Biography: The Struggling Empath

A visual depiction of human connection through empathy.

Image Source:Empath

Empathy

My strength and weakness,

I listen more and speak less.

When others get stressed

There is pain in my chest

And in my stomach,

Thoughts start to plummet

Down like rain.

I try to help,

But it’s not working

Feelings

Deep inside me lurking.

Who am I?

What is my purpose?

There has to be more 

Than just this surface

Level connection 

Between people with no direction.

Craving more affection,

Recollections of memories

I’d rather forget.

Is it time, yet?

Time to go?

Time for me to let them know

How much pain I feel from their problems

When I am unable to solve them.

Empathy is more than feeling,

At times, it can be healing.

Reeling in my emotions to help,

At the detriment to my own health.

No more.

 Author's Note:

This story is about my struggle with having healthy boundaries as an empath or highly sensitive person. I have goals to become a therapist, so I have to learn how to properly separate my emotions from my work. With friends and family, it is a little more difficult. Hearing stuggles that my loved ones go through on a day-to-day basis is sometimes hard to hear, and I don't always know the right things to say or have all the answers. When I can help, I feel magical, but when I can't it is very frustrating for me. I tend to let others do the talking and venting while I have the habit of bottling my problems up. This is a habit that I am actively trying to break. I have chosen to vent in this story/poem about this issue. I chose to write in sort of a free verse narrative style of poetry because I've been wanting to start writing and experimenting with it, so I thought, "why not".