Hi all! and Shields / empathic shutdown

[Meirya]

Hey, I didn't realize there was a section for empaths! Nice to see this forum. Hi all! My empathic senses was the first "metaphysical" thing I accepted, three years before I ever even started looking into paganism. I think I had some sort of intro/point with that, but I can't figure it out for the life of me, so I'll just leave it at that...

Anyway, I've got a question about shields. The group of people I spend a lot of time with, learn from, and do rituals with (we're basically a circle, I suppose, but we haven't ever done anything to formalize it adn we don't use the "c" word, so...) have been trying to get me to shield for ages. Yes, I can shield quite well when I absolutely have to... but for the most part, I ... don't shield. To me, it feels like putting cotton in my ears, like muffling a vital sense. I only shield when the barrage of others' emotions becomes too much (and when it gets to that point, I'm usually verging on a panic attack and having a hard time focusing enough to block it all out, oops).

Does anyone else have this problem? I know I should shield, but I really really don't like to.

Has anyone else ever had an experience where their empathy sense was shut off? I don't know how it happened, but there was one day when everything shut off. I could still feel my emotions, but I couldn't feel anyone else's. It was as if people were just walking shells without people in the bodies. Logically I knew that wasn't the case, but that's what it "felt" like to my senses. Couldn't feel anyone. (Turned out my solar plexus chakra, heart chakra, and one other that I can't remember were all shut down. I don't know how, I don't know if I did something stupid to get them that way or what. Once they were "rebooted" I was fine, but until then I was a mess.)

Okay, hopefully no one'll think I'm too full of crazy... but I haven't had much chance to compare experiences with other empaths (except one or two in my group), so I thought I'd put these out here.

*/ramble*

[Hawk Shadowsoul]

Yes I have felt this. It took me quite a while to realize it was sensory overload self defense shutdown. Involuntary. Since the Bunker was started I have learned to control what I allow in, although recently I am learning to gradually allow it all in, and use it and return peaceful emotion in return.

However, I can still not go into Energy Requests, that forum overloads me from the point of opening it and for some time afterward.

Welcome to the Bunker.

[Bethra]

Hello and welcome to the Empathic Bunker :hugz: I noticed you talking about overloading and felt I should step in here and link you to my thread on the same topic. There is a guide in here to contacting your own emotions since I have experianced the overload and shut down myself before now.

http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=109037

I hope this helps a little. As far as shielding goes there is a thread dedicated to just that here

http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=109017

Any other questions you may have I'm sure someone here can help you answer them. We are none of us experts on the subject totaly but there are a lot of people here who have experianced this level of empathic ability for a long time and can offer good and practical advice to help you deal with such things. Don't feel afraid to ask I promise we don't bight here.;)

[Lunacie]

Does anyone else have this problem? I know I should shield, but I really really don't like to.



Okay, hopefully no one'll think I'm too full of crazy... but I haven't had much chance to compare experiences with other empaths (except one or two in my group), so I thought I'd put these out here.

*/ramble*

Who says you should shield? Don't let anyone "should" on you. ;)

There are other ways of handling our empathic sense. There are several suggestions in the threads in this forum and in the link to the empath 101 forum in the link in my siggie. Sometimes we need to shield in the beginning to give us the peace and quiet to figure out how to use other techniques.

Sadly in this society, being able to hear "voices" or "know" what others are feeling or thinking is looked on as being crazy, but in my opinion this would be a better world if we all were more sensitive to the feelings and thoughts of those around us.

Welcome to the Empath Forum.

[Lorrie]

Welcome to our world of craziness, stress relief, compassion, many shoulders to cry on, and just all around " a place for people like me". I haven't been here very long, but what I have learned here, I can't even begin to explain! OK, in a word... relief. Relief from the assault of other people's emotions crashing in on my world like a brick wall- and it HURTS!!! I didn't know I was shielding, it was something that I seemed to do naturally. I went for several years where I cut off my "feelings" because I couldn't handle the pain from it anymore. Now I come to this place that understands me, and I realize that I am an empath for a reason, and I believe we ALL are, but we must find that reason. I am following the path of energy healing now, so I now have to get my "feeling" back, which hasn't been easy. I had to take down shields that I didn't know I had up, and now, slowly go into the world a little bit at a time and experiment with the energies that I find there to learn how to handle them and use them to understand others so that I can understand how to help them. I am beginning to actually have fun with these same energies that just a short time ago caused so much pain for me. If you don't want to shield, then just learn to handle the energies and emotions so that they will not harm you. Some people have to shield, some don't, it is a personal thing for every person, none are right or wrong! My shields came down and I was amazed at what I have noticed, even my pets had been shielded from me, my grandkids- which is probably a good thing since my grandson is showing characteristics of a psychic vampire, but we are working with that one to help us cope with him and him cope with the world, he is only three! My family was shielded against! I have lived like a hermit for years- but that probably won't change much because I like the comfort and quiet of being alone with my thoughts and books and learning. I have never been accused of being sane.:fpraise: There is alot of reading that you can do on this topic in the different threads, you will have to learn and decide what is best for you! We are all empaths, but we are all also different, nothing works for everyone, sometimes you can put this and that together and make something of your own to use. Don't hesitate to ask questions, you will get several answers to pick and choose from, we all try to answer posts using our own experience so that you may find what you need from them. In this topic, there are NO dumb questions! I have been working on finding links for empaths to use, there aren't alot, but I will post them after I check them out to make sure they are genuine helpful links. As we learn something new, we share it so that others may try it and see if it is something that they can use also!

[Lorrie]

and, Lunacie, I went back to 101 to try clicking on their adds so that I could get in, now they won't even let me sign in! I'll try again in a few days and make sure to delete their cookies to see if that helps.:yayah: I got distracted by the word "free" along with the word "genealogy" and forgot to go back after deleting cookies to see if it helped. Those words get my attention as quick as the words "yard sale", just can't pass it up either even though it's probably no good!:hahugh:

[Lorrie]

and, Lunacie, I went back to 101 to try clicking on their adds so that I could get in, now they won't even let me sign in! I'll try again in a few days and make sure to delete their cookies to see if that helps.:yayah: I got distracted by the word "free" along with the word "genealogy" and forgot to go back after deleting cookies to see if it helped. Those words get my attention as quick as the words "yard sale", just can't pass it up either even though it's probably no good!:hahugh:



And this was meant to go on the actual BUNKER thread......that is twice tonight that I have posted something on the wrong thread!!!!!!!!!

[Pesha]

I have had to shut myself off a few times when the overload would have been more than I could handle. For me it is like a light switch. I can concsiously be off or on depending on my situation. I do sheild however all the time. Being as strong as I am I can really get barraged if I am not "up". I tend to stay out of crowds and I can not go to places like MySpace as it is to overwhelming for me to feel all the people there. I get selective when needed. And only feel a specific person. Like with my BF and making love. I suppose being an empath is a different experience for all of us individually. :hugz:

[Morgandria]

I turned mine off. It was annoying, and not particularily useful, so I just turned it off. *shrugs*

[Lorrie]

Mine is off now, but always close by if needed until I get better at handling it all! I don't leave the house much, so I don't need it too often. I don't do well driving in traffic because of my pain meds, so I have to run errands when it is slow times and it is easier to get used to the energies in a store this way! I went to a womans expo a few weeks back with my daughter, I planned to go in with no shield for as long as I could. As soon as I walked in, I got hit so hard that it knocked me physically back a few steps. I had to stop and "regroup" for a few minutes, but then made it through without too much problem. It felt good to have succeeded!

[Lunacie]

I think it's a good idea to sort out stressful situations and get used to dealing with them in small doses - starting with the less stressful ones and working our way up to the more stressful ones.

It can certainly make a difference what situation we are in. Crowded stores, busy streets, clinic or dental waiting rooms, hospital intensive care wards, airports - these are all situations where a large number of people are feeling stress and anxiety which as empaths we pick up from them. Going out to eat at a classy restaraunt, going to a festival of almost any kind, taking a trip on a cruise ship, going to a sporting event, any situation where people are enjoying themselves means we pick up on happy energies.

Some people are good at setting filters on their shields so that only certain people or perhaps certain emotions are allowed to penetrate them. Another way of doing that is to set filters that screen certain people or specific emotions from getting through. I really haven't needed a shield as much since I separated from my ex *sigh* which tells me a lot about myself for staying in that relationship for so long.