I still remember rolling over in bed the morning after my kundalini awakening 15 years ago. My body felt like a sack of bricks and my heart hurt. It was all I could do to get out of bed. Emotions that I had suppressed for soooo long were coming to the surface. It was a blur of trauma, memories and emotions. I was walking around in a dream state, trying to function.

In the days following, I would have emotions come over me at the strangest times and it was often after I had been around someone that was excited, upset or depressed. I didn’t really grasp why at the time, but now I know. Before the awakening, I was empathic, but after it, that gift had been heightened in a whole new way. I seemed to feel everything from everyone else around me and I had trouble distinguishing which emotions were actually mine from someone I just walked past in the grocery store.

Being an empath can be really confusing. And sometimes, you may not be sure if that is true for you, so read on and I’ll outline some signs that you may be an empath.

  • You feel things really deeply.

You take things to heart seemingly deeper than other people around you. Sad movies make you more sad than other people and when you are excited, you REALLY get excited.

Tip: Enjoy the ride. It’s a gift to feel things deeply, but don’t let it consume you. Be sure you are eating healthy and getting in nature. Stay as balanced as you can in the parts of your life you can control.

  • You experience a lot of emotional highs and lows.

While there may be other reasons for this, empaths often experience a wide swing of emotions for no apparent reason. They can be fine one minute and crying the next, while nothing around them has changed to trigger it.

Tip: Know that there is nothing wrong with you for feeling this way but if it affects you severely, it might be good to talk to a doctor about it. You might have a chemical imbalance that is contributing to the mood swings, however, this is not always the case. Use your intuition to guide you as to when it is right to talk with someone about it.

  • You get drained by being around a lot of people.

When it’s time to party, your idea of it is Netflix and petting your dog. It’s not that you don’t want to interact with others, it’s just that it drains you. And it takes a lot of time to recoup.

Tip: Use your intuition to guide you as to what events and people are beneficial to be around and which ones aren’t. Feel through it before you go. Don’t just cancel as your default reaction. Other people can really enrich our lives, but choose wisely, especially if you are an empath.

  • You get bored by small talk.

Gossip and small talk make you want to run. It bores you because you like to talk about deep subjects that explore emotions and complex topics. What some celeb wore last week to Starbucks is no concern of yours.

Tip: Instead of going with a group of people somewhere, choose a friend you can talk to one on one. It’s easier to have a meaningful conversation this way.

  • You have trouble telling if the emotion you are feeling is yours.

This is also another reason it can be hard for you to be around lots of people. You tend to pick up other people’s emotions and carry them as your own. It’s hard for you to tell if you are really sad or angry or if you picked it up from someone else.

Tip: If you are feeling funky after you have been around someone or even talked to someone on the phone, you may have picked up some energy from them. If your emotions are heightened, such as you are getting angry easier than normal, check-in with yourself and see if you took something on from someone. You can simply say, I choose to release the emotions I took on from (insert name). You can even name the emotion if you like. Then see if you feel different afterward.

  • You have been through a lot of trauma.

Empaths often experience a lot of tragedy and trauma in their lives. This is part of their life path. It causes them to be more compassionate, but it can also cause them to be taken advantage of.

Tip: If you have experienced a lot of loss or trauma, you need to heal it. Working with an energy healer that you trust can be extremely helpful for empaths. Traditional counseling can help as well, although combining it with energy work makes it much more powerful. Learning to do self-healing is highly beneficial. My book Feel Better in Five Minutes delves deeply into emotions and how to understand and heal your traumas.

  • Animals love you.

It’s like you are St. Francis himself. Even cranky pets of other people flock to you. They can feel your energy and can’t get enough of it.

Tip: If you are capable of having a pet, by all means, get one. Pets can be highly therapeutic for anyone, but especially for an empath.

  • You get told you are an old soul.

Empaths have been around the block a few times. You are wise beyond your years. Others flock to you for your advice on the regular and strangers tell you their life stories.

Tip: It’s great to give advice, but be sure that you have someone in your life that you can get advice from too. You need a shoulder to cry on at times, instead of always being the one that is there for someone else.

If you would like more information about being an empath, click below to download your free guide: Empath, Take Back Your Power now.