Are you an Empath or Highly Sensitive Person?

Are you an Empath or Highly Sensitive Person?

If you’re reading this article, you’ve probably heard of the terms Empath and HSP (or highly sensitive person) before. It’s also pretty likely that you’ve seen some videos and read other info where the content seems to fit you pretty well. And I’ll bet you’ve also noticed that a lot of the time both these terms are defined in the same way!

With all this information out there and the terms crossing over into each other, how are you supposed to know which one you are? And more importantly how do you find out the best way to take of yourself once you do?

What I want to do is help you define yourself as a sensitive being on your own terms and cut through any preconceived notions of having to fit into a particular description. So I’m going to present you with a little history, some definitions and scenarios. As well as a few of my favourite self care techniques and energy protection tips for sensitive people and empaths. In this way, you can see what resonates with you and take that away and make it your own.

A Little History and Some Definitions

Not too long ago Dr. Elaine Aron defined the personality type highly sensitive person and estimated that 20% of the population was HSP and 3-5% were Empaths. Dr. Aaron’s work and that of many others helped bring this information into the mainstream and suddenly there were thousands of us who could relate to these unique set of traits that gave us validity and community. Personally, I think these numbers are much higher today as many people are awakening to their gifts and the energies in the world are more supportive of our uniqueness.

The term empath has been around much longer, and more specifically the word empathy. I’m going to define that in a moment, but the application of this term to a personality type as opposed to a situational response has been pretty recent.

So let’s jump in right off the bat and check out some definitions:

• Sympathy: to feel badly or have compassion for another person, place or situation


• Sensitive: highly responsive or susceptible to external forces/agents/stimuli


• Empathy: the ability to feel the emotions present in another person, place or situation

That seems pretty straightforward, so how about a little scenario?

You are out for a walk and you come across a little girl who’s crying. She tells you that she has lost her cat and she’s very upset.

If you are a sympathetic person, you would probably feel bad for her and her situation. Even if you havent experienced it yourself, you can easily imagine how it might feel for her.

Now, if you are a highly sensitive person you may naturally feel upset for her and what she’s going through, plus it will affect you quite deeply. Her tears might make you feel sad and you may have other emotions come up. In fact it’s likely you will have memories or thoughts about a similar situation where you felt the same way and you can easily get caught up in the moment.

As an empath, you may have the same response to this situation as a sensitive person. But in addition to that, you could also feel the exact emotions that the little girl has. It may not be sadness that is causing her tears. You might feel any anxiety, fear or confusion she is experiencing. There could suddenly be new sensations or temperature changes in your body as her energetic state is interacting with yours. For instance if she’s very frantic you might start to feel fidgety and nervous or conversely, if she feels immobilized by fear or confusion then you might as well. In other words, you are having the same experience as she is.

So in defining whether you are a highly sensitive person or an empath, the question you really need to ask yourself is:
Even though I’m highly affected by someone else’s situation, am I really good at observing what they are feeling or am I actually experiencing their state of being including their emotions, senses and energy?

Take a moment and think about that.

These are very similar reactions, but there is quite a difference.

So here’s another situation for you. You know that old metaphor about walking in someone else’s shoes? Well the difference is that while the highly sensitive person is affected by the situation, they don’t actually take it on and become part of it. They see the situation (shoes) and while they can easily imagine what it’s like to wear them and it affects them on the sensory level, it ends there.

But my dear empath friends if you are like me, not only are you able to imagine wearing the other person’s shoes, you can feel your body in them, and the emotions, energy, textures, colours, smells and the whole kitchen sink full of emotions and experience that the other person is going through! Then you can feel like that for hours or even days and not even know why. Whew, no wonder life can get confusing when you aren’t aware of your sensitive and empathic superpowers!

So what you think? Are you getting a handle on which set of abilities you have?

What about different environments?

Another important factor in the lives of HSPs and empaths is how much we are affected by the environment’s that we are in. This is why it’s common for both types to become easily overwhelmed by outside energies and tend to need a lot of time to ourselves. When the world gets to be too much, hanging out in energetically neutral places or at home to relax and recharge is simply part of our lives.

Case in point. Have you ever been somewhere where suddenly a couple gets into a fight? Did you notice how the mood and energy of the space can drastically change in an instant? Both sensitives and empaths will feel this right away and be affected by it.

What differentiates us is how we respond to the energy. A sensitive person may experience discomfort and/or have sympathy for the people around them and their discomfort. But they likely won’t take on the negativity and energy of the people who were arguing. Empaths on the other hand can very easily find their entire system upset and overwhelmed by what’s going on around them. And if they haven’t taken precautions to establish where their own energy is at, get grounded and protect themselves, it’s highly likely they will find themselves full of negative emotions, or even as angry as the people who were arguing! And that serves no one.

This is why it’s essential to know what type of person you are and what abilities you have, because your self care will depend on it.