How to Navigate Life as an Empath Without Absorbing Others’ Energy

Empaths. We’ve been hearing more and more about them lately, and many people have started identifying with the term—or at least with some of its traits.

Being an empath means deeply feeling and understanding others’ energy, but it also comes with challenges.

As an empath myself, it took me time to find balance: learning how to understand people’s energy without absorbing it. In this article, I’ll explore what it means to be an empath, their most common traits and challenges, and share practical tools to develop this gift while staying rooted in your own energy.

What is an empath - Most common traits

Empaths are defined as “a person with the ability to perceive the mental or emotional state of another individual.”

What this definition doesn’t mention is that, most of the time, empaths receive others’ energy and mistake it for their own—and that’s where the real work begins.

Have you ever walked into a room or met someone and felt a sudden mood change without knowing why? Or deeply sensed what a friend or family member was going through, almost as if it were happening to you?These are all common experiences for empaths.

When an empath doesn’t know how to work with their gift, they often absorb others’ emotions and carry them as their own.

Empaths are usually highly sensitive and intuitive people who care deeply about others’ well-being. They can easily forget themselves, putting other people’s needs before their own. In other words, they’re often people pleasers. They also tend to be introverted, as being around others for too long can feel draining.

They’re calm, kind souls that people naturally open up to. Yet empaths can also become easily anxious, as it’s not always easy to recognize which emotions are truly theirs.

Challenges and Power

The empath’s power and challenges are intricately linked—they stem from the same place. The ability to deeply feel others’ emotions is both their greatest gift and their biggest obstacle.

When an empath learns to stay rooted in their own energy without absorbing what’s around them, their true power begins to emerge. The ability of an empath to see and feel beyond the surface is an extremely potent and powerful faculty. This means that, when mastered, an empath can easily understand the deeper currents at play and have access to a fuller form of reality than just what is presented.

The key challenge is learning to recognize where the energy they’re feeling comes from. Is it theirs—or absorbed?This takes practice and deep self-connection to discern. Most of the time, when there’s a sudden shift in mood after talking to someone or visiting a place, it’s absorbed energy. The same applies when a thought or emotion lingers without reason—it likely isn’t yours.

Often, empaths pick up on emotions that aren’t even expressed. They sense what’s hidden, deep under the surface, which can make things confusing when they try to rationalize what they are feeling.

That’s why discernment—and regular practices to stay rooted in your own energy—are essential.

Tips to stay rooted in your own energy

🕊 Ask if it’s yours

Take a few moments to sit with yourself and simply ask: Is the energy I’m feeling mine?At first, the answer might not be clear, but over time, your intuition will strengthen. This awareness alone helps to sense that all the thoughts and emotions that you experience might not be yours.

✨ Visualize protection

Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and imagine a white circle of light surrounding your body. Stay here for a few minutes. This visualization helps filter energy and keeps you anchored in your own frequency. You can do it in the morning, before bed, or anytime you enter a public space.

💧 Cleanse your field

Empaths are like natural sponges—it’s important to clear your energy regularly. Visualize a gentle shower of purple light washing from the top of your head to your feet, carrying away anything that doesn’t belong to you.

🛁 Take salt baths

For a deeper cleanse, draw a warm bath with a few handfuls of Epsom or sea salt and a few drops of lavender essential oil. As you soak, set the intention to release and purify any energy that isn’t yours.

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Being an empath is a true gift—but learning to work with this sensitivity is what transforms it into a source of strength rather than overwhelm.

I hope this article helps you understand your own gifts a little better and find ways to stay grounded in your beautiful energy.

As always, I’m just a message away if you ever need to talk.

I’ll be back in two weeks with a new piece on travel, wellness, and slow living 💙✨

With love,

Elodie