Empaths are a rare and rather unique type of person. We view the world and interact with it in a way few others do. We experience strong emotions, deeply, and are extremely sensitive to minute fluctuations in tone and mood in just about any environment. This is not some mystical, magical ability we have. Rather, it’s simply an inherent ability to feel and intuit other people’s emotions and derive a large amount of information from those emotions. We do this naturally, without even thinking about it or realizing, most of the time, that we’re doing it. For us, it’s as easy as breathing — and as natural. It’s an innate ability to experience empathy, even with complete strangers, to walk a mile — or ten — in their shoes. It’s kind of like being an emotional sponge, soaking up the emotions of others and experiencing them the same way they do.
There are already dozens of lists floating around social media about what empaths do, how we experience the world, and how we relate to it. But perhaps one of the most overlooked aspects of being an empath is what it’s like to be in a romantic relationship with one. We are deeply emotional people, and as such there are some unique differences in having a relationship with an empath than with someone who is not. Below are just five examples of what you can expect if you find yourself in a relationship with an empath.
No one will ever understand you better than an empath.
Because of the way we see and interact with the world and other people, we have a unique ability to slip into the minds and hearts of the people around us. We feel what they feel, to the extent where it’s almost like we can read their minds. We can’t, not the way you think of as portrayed in science fiction. But we do have an uncanny ability to sense exactly what you’re experiencing — and we experience it right along with you. When you’re having a bad day, we know it because we feel it, too. When you’re having a good day, we have a good day, as well. Even if we’ve never experienced the same things you have, we understand. Empaths soak up your feelings, and it’s like we’ve gone through the same experience with you.
Conflict with an empath is incredibly rare.
Empaths go out of their way to avoid conflict, almost at any cost. Because we experience emotion so strongly, negative emotions drag us down like boat anchors. As a result we’ll do whatever needs doing to avoid creating a situation where a disagreement or argument might occur. We can sniff out potentially volatile situations like a bloodhound, and then we attempt to defuse those situations before conflict can erupt, even if it means taking on additional work and inconvenience on ourselves to do so.
If conflict does occur, empaths will try to restore peace as quickly as possible.
However, it’s not always possible to avoid conflict. There are plenty of cases where circumstances are beyond our ability to control and steer away from contention. So when conflict does arise in our lives, we’re on it immediately to try to solve the situation so that peace can be restored quickly.
No one will love you like an empath.
When empaths love, we love strongly, fiercely, and with everything we’ve got. For us it’s all or nothing. There is no in between. We wear our hearts on our sleeves. Our feelings are transparent and apparent to all. We may try to hide or disguise our feelings sometimes, but rarely are we ever successful. And when we find The One, we devote our entire heart, soul, mind, and being to that person. You will know that you are well and truly loved because every single thing we do is driven by the way we feel about you. For some people, we come on too strong because of this, because they’re not prepared for the intensity of our feelings. We tend to fall in love fast, and hard, and once we do we don’t give up easily or quickly.
Your empath will be your biggest supporter.
Because we experience love so deeply, the biggest and best cheerleader you will ever have in your life is an empath. We genuinely want the best for you. Making you happy makes us happy. We care more about you than about ourselves and will sacrifice a great deal of personal convenience so that you can be the best possible version of yourself. We’ll cheer you on from the sidelines, support you in difficult times, and lift you up when you’re sad and depressed. In short, we’ll always be there for you, no matter what, grieving when you grieve, rejoicing when you’re happy, and always ever loving you no matter what the circumstance.
This list isn’t meant to imply that someone who isn’t an empath can’t be any of the things mentioned above. It just means that the average person is going to have to work harder at empathetic behavior than an empath does naturally. There are numerous other reasons why being in a relationship with an empath can be extremely fulfilling. If you can name others, please feel free to add them in the comments below.
