What's empathy?
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. We all have the capacity to feel empathy which means we all have empath-like qualities.
As with everything in life, there are also extremes to empathy: from not feeling much to being highly sensitive. Each of us will slide back and forth on the ‘empathy scale’ everyday, depending on our life experiences and what the situation is.
Am I an empath?
Because there are a great many books out there about Empaths, my goal is not to dive deep into the topic. But to offer you the chance to better understand if you’re simply “being empathetic” or if you’re actually an “ empath”.
I’m going to take you through a basic “empath quiz” (which I go a little deeper with in my Energetic Protection course) to help you understand where you usually sit on the scale which will heighten awareness about what you’re feeling and why.
If you want much deeper learning on Empaths, I recommend you read the book “Empath: A Complete Guide for Developing Your Gift and Finding Your Sense of Self” by Judy Dyer.
Or click here if you’re in Australia
Basic empath quiz
As you read the following ten statements, use the this scoring system to indicate how much that statement is like you.
0 = This is nothing like me
1 = This is me sometimes
2 = This is me most times
3 = This is me all the time
As you read the below, take note of the number you give each statement.
You? or not you?
- I have lots of empathy for others; I cannot “not care”.
- People always come to me to unload their problems.
- I can’t set or defend my boundaries.
- I’m very sensitive to feelings and get very emotional.
- Sensory experiences (taste, touch, sound) overpower me.
- Physical closeness and crowds make me uncomfortable.
- I prefer quiet, or solitude.
- I avoid all conflict.
- I understand other people’s situations.
- I get overwhelmed easily.
- Total Tally (add up your scoring) ________
Add up your numbers
Now, add up all the numbers, which you noted down, from the statements and note that down as your “Totally Tally” number. Once you’ve got that, refer to the below to see where you sit on the empathy scale.
But please remember, this quiz is very general in nature. This is not a self-diagnosis tool about your emotional wellbeing, it’s just an easy method to help you garner a bit more insight about your empathy levels.
Tally of 0 – 10: Not overly empathetic
You experience empathy for others, but only when directly engaged with that person or situation. For the most part, you aren’t very concerned for others beyond that.
Having this tally isn’t a bad thing, it just means your sympathetic response gets engaged only when necessary. Furthermore, it doesn’t mean you’re cold or do not care about others, you just have a ‘hard line’ of where you go emotionally and you abide by it.
Tally of 11 – 20: Normal empathy
You experience empathy for others as situations arise. Afterward, you think of them from time to time and wish them well (possibly even pray for them). But while you do have concern for others’ welfare, it doesn’t affect your personal life beyond that.
Having this tally likely means you have a healthy balance of compassion as well as boundaries. Furthermore, you likely have good control over your emotions; you recognize them as they arise, feel them, then can let them pass.
Tally of 21 – 25: Very empathetic
You really ‘feel’ for other people and situations, even if you don’t know them, like when watching a sad movie or listening to someone else’s negative experience. You put yourself in their shoes to really understand what they’re going through.
This quality also makes you a good listener, so you’re likely the first person people come running to when they have something bad happen. They do this because they can ‘offload’ everything to your kind, understanding heart.
Tally of 26 – 30: You are an Empath
You are most likely a full-time empath with this tally. You feel keenly the emotions of others, irrespective of whether you know them or not. And when I say ‘keenly’ I mean you feel them like whatever happened to them, actually happened to you.
Those feelings cling to you and affect how you feel from day to day. The sensations will compound with each new concern that arises and you get overwhelmed with the plight of others. Because you were already burdened by someone’s issue yesterday, you get further weighed down by another’s today. By this point, you can’t always tell if the emotions you feel from day to day are yours or someone else’s.
Like being “very empathetic” your empath character seems to attract people who want to tell you all about their life problems. You probably find yourself wondering “why does everyone come to unload on me?”
The answer to that: It’s most likely because you listen and you care; and those are two beautiful qualities which you should be proud to have. But without your proper attention – and protection – your kind heart can be misused and taken advantage of.
Need protection? Or more empathy?
Now that you know where you sit on the scale of empathy, you now need to decide whether you should nurture more of it for others. Or on the other hand, protect yourself from the whip-saw effects of being so open and susceptible to other’s energy.
If you want to learn more about how you can protect your energy, I encourage you to join others (like you!) in my Energetic Protection course.
On the other hand, if you think you need to nurture positive emotions so you can feel more empathy for others, my Positive Thinking course is going to help!
I hope this was helpful for you today and hope that you keep shining your light – and stay protected – always! Big love 💜🙏✨
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