The other day, a client came to me for an energy healing session. She was struggling with a level of anxiety that felt like a storm inside her, and she asked me a question that so many sensitive people grapple with: “Is this just me being an empath, or is it something more? Should I see a doctor?”
As I worked with her energy, I recognized a familiar pattern. It wasn’t just anxiety; it was the feeling of being a raw nerve ending, reacting to everything and everyone. In that moment, an epiphany from years of personal exploration crystallized. I realized this specific brand of chaotic empathy—this constant, reactive turmoil—mirrored the clinical descriptions of a condition I’d researched: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).
This connection wasn’t about applying a label, but about finding a language for a profound and often painful experience.
A Flashback to My Own Awakening
This recent epiphany with my client sent my mind reeling back to one of my own first lessons in this area, which happened all the way back in 2007.
I was waiting at a traffic light, my mind completely elsewhere. Suddenly, I was hit by an overwhelming, almost primal craving for fried chicken. It was a deep, sensory desire, as if it were the most delicious thing in the world. This was bizarre for one simple reason: I was a lifelong vegetarian and had never even tasted chicken.
Confused, I looked around. To my left was a small truck, its cages filled with live chickens. In the car next to me, the driver was staring at the truck with an expression of intense, wistful hunger. In that instant, I knew. The craving wasn’t mine. I had picked it up, loud and clear.
That red light moment was the turning point. Understanding that I could absorb feelings that weren’t mine was the key that unlocked everything. It led me on a dedicated path to learn about emotional differentiation, which is what first brought me to mindfulness and the practical art of psychic protection.
Slowly, and at times painstakingly, learning these skills further helped me manage my own energetic space. The chaos began to subside as my awareness grew. It’s through this long-term practice that I’ve become so attuned to my own energy that I can now tell, with surprising accuracy, that my “reception range” for strong, unshielded emotions is about a 27-foot radius. Knowing this isn’t a strange party trick; it’s a vital piece of self-knowledge that helps me navigate the world.
Some Questions for Self-Exploration
If my stories resonate with you, you can become a gentle detective of your own emotions. This isn’t about self-diagnosis, but about building crucial self-awareness, just as I had to.
- The Origin Test: The next time a strong, sudden emotion washes over you, pause. Ask yourself: “Did something just happen to trigger this?” Look around you. Try to trace the feeling back to a source. Is it truly yours, or did you just “tune in” to someone else’s broadcast?
- The Relationship Replay: Think about your most intense emotional moments from the past month. Were they connected to an interaction—a text message, a look from a loved one, a fear they might leave you? Intense reactivity to social cues is a significant pattern to notice.
- The Flash Flood vs. The Long Rain: Do your moods shift like a flash flood—sudden, intense, and over relatively quickly, often in response to an event? Or do you find your mood settles into a single state for days at a time? The “flash flood” experience can be a key indicator of this kind of reactive sensitivity.
A Path Forward: The Balance of Science and Spirit
So what did I tell my client? And what does this mean for you? My advice was for a balanced, two-stage approach.
Stage 1: Create Safety and Stability. My guidance is always grounded in safety first. If your emotional state is so overwhelming that it affects your daily life, your work, and your relationships, then seeking help from a qualified health professional is a brave and necessary first step. Therapy and, if recommended, medication are powerful tools that can calm the storm. They can provide the stability you need to even begin the deeper work.
Stage 2: Finding Your Path to Mastery. Once the immediate crisis is managed and you feel more stable, a new path of self-discovery can open up. he journey to mastering your sensitivity is deeply personal, and there is no single “right” way to do this. The goal is to find the tools and frameworks that resonate with your own truth. For many, this may involve structured therapeutic approaches. Therapies like Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), for instance, were specifically designed for these challenges and draw from Buddhist teachings to offer powerful skills in mindfulness, emotional regulation, and learning to separate your feelings from others.
For others, or as a complementary practice, the journey may lead toward more spiritual and energetic work. The path I share below is the one that has been most transformative for me, and I offer it as one set of possibilities among many.
- Mindful Mastery: Learning mindfulness is non-negotiable. It teaches you to be the calm observer of your emotional waves instead of constantly drowning in them. You learn to create that crucial pause between feeling something and reacting to it. If you are interested in knowing more go through my earlier blog posts:
- Energetic Tools: For those open to it, working with energetic tools can be transformative. Crystals like Amethyst are renowned for their calming and spiritually protective qualities. Meditating with one can help purify your energy field and strengthen your intuitive center. Do check out our Crystal Healing Courses
- Psychic Protection: This isn’t about building rigid walls, but about conscious energy management. It involves learning simple daily techniques to reinforce your own energy field, ensuring you can engage with the world compassionately without taking on its pain as your own. Check our Psychic Protection course.
This dual approach honours both worlds: the science that can save a life, and the spiritual work that can enrich it.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER
This blog post is a reflection of my personal thoughts, experiences, and epiphanies. I am not a doctor, therapist, or mental health professional. The information and ideas shared here are for speculative and exploratory purposes only and should NOT be considered medical or psychological advice. Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a serious and complex clinical diagnosis that can only be made by a qualified professional after a thorough evaluation. Please do not use this or any other article to self-diagnose, or alter any medical treatment. If you are struggling with overwhelming emotions or believe you may have BPD or any other condition, it is essential to seek guidance from a licensed healthcare provider.
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