Energy Management for Empaths and Sensitive People
Photo by Sean Sinclair on Unsplash
Intro
This topic of energy management is really important for us as empaths and sensitive people. Put simply, if our energy is down, we are not at our best and we stay in that place of low energy and low mood for quite some time if we don’t do something about it.
I know, because I was there, for YEARS. Not all the time, but a lot of the time and definitely long enough for me not to be thriving. And long enough for me to be pissed off most of the time and not feeling any joy – it’s my work around this that led me to my tag line of “stop feeling pissed off and find your joy”.
The basics
Without a doubt eating well, drinking plenty of water, getting enough good quality sleep and moving your body are going to help you have energy. Those things go side by side with what I want to talk about which is what drains our energy, how to avoid those things and what to have in their place.
What do I mean by energy?
The general definition which I think we can all recognise is that energy is the capacity to do work. I’m not disagreeing with that definition but, for me, there is much more to it and , more importantly, there is a question around “why” do we want to have energy.
The answer for me lies in a discussion about spiritual energy.
Spiritual energy is an invisible force that flows through all living beings and contributes to our overall wellbeing and fulfilment. It has to be looked at holistically for us to be at our best – I remember times in the past when I have been doing my best to eat well, drink water, have a good sleep routine but still feel pretty crappy. That’s because there’s more to it than the basics.
There are 4 different levels of spiritual energy and these are soul (or spirit) energy, emotional energy, mental energy and physical energy. Our actions and thoughts can affect the flow of this energy.
Physical energy – relates to the quantity of our energy
Emotional energy – relates to the quality of our energy
Mental energy – relates to the focus of our energy
Spiritual energy – relates to the force of our energy
Everything is energy. And everything has a vibration which rises and falls depending on the level of our energy which is made up of the four different levels above – physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.
What drains our energy?
Take a look at each level and how does it look for you?
The quantity - physical energy – maybe this is low if you’re not eating, sleeping, moving or drinking well
The quality – emotional energy – this often centres around whether we look outside to others for our validation or whether we have the practice of looking in and tuning in to what we feel is important and matters. Things that can affect this are:
the people we spend time with – are you spending more time with radiators than drains?
where we spend our time – how much time do we spend outside, if we’re inside what is the environment like, what do we do, how do we do it?
The focus – mental energy– not meeting our needs, the overlap with quality so things that affect the quality can also affect the focus – like bright overhead lights in an office or a distracting smell can affect our ability to focus
The force – spiritual energy – this is also a mix of the above and also where things like our childhood experiences, conditioning and trauma come into play and they can have a really powerful affect on our life force energy.
How to avoid these things that drain our energy
Some people will try and avoid the things that drain our energy by numbing – drink, drugs, shopping also keeping busy, working hard, pleasing others and trying to be perfect. These may work for a while, and there is nothing wrong with healthy striving, helping others and doing a good job, but, if it comes from a place of blocking out big or hard feelings or seeking validation from others, then these avoidance strategies stop working over time. This may be your cue to look at some other ways of avoiding the drains, such as:
Self-love - you can read my blog post on self-love HERE
Boundaries - you can read my blog post on self-love HERE
Know, understand, have compassion for and accept yourself just as you are - I have many blog posts around this subject and perhaps start HERE
What can we have instead?
People - spend time with people who light us up and leave us feeling the way we want to feel – joyful, peaceful, content full of fun and smiles. Radiators instead of drains.
Places that light us up – where do we feel the way we want to feel – mountains, the sea, forest, cosy spaces, art galleries, music venues.
Things that light us up – surround ourselves with beautiful things that have good energy for us – happy memories, candles, music.
Reframe old beliefs - this is not just surface level mindset work (especially those of us who have experienced trauma - and as sensitive folks most of us have - read my blog post on this HERE), this is deep work to look straight at old beliefs and patterns so that we can move onto the next step
Make new stories - with the knowledge around our old beliefs, we can challenge them, ask ourselves if they are really truly and make new stories that are true for us now. This is so powerful and is a real act of self-love.
Further information
You can hear the writer talk more about being an HSP on the HSP Connection Podcast which she co-hosts with Robbie Leigh. There is also an HSP Connection Community where we meet twice a month to embrace our superpower. If you’d like to know more, contact Philippa.
