 Hi everyone! Before we start this video, we wanted to give all of you a big thank you. Site2go's vision is to make psychology more accessible to everyone. Today's topic is on five signs that you're an empath. If you could share this video with someone who's interested in learning more about psychology, that would be a major help to the vision. Put simply, empathy is the ability to understand and share the emotions of another person. It can be understood as feeling with someone. It involves stepping into their shoes to imagine what they're going through and being caring and compassionate in order to make them feel better. This caring, this desire to help, is what separates empathy from sympathy. Although they both deal with relating to another person, empathy is felt more deeply and reaches a broader range of emotions. Empaths are compelled to help because they grasp the experiences of others so vividly. Sympathy usually only extends to sorrow or pity. So, do empaths really exist? Well, the fear factor, a book written by neuroscientist and psychologist Abigail Marsh in 2017, describes how she found evidence that there is a difference in the brains of people who are highly empathetic to others. She refers to them as altruists. Possessing empathy is obviously important because it leads to stronger trusting connections with people and helps us figure out how to act appropriately in social situations. But being an empath can be draining because the intensity you feel as one is powerful. Being flooded with emotions is difficult and can negatively impact your mental health. This is even more significant when the emotions aren't yours. Awareness is key. It's therefore important to know if you're an empath. Here are five signs that you might be an empath. 1. You are emotionally intuitive Because of your empathetic nature, you can quickly tell what someone is feeling without really thinking about it. You probably don't do it consciously. Do you instinctively read a person's body language and non-verbal cues? Or maybe you just know how to listen actively. But the result is that you take on the pain, the anger, the happiness, or the excitement of the other person. Do you feel like an emotional sponge absorbing everyone else's feelings? If the answer is yes, chances are you might be an empath. 2. You jump at the chance to help others Do you do whatever you can to help others because you can clearly see how their struggles are impacting them? You relate to what they're going through because you're going through it too. You don't want someone else to feel negatively, so you offer to help without thinking of the consequences of constantly doing so. And the consequences are often that you neglect your own emotional well-being. Does this sound familiar? 3. You think with your heart rather than your head When you're an empath, the way you do things may not always be logical, but it tends to always be from a place of care and concern. You're compelled to do the loving thing even when it doesn't exactly work for you because you feel it's the only thing to do. In short, you really get other people, which makes you really care about people. 4. You're sensitive As an empath, you're constantly doing emotional work, and it makes you vulnerable. When your friend is enthusiastic, so are you. When your sister is experiencing emotional discomfort, so are you. This takes a great deal of energy and is naturally overwhelming, so you become sensitive to even slight changes and stressors. Some may tell you to toughen up, but it isn't always that simple. And 5. You need time to recharge Between your own feelings and the feelings of others, you're bound to be emotionally exhausted at times. A lone time is therefore necessary in order to fill up your emotional gas tank. Getting even a short respite from the overload can help prevent burnout. Empathy can definitely be a good thing. Proven to be useful in a variety of jobs, like in supervisor positions, which require thinking about the perspectives of employees. Empathy is also a necessary quality for actors to have, not to mention it's crucial in helping careers such as the medical field. Do you relate to any of the signs above? Let us know in the comments below. If you do, be sure to take care of yourself. Being apathetic is exhausting and can take a serious toll on a person's mental health, especially because we tend to attract people who crave the empathy we give. So be aware of how you desire to help others is affecting you. Remember that you're allowed to say no. Acquiring balance might be hard, but it'll be worth it for you and those around you. Please share this video with someone who might also be able to relate to this. Don't forget to subscribe to Psych2Go for more psychology content.