Yes I do like this forum..
there is alot of useful information here and the people ROCK...

all you have to do is ask a question and they answer you..

I never knew what an emapth was until I started looking into psychics, tarot etc.....I always thought I was crazy as a loon. (welllll maybe a leettle LOL)

Yes I tend to pick up on the feelings/energies of others. My problem is that having not known what it was for so long...my tendency is always to jump to the conclusion that it's all me or that I am causing the problem. It makes me an emotional wreck at times. I also have never learned any shielding techniques, and with my scatterbrained personality at times....I get the most massive headaches. I use crystals and herbs because the process of gathering them combined with the intent to protect myself often helps focus my mind enough on the task of shielding. Otherwise I get so distracted with the headaches I have to just take an excedrin and go to bed. I hope someday I will able to control all these "gifts" so that they are more of a help than a pain in the wazoo. Good thing I found this forum.  I

Yeah, being an empath can be very difficult at times, especially when you're with people who attempt to hide themselves fromt he world but you see who they truly are.
Also, I've learnt the hard wayt hat as an empath especially forming an etheric bond with *just anyone* is a very bad idea, even if they seem to be very knowledgeable in working with spirit guides etc.

I understand what you are saying concerning empathy and others emotions, yet I would ask if you practice any type of aspiring to the higher self?  One of the things which results is the subjugation of the Ego/Lower Self in the higher, reducing or eliminating the harmful emotions which it uses to rule the kingdom of our flesh. Emotions such as sadness or depression, which all result from the Ego seeking to convince us that we are SO important as an individual, and not as what we can accomplish.  The "woe is me" syndrome. Meditation also plays a large part in binding our emotions to our Thelema, or Will, as to let the emotions run rampant is to let them rule our lives to the detriment of our spiritual selves.

I thought that was an interesting point - could you perhaps add more info to it??

I know for myself that now, after alot of hard work I have gained some control over these emotions and feelings - I have found that even thinking that I am feeling some of these 'negative' responses from my environment no matter what shape or form actually comes down to the Fear concept.

If you believe in fear then you believe that all these nasty emotions exist.
If you don't, if you only believe in Perfect Love which is Truth then none of those emotions actually exist.

And then its just a matter of retraining your brain,
so when you feel... umm say a feeling of depression from someone - if you just shift the way you think of it actually changes it.
Well it does in your reality

So I will feel the emotion - I will say to myself that I have chosen to see this energy in that light - I can choose to see it in a much better light.
But just challenging my mind in what I am really feeling actually diffuses the energy.
Now I hardly ever feel any crappy vibrations, and maybe it also ties into the fact that I have changed my reality into something much happier and full of awe moments... I don't know.
But I am certainly alot happier and stable!

But I do slip up... just gotta get back onto the horse.

Also: you can interpret the energy as one of those 'negative' vibrations on behalf of someone else - what I mean is that you can recognise that the energy is manifesting as 'depression' when you meet with someone, you recognise that 'it' is manifesting in THEIR reality, you can recognize it but it does not have to hold true in YOUR reality.
hence it having no power over you. Whoop!