Ahhh school, let’s stay on that for a minute. Grade school, middle school, and high school, how terrifying would school be? Imagine being a young person in grade school. Now junior high school. Now high school. How overwhelming would it be to be dealing with all of the normal growing up issues, plus these new challenges? Terrifying is an accurate description of how your school experience would be. Keep in mind that quite a few young people already think school is a very scary place, and for go reason.
These things are true. These highly tuned in people are really out there in the world. Unfortunately, quite a few don’t make it into or through adulthood. The stress of knowing, feeling and seeing can be too much. Many turn to drugs, alcohol or other destructive coping skills. A toxic lifestyle tends to lead them to one of two places. Either The Department of Corrections or an early funeral. Some have a psychotic breakdown. Similar to drugs and alcohol the mental breakdown is equally destructive and tends to end the same. Prison, death or a revolving door at a psychiatric hospital. A large percentage of our homeless population suffers from mental illness, and among the homeless, this illness tends to go untreated.
When the coping skills don’t work or no longer do the job, the situation becomes desperate. At this point ending the pain is all that matters, and thoughts of suicide take over. There are few things in this world as sad as someone killing themselves, and the sadness is magnified when if the victim is a young person. I’m using the word victim because it’s applicable. They are victims of our world. It’s in this way that our world is a stone, cold killer. Free of sympathy and empathy, this world can and will kill if allowed to do so.
There is a label for those people who are born with too much empathy, these emotional specialists. They are the Empaths. I say Too Much Empathy because unless The Empath learns how to minimize or completely shut these things down, it can destroy them.
Being an Empath is not a learned skill or trait. You can’t go to school and get your Empath Degree or take online courses. You’re either born an empath or you’re not. I must add that being an Empath doesn’t mean that you know what you are, and there are many different types of Empaths in the world. Furthermore, many different combinations of empathic abilities. Some Empaths operate at a very high level. Like anything else, it’s a question of effort and sacrifice. Those who put in the work move forward. Those who feel they are cursed and spend their lives trying to make it all go away never find out what they’re capable of. I say Capable Of, because an Empath who embraces what they are and seeks a life of service to humanity, can do a lot of damage. Damage to disease and mental illness. Damage to addiction and depression. Damage to any and all of the darkness that tears us down and apart.
Empaths aren’t necessarily Counselors, Addiction Specialists, and Healers, but a great percentage of these amazing people tend to be Empaths. In fact, not all, but most of them are. A word of caution though, I have met a few Treatment Professionals and Addiction Counselings who are one hundred percent narcissistic. I must add, the narcissist is the direct opposite of The Empath. Oh yes, our Universe has a sense of humor, and it’s very true that opposites attract. I’ve seen quite a few relationships between Empaths and narcissists. Some narcissists have even been known to seek the Empath out, intentionally creating a relationship between a person who doesn’t feel and one that feels enough for them both.
End Part 2
Joseph Shanklin
June 1st, 2019
shankjoejoe.com
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