Me Time

Once again, I need to vent about being an empath. This past week has been extremely difficult for me. There have been a lot of people in and out of my home with various emotions-all of which are intense and draining for me. My husband has been telling me that as an empath I need “me time”. Now, for me, alone time is a joke. Between being a mother, wife, apartment manager, spiritual advisor, tarot reader, teacher and mentor, there just seems to be no time for myself. This tends to lead to me being absolutely drained with no time to recharge. When an empath is drained, physical pain comes on at full force.

Yesterday, as I was managing one of my social media pages, I ran across something that spoke to my soul. One of my friends had posted a poem called “Return to Myself”. This girl had written the words that my lips were unable to form. It sent chills down my spine and gave me comfort to know that I am not the only one battling life as an empath. This, of course, got me thinking that I ought to write about the need for “me time” as an empath. Let’s be honest here-the average person needs “me time” just to relax and recharge. When you’re an empath (even more so if you’re an “out of control empath”), you absolutely must acquire the needed alone time to recharge and remove the emotional garbage that you have acquired throughout the day from literally everybody that you have encountered.

I personally have trouble with “me time”. Not only the fact that my life is so busy helping and healing everybody around me. I have trouble getting my mind to be quiet even for just a moment. Don’t get me wrong-I love the idea of “me time”-it just seems like a joke to me. Getting everybody to leave me alone is near impossible. If it’s not the husband or kids needing something, it’s one of my tenants that needs to come in and report something. If not that, somebody needs a Tarot Card reading, which of course is one of the biggest energy drains that exists in my world.

So… how does an empath go about acquiring the necessary “me time”? That is the battle of the moment for me today. When you’re an empath, you are a “bleeding heart” for the lost and the hurting souls around you. As an empath, I have an extremely difficult time telling people that I can not help them or that I don’t have time for them. When they are hurting, I am hurting. In order to avoid the emotional pain, I give myself and my energy to anybody and everybody that needs it. The reality is that this is doing more harm than good.

The first step would be to talk to the people in your circle and let them know why you need alone time. Some will understand and others will resent the idea. We empaths need to quit worrying about what people think or feel. I’m not saying that we should become cold hearted or distant. We just need to stand up for ourselves. After all, how much good can you really do with your gift if it is draining you and causing physical pain? Just the other day I found myself advising someone that if you don’t take care of yourself, you can not help anybody else. Well, I guess it’s time that I follow my own advice and if you’re anything like me you should probably follow suit. And that seems to be what “me time” is all about.

The next logical step would be to set aside a certain time everyday just for yourself. Make sure everybody in your circle understands that this certain time is just for you. Make sure you will be uninterrupted for the allotted time frame. Play music, meditate, read a book, take a hot bubble bath, write a journal-do whatever helps you go to a calmer, happier place. Ignore the world for a little while. Remember, the people that are draining you survived just fine before you came into their life and they will certainly survive during your alone time.

Once you make “me time” a part of your routine, everybody (include yourself) will become more comfortable with it and come to anticipate it as part of the daily schedule. And once you make it a regular part of your day, you will be able to recharge much quicker and easier. It’s time for us to stand up for ourselves as empaths, readers, healers and teachers. Take back your power and learn to say no. Stay blessed!