By Maria Hakki

It is believed that these abilities are handed down through the DNA. As for how it works, everything in the world resonates to electrical energy; it is thought that empaths can sense the variations in the electrical power around them.

Our mirror neuron system enables the empath to naturally “sense” what others might be feeling when in a specific situation.

When empaths watch someone else doing something, the same regions in their brain which are responsible for doing that activity are at work. “They cause the brain to act as if we were going through whatever that other person is experiencing. The bond to empathy looks pretty clear."

What’s even more disturbing is that a few people have the so-called mirror-touch synesthesia. That is a rare phenomenon in which visual and tactile senses combine and people can literally “feel” their body being touched when watching how another body is touched.

Dr. Judith Orloff, M.D., is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA. She is also an author of The Empath’s Survival Guide. Dr. Orloff has spent over twenty years helping empaths to access their natural skills. She has also has been assisting them to enhance their abilities.

Being an empath herself she tells a story from her practice that reveals a lot about empaths:

In her book Second Sight, Orloff remembers how as a psychiatrist, she had managed to stop her gift of an empath to “fit in” with the mainstream beliefs of the medical community. She, however, had an experience that changed her perspective on the matter. In the middle of a positive session with a client, Dr. Orloff had an intuition that this person was about to commit suicide. She neglected this flash of intuition. But later she understood that this client had indeed attempted to take her life although she survived. That is only one of the numerous intuitive insights of hers that came true.

When it comes to emotions, empaths are extremely sensitive, finely tuned instruments.

They feel everything, usually in a very intense way, and are not that likely to intellectualize their feelings. They perceive the world through their intuition. Empaths are people who live to give to the others, exist in harmony with the world, and know how to listen to their friends. Through thick and thin, they’re always there to help. And what is more, empaths are usually those with intense feelings who not only sense different energies but are also able to experience them.

For the rest of the world empath’s abilities are a gift. However, for the empaths, there are two sides of the coin. For them carrying the dark side of their skills might turn out extremely heavy.

On the one hand, the abilities of empaths make other people feel safe when they are in an empath’s company, and as a result, empaths are the ones who build the most profound connections with others. On the other hand, however, comes the stress that empaths have to handle while dealing with other people’s emotions.

1. The dark side of being an empath comes in the form of two opposing forces that exist in an empath’s soul.

Empaths can feel both the good and the bad all the time. The negative and the positive live together in an empath’s heart. And empaths would usually feel overwhelmed by the one or the other. However, these people are much more sensitive to the negativity in life.

2. Their strong understanding of the evil side of life makes them vulnerable to the toxicity that exists in the world.

Their profound knowledge of the mechanisms of existence and the relationships between people often makes them feel overloaded with emotions which are not their own. What bothers them the most is that negative energy exists only to hurt the people. Since they are natural healers, they always want to remove the pain from others thus making it their own.

3. Empaths absorb these energies all the time. Empaths are often emotionally exhausted or at least tired.

But, they never show this to the world. They merely observe and feel. And would willingly ignore both the needs of their body and mind for the sake of healing other people’s pain. However, this neglect builds over the years. So, it finally leads to the need for an empath to recover their soul.

4. When an empath falls in love, they are never able to devote themselves to their loved one.

They just cannot let go of all the negativity they have accumulated in their hearts. And, if they do, their love could be overwhelmingly strong and very difficult to handle for both partners. That is why they would keep a little part of them hidden away from the rest of the world. They keep a guard up because they have to. Even when they have been torn apart from the inside because they only want to be free to love and to be loved.

5. Another dark side of being an empath is their inner conflicts.

An empath lives in constant conflict between the sadness, the darkness and the good. However, their sad side would always overwhelm them and lead them to self-destruction. The best way for an empath to win this battle is by understanding that they should distinguish between their feelings and the energies that overwhelm them. Empaths need to pay attention to their feelings and to make them a priority.

Final words

Empaths’dark side is painful to carry. By keeping the sad emotions of others in their hearts, empaths often tend to forget about their own needs and keep carrying the weight of the others on their selfless shoulders throughout their whole life. Empaths should understand that coping with the issues of others is not their obligation.

To prevent the dark side of empathy overwhelming their life, empaths shouldn’t give that much of themselves to every person they meet.

They should also destroy the walls surrounding their heart so that they can allow their empathic selves to do good in their own lives as well.

Sign Up for the YourTango Newsletter Let's make this a regular thing!

RELATED: If You Have These 30 Traits, Consider Yourself An Empath

YourTango may earn an affiliate commission if you buy something through links featured in this article.

This article was originally published at I Heart Intelligence. Reprinted with permission from the author.