s take a quick detour into physics. Why? Because understanding energy can help explain why some people seem to “absorb” emotions like sponges while others don’t.
What Does Physics Have to Do with Empathy?
Let’s take a simple look at how physics relates to energy. Max Planck, the founder of quantum mechanics, discovered that energy is linked to frequency through the formula E = hv, where E represents energy, h is Planck’s constant, and v (or f) is the frequency of a photon. This principle explains how light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation carry energy, the higher the frequency, the more energy a photon has.
Everything around us, whether solid or invisible, involves energy in some form. Objects like clothing, computers, and the human body contain stored chemical and kinetic energy. Meanwhile, light, electromagnetic waves, and gamma rays represent energy in motion. Even the human brain generates electrical impulses and biochemical reactions, shaping our thoughts and consciousness. Simply put, emotions carry energy, too.
So, when someone feels anger, sadness, or excitement, it’s not just an abstract emotion, it’s accompanied by physiological changes like shifts in body language, vocal tone, and even subtle energy fluctuations. Empaths, being highly sensitive, pick up on these signals, sometimes so strongly that they feel the emotions as if they were their own.
Empaths vs. Highly Sensitive People: The Key Difference
At this point, you might be wondering: Isn’t this just heightened emotional awareness? Not quite.
Highly sensitive people (HSPs) deeply understand emotions but don’t necessarily absorb them. They can sense distress in a friend and offer support, but they maintain an emotional boundary.
Empaths, on the other hand, take this a step further. They don’t just notice emotions, they feel them internally. A stressed-out colleague may leave an HSP feeling concerned, while an empath might walk away feeling stressed themselves, even if nothing happened to them personally.
That said, you can be both an HSP and an empath, it’s not an either/or situation. Many empaths fall on the extreme end of the sensitivity spectrum, experiencing emotions so intensely that they struggle to distinguish between their own feelings and those of others.
A Deeper Look at “Energy” – Coming Soon
The idea that emotions carry energy is a complex one, blending psychology, neuroscience, and even metaphysical perspectives. We’ll explore this concept more deeply in another discussion, but for now, the key takeaway is this: Empaths are highly attuned to the unseen emotional “signals” that others give off, often feeling them as if they were their own.
This sensitivity is both a gift and a challenge, but understanding it is the first step toward managing it effectively.
The Experience of an Empath
Empaths navigate the world with an open emotional “antenna,” constantly tuning into the feelings of those around them. This heightened sensitivity means they often sense shifts in mood: whether joy, sadness, or stress, before anything is even said. While this deep emotional awareness can be a valuable asset, it can also be overwhelming, especially in crowded or emotionally charged spaces.
Three key traits tend to define empaths:
- A heightened awareness of emotional and environmental shifts.
- Deeply intense personal emotions.
- A tendency to absorb and mirror the emotions of others.
Let’s take a closer look at how these traits shape an empath’s daily experience.
1. Sensitivity to Emotional Atmospheres
The mood of a room can have a strong influence effect on an empath. When they step into a space, they might suddenly feel a shift in their emotions without immediately understanding why.
Imagine walking into a café and feeling inexplicably anxious, only to later realise that the table next to you was having a tense argument. Or feeling completely exhausted after passing by a group of people deep in heated competition, without even knowing them. Empaths unconsciously absorb the emotional energy of their surroundings, often mistaking these external emotions for their own.
Because these feelings can be so vivid, many empaths struggle to separate their own emotions from those they’ve picked up from others. This can lead to social exhaustion or a tendency to avoid certain places without fully understanding why.
But this ability isn’t always draining. When surrounded by positivity, empaths often feel recharged. The warmth of a cheerful conversation, the excitement of a joyful crowd, or the serenity of a peaceful setting can uplift them just as powerfully.
2. Intense Emotional & Sensory Sensitivity
Empaths don’t just feel deeply; they also experience the world more intensely. Many are highly sensitive to sensory input: bright lights, strong scents, temperature changes, or loud noises can feel overwhelming. While not all empaths experience this, those who do may find everyday environments overstimulating in ways others don’t.
Dr. Judith Orloff, a leading researcher on empaths, explains that they tend to have highly responsive nervous systems, making them more reactive to external stimuli. If most people process emotions and sensory input like water trickling through a sieve, empaths feel it like a tidal wave crashing in from all sides. This can make distressing movies, violent news stories, or tragic events feel deeply personal, as if they are living through them rather than just observing.
Because of this heightened sensitivity, empaths often seek out calm environments to recharge. Many find solace in nature, quiet spaces, or deep one-on-one conversations rather than large social gatherings. The stillness of a forest, the rhythmic sound of ocean waves, or the quiet comfort of a dimly lit room can feel like a much-needed reset from the constant influx of emotional and sensory data.
3. Absorbing Others’ Emotions: A Double-Edged Sword
Empaths have a remarkable ability to read between the lines, picking up on subtle emotional cues that others might miss. A slight change in tone, a shift in body language, or unspoken tension in a room can reveal a lot to them. Often, they sense what someone is going through before it’s even expressed, leading to surprised reactions like, “How did you know I was struggling with that?“
Because of this deep emotional awareness, people naturally gravitate toward empaths for comfort, advice, or just to be heard. However, this gift can also become overwhelming, especially when empaths take on the weight of others’ emotions as if they were their own.
Empaths as “Human Lie Detectors” – Myth or Truth?
Some describe empaths as “human lie detectors” because they can sense when something feels off, when someone’s words don’t quite match their true emotions. While they are highly intuitive, it’s important to remember that no one is completely accurate at detecting deception. Sometimes, what appears to be dishonesty may simply be emotional discomfort, hesitation, or personal struggles the other person isn’t ready to share.
A small percentage of people experience something called mirror-touch synesthesia, a neurological trait where they physically feel the sensations of others, like flinching when they see someone in pain. While this is rare, many empaths report sensing others’ emotional or physical discomfort in a deeply intense way.
The Strengths of an Empath – When Sensitivity Becomes a Superpower
Because of their deep emotional attunement, empaths often excel in careers that involve understanding and guiding others. Fields like therapy, counselling, coaching, leadership, and even creative professions can benefit from their ability to connect deeply. However, their success isn’t just about their sensitivity, it depends on their ability to establish limits and regulate their own emotions. Without this balance, their gift can turn into emotional exhaustion.
The Importance of Self-Care: Setting Limits to Protect Emotional Well-being
One of the biggest challenges empaths face is knowing when to step back. Their deep compassion can lead them to absorb too much, leaving them drained, anxious, or overstimulated. Without proper emotional safeguards, their natural tendency to help can quickly turn into burnout.
Some empaths, especially those who haven’t learned to manage their sensitivity, may be mistaken for being anxious or overly emotional. It’s important to recognise that being an empath is not a disorder, it’s a personality trait. However, their heightened awareness can make them more susceptible to stress if they don’t actively practice self-care.
For empaths, self-care isn’t just a luxury, it’s a necessity. Taking time to recharge, setting clear emotional boundaries, and surrounding themselves with positive energy can help them maintain balance and continue using their gift without becoming overwhelmed.
Empath Self-Test: How Sensitive Are You?
Have you ever wondered whether you might be an empath? This self-assessment, inspired by Dr. Judith Orloff’s The Empath’s Survival Guide, can help you reflect on your sensitivity to emotions, environments, and energy. While this isn’t a formal diagnosis, it can offer insight into where you fall on the empathy spectrum.
How to Take the Test
Below are 20 questions. If the statement often applies to you, answer “yes.” If it rarely applies, answer “no.”
Self-Test: Are You an Empath?
- Have people ever told you that you’re too sensitive, overly emotional, or shy?
- Do you often feel anxious or emotionally exhausted, even if nothing stressful happened to you directly?
- Do conflicts, arguments, or loud voices make you feel uneasy or drained?
- Do you frequently feel like you don’t fit in with groups?
- Does being around a lot of people drain your energy, making you crave alone time to recharge?
- Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by too much sensory input, such as bright lights, strong scents, people who talk excessively, or background noise?
- Are you sensitive to chemicals or unable to wear fabrics that irritate your skin?
- When attending gatherings, do you prefer to drive yourself so you can leave early if needed?
- Do you instinctively know when someone is being dishonest or hiding something?
- Do you fear feeling suffocated in close relationships?
- Do you get easily startled by sudden noises or intense situations?
- Do you have strong reactions to caffeine or medication?
- Do you have a low tolerance for pain?
- Do you tend to isolate yourself socially?
- Do you sometimes absorb other people’s stress, emotions, or physical symptoms?
- Do you struggle to multitask and prefer to focus on one thing at a time?
- Do you feel more refreshed after spending time in nature?
- Do you find that interacting with negative or demanding people leaves you feeling depleted for hours or even days?
- Do you seek out peaceful surroundings, such as quiet coffee shops, parks, or rural areas, when you need to recharge?
- Do you prefer one-on-one conversations or small gatherings over large parties?
Interpreting Your Results
Tally up your “yes” responses and see where you might fall on the empathy spectrum:
- 1–5 yeses → You may have some empathic traits.
- 6–10 yeses → You have a moderate tendency toward empathy.
- 11–15 yeses → You likely experience strong empathic sensitivity.
- More than 15 yeses → You are highly empathic and may identify as an empath.
Are You an Empath or a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)?
If you scored high, you might be wondering: Does this mean I’m an empath? Not necessarily. Many of these traits also overlap with those of highly sensitive people (HSPs). The key difference?
- Empaths absorb other people’s emotions as if they were their own.
- HSPs deeply understand emotions but don’t take them on in the same way.
Both types of sensitivity exist on a spectrum, and no single test can give a definitive label. Instead of focusing on a category, use this as a tool for self-reflection. Understanding your sensitivity can help you create boundaries, practice self-care, and embrace your unique way of experiencing the world.
Embracing Your Empathic Nature
In essence, empaths and highly sensitive people (HSPs) navigate the world with a heightened sensitivity that can be both a challenge and a gift. While they share many traits, empaths take things a step further by actually absorbing others’ emotions as if they were their own. This deep emotional resonance can make everyday experiences, like noisy environments or tense conversations, feel overwhelming.
It’s not uncommon for empaths and HSPs to hear frustrating comments like, “You’re too sensitive!” or “You’re overthinking it!” But the truth is, they simply process emotions differently, with a depth that most people can’t imagine.
If you know someone who fits this description, try to be understanding, what might seem like overreaction could actually be their way of processing the world’s intense emotional stimuli. And if you see yourself in these words, remember that your sensitivity is not a flaw. The first step to excelling as an empath or HSP is understanding your unique nature and finding strategies to manage it in a way that supports your well-being.
While this heightened sensitivity can sometimes feel like a burden, it also brings incredible strengths. Empaths and HSPs often possess exceptional intuition, deep emotional insight, and a capacity for empathy that helps them connect with others in meaningful ways. These are powerful gifts that, when harnessed, can bring immense value to your relationships and personal growth.
So, whether you’re discovering this part of yourself for the first time or deepening your understanding, embrace your sensitivity. It’s part of what makes you beautifully unique.
If this article resonated with you, share it with someone who might see themselves in these words. And if you’re curious to explore more, stay tuned for my next piece, you won’t want to miss it!
