Empathic Burnout—The Gifts, the Challenges, and the Path to Sovereignty
If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve felt it. The weight. The intensity. The unexplainable emotional swings, the exhaustion after certain interactions, the physical aches that don’t quite make sense. Maybe you’ve walked into a room and instantly felt heavy or drained. Maybe you’ve had a conversation with a struggling friend and, hours later, still carried their sadness like it was your own.
It’s called being empathic—and I can’t quite believe I haven’t written explicitly about it yet, because it’s one of the most important aspects of the healing work we do.
So many people who work with us identify as highly sensitive or “empaths.” But here’s the thing: we believe that if you’re human, you are empathic by nature.
Yes, some people are extra sensitive, but empathy isn’t just a personality trait—it’s a hardwired part of being alive.
Empathy: A Hardwired Gift
From the moment we are conceived, we begin processing life in connection with another.
For about nine months, we are literally grown inside another person, sharing not only physical resources but also emotional and energetic experiences. Before we even take our first breath, we are learning: What is safe? What is not? Our nervous system is wiring itself in relationship to someone else.
And it doesn’t stop at birth.
Our brains contain mirror neurons, which fire not only when we perform an action but also when we see someone else performing that same action. In other words, our brains mirror the experiences of others.
✨ When someone smiles, we feel warmth.
✨ When someone cries, we feel their sorrow.
✨ When someone is anxious, we sense their unease.
It’s how we connect, how we love, how we survive.
Empathy is beautiful. It allows us to be deeply attuned to others, to offer compassion, to create intimacy.
But it also has a shadow side.
When Empathy Becomes Overload
Because we are wired to feel others, many of us—especially those who are highly sensitive—struggle to know what is ours and what is not.
💭 Have you ever left a conversation feeling exhausted, even though you were fine before?
💭 Have you ever suddenly felt sad or anxious, without any clear reason why?
💭 Have you ever taken on someone else’s pain, believing (even unconsciously) that you could somehow lessen it by carrying it for them?
For years, I struggled with mystery physical pain.
🔹 I’d wake up unable to move my neck for days.
🔹 I’d walk into a grocery store and get a pounding headache.
🔹 I’d sit with a friend and suddenly feel sick to my stomach.
I couldn’t make sense of it—until I realized that much of what I was experiencing wasn’t mine.
I was absorbing the pain, grief, anxiety, and suffering of others—without even realizing it.
And I know I’m not alone in this.
Why Do We Carry Energy That Isn’t Ours?
If taking on other people’s emotions wasn’t somehow serving us, we wouldn’t do it.
Often, we hold onto other people’s energy because:
👉 We believe it helps them. We think that by carrying their pain, we are protecting them.
👉 We feel responsible. We believe it’s our job to fix, rescue, or make things better.
👉 It distracts us. Focusing on someone else’s pain can keep us from facing our own.
👉 We’ve been conditioned to do it. Many of us grew up in environments where we had to attune to others’ emotions to stay safe.
The Problem?
💡 When we hold onto someone else’s energy, neither of us can heal it.
They can’t process what we’ve taken on.
We can’t release what isn’t ours.
And so, we both stay stuck.
Inherited & Collective Empathy: Carrying What’s Not Ours
It’s not just person-to-person energy that we absorb.
✨ We carry inherited trauma. Science has shown that trauma is passed down through generations. You may be carrying ancestral fears, anxieties, or patterns that don’t originate with you.
✨ We absorb collective pain. Systemic oppression—racism, sexism, classism—creates energetic imprints that we internalize, even when we don’t consciously realize it.
✨ We are constantly influenced by the emotional field around us. Ever notice how a city feels different than a forest? Or how you feel different when you’re surrounded by grief, outrage, or fear?
Our bodies process all of it—often without our conscious awareness.
So if you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, heavy, or emotionally exhausted without knowing why…
💡 You’re not broken. You’re just empathic.
So, What Can You Do?
The key isn’t to shut off empathy—it’s to learn how to work with it in a way that honors your energy and allows others to do their own healing.
One of the simplest and most powerful tools we use in our work is a short activation statement called:
“Activate Healer, Release Victim.”
This activation helps us release what isn’t ours and reclaim our energetic sovereignty.
A Simple Practice to Clear What’s Not Yours
🌿 Take a breath.
🌿 Close your eyes (if that feels good) or soften your gaze.
🌿 Scan your body. Notice any tension, emotion, or discomfort.
🌿 Ask: What if this isn’t mine?
✨ Maybe there’s a tightness in your chest.
✨ Maybe there’s an underlying anxiety that doesn’t quite make sense.
✨ Maybe you’re carrying sadness that doesn’t belong to you.
💡 And what if it’s not yours?
Now, repeat this activation statement out loud or in your mind:
“I command my body and being to release anything that’s not mine and gift it to the Vibrational Source of Consciousness. Activate change and generate healing, immediately!”
Take a nice cleansing breath.
Notice how your body responds.
Do you feel lighter? More spacious? Maybe even a little clearer?
You can do this activation many times over. We recommend at least 10x to start.
Even if you don’t feel a shift right away, trust the process.
This is a practice you can return to again and again.
Why This Matters
This isn’t just about feeling lighter—it’s about reclaiming your energy.
When you stop carrying what isn’t yours:
✨ You feel clearer, more grounded, and more yourself.
✨ You stop feeling so drained by other people’s emotions.
✨ You can hold space for others without losing yourself in their pain.
✨ You create space for your own healing—not just everyone else’s.
Because let’s be honest:
💡 The world doesn’t need more exhausted, overwhelmed healers.
It needs people who can show up fully resourced, clear, and in their power.
And that starts with letting go of what’s not yours
To Wrap Things Up
Being empathic is a gift—but only when we know how to work with it.
So my invitation to you is this:
💭 Where in your life are you carrying what isn’t yours?
💭 What might shift if you gave yourself permission to release it?
💭 And how might you show up differently if your energy was fully your own?
You don’t have to do this alone.
We are all walking this path together, learning, growing, and releasing—one breath, one activation, one moment at a time.
I see you. I honor your sensitivity. And I am so grateful to be on this journey with you.
xoxo,
