We hear a lot in popular media about ill-fated relationships between empaths and narcissists. Empaths being, loving and compassionate souls with sometimes questionable boundaries. And narcissists being the self-absorbed, villains that take advantage of the empath’s kindness. In this episode, I am going to clarify some common misconceptions about the empath/narcissist dynamic and how we all learn to navigate our relationships with more love, insight, and awareness.
- Empaths are loving, kind, compassionate souls who feel the feels of others like it’s happening to them. Empaths sometimes have difficulty with personal boundaries because they can so easily take on other people’s perspectives, thoughts, and emotions. (1:00)
- Narcissists are highly manipulative, self-absorbed individuals, who are only concerned with getting their own needs met in relationships and think of others as means to that end. Narcissism runs the spectrum from being slightly more concerned with yourself than others, to a full-blown personality disorder. But most people occasionally exhibit some narcissistic tendencies (3:00)
- Empaths can be drawn into relationships with narcissists for many reasons. One reason could be that they grew up in a household with a narcissistic parent or sibling and did not learn to set boundaries. Another reason can be that they have very big hearts, see the good in everyone. (5:00)
- We all have the ability to release ourselves from these patterns. If you find yourself in an abusive relationship, be kind to yourself and relationships and challenges serve a purpose in terms of our personal and spiritual growth. (7:00)
- To complicate matters, some folks with narcissistic tendencies may still have the ability to sense other people’s thoughts and feelings, and will use that information to upset and hurt you. (8:00)
- Remember, we all have narcissistic tendencies, including empaths because we are human and we all have an ego. We can all have moments when we get stuck in our own perspective and can’t see past our own needs. This does not mean you or everyone is a narcissist. That term is thrown around often, out of context, and misused. (10:00)
Books mentioned in this episode:
The Empath’s Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People by Judith Orloff
Thriving as an Empath: 365 Days of Self-Care for Sensitive People by Judith Orloff
Dodging Energy Vampires: An Empath’s Guide to Evading Relationships That Drain You and Restoring Your Health and Power by Christiane Northrup
Sensitive Is the New Strong: The Power of Empaths in an Increasingly Harsh World by Anita Moorjani
Books can be found: https://bookshop.org/shop/Victoriashawintuitive
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