Living Through Others' Pain: The Empath’s Dilemma 🌎 (why I wish everyone were like me?)

Hello deer, this is Seri 🌸

It was hard to find a name for this post :

"Living as an Empath: The Strength and Struggle"

"The Burden of Feeling: Navigating Life as an Empath"

"The Weight of the World: My Journey as an Empath"

"Feeling Too Much: The Hidden Struggles of Being an Empath"

"When Empathy Becomes Overwhelming: My Inner World"

"Carrying the World: The Gift and Curse of Being an Empath"

"Sensitive Souls: The High Cost of Empathy"

"Living Through Others' Pain: The Empath’s Dilemma"

All of them explain really well my situation!

I’ve come to understand that being hypersensitive and deeply empathic isn’t just a personality trait :

it’s a way of existing in the world.

A quiet, intense way of feeling everything, all at once.

I’ve always felt things deeply. A glance, a tone of voice, a subtle shift in energy my body and heart seem to absorb it all. When someone is hurting, I feel it as if it were my own pain. When the world is chaotic, I carry the weight of it in my chest, even if I can’t explain why. I’ve often been told I’m “too sensitive,” but to me, it’s not something I choose : it’s simply how I am wired.

Sometimes, the pain I feel isn’t mine. It's the sadness of others.

It’s the cruelty in the world.

It’s the loneliness behind someone’s smile, the injustice in a headline, the silent cries that no one else seems to hear.

Being an empath means I don’t just witness pain, I absorb it. A stranger’s grief, a child suffering, the state of the planet, the violence, the silence… it doesn’t pass by me, it pierces me. Sometimes so deeply that I feel like I can’t breathe. Like I’m drowning in a sea of sorrow that isn’t even my own.

And in those moments, I feel so helpless.

I ask myself: What can I do?

I feel so much that my own body becomes heavy.

So heavy that I’ve wondered if leaving this world would be easier than continuing to feel everything so deeply.

But I’m still here.

I’m still here because I’ve built an inner sanctuary. A quiet place within myself where I can rest from the storm.

Sometimes I feel like my heart is too soft for this world. I absorb not just my own pain, but the weight of others’ suffering whether it's a stranger’s sadness, a child’s tears, or the silent grief of people far away I’ve never even met. I cry for them. I ache for them. At times, this intensity becomes overwhelming, to the point where I wonder how to keep going in a world that feels so heavy.

And yet, deep inside, I believe we need more people like me. People who feel deeply, who care fiercely, who can’t look away from injustice or suffering. The world needs more softness, more compassion not less. I’m learning that my sensitivity isn’t a weakness, but a quiet kind of strength. Even if it makes life harder sometimes, I choose to stay soft. Because maybe that’s what helps change the world, one tender heart at a time.

People often blame us for being too soft. They say we’re too emotional, too sensitive, that we care too much. But I wonder, what would the world be like without people like us?

Without empaths, without gentle souls who stop to feel what others ignore, who offer comfort even when no one asked for it, who see beyond the surface, what would remain? A world with only logic but no tenderness? Action but no compassion?

The world needs softness to stay human. If everyone turned away from their emotions, from the suffering of others, who would be left to care? Who would be left to love deeply, purely, without agenda?

To survive the intensity of what I feel, I created my own inner world. A place surrounded by nature, animals where the sky is always soft pink. It’s where flowers bloom endlessly, and there’s no cruelty, only calm.

In this world, I write stories to soothe my heart, I surround myself with soft and cute things that remind me of safety and innocence. It’s like a tiny sanctuary I return to when the real world feels too harsh.

Sometimes, when everything becomes too overwhelming, I slip into age regression, a way my heart tries to feel small and protected again, like a child escaping the noise. It’s not always easy to explain, but it’s how I cope when I feel too much.

I didn’t choose to be this empath. I didn’t ask to feel every heartache or absorb every sorrow that surrounds me. I tried, believe me, I tried, to become stoic, to shield myself from the weight of the world. But no matter how much I wish for it, I can’t. It’s just who I am.

Sometimes, I envy the people who can detach themselves, who can turn away from pain without feeling it in their bones. But deep down, I know this sensitivity is part of me, for better or worse. It’s a part of my essence that can’t be ignored or buried.

So instead, I learn to live with it.

I build my own small world of softness, of tenderness, of quiet moments where I can heal, breathe, and just exist without being overwhelmed.

Even though it’s hard, I believe this sensitivity has a purpose.

Perhaps it’s meant to help me understand others more deeply, to see the world with a different lens, and to never forget the importance of kindness, no matter how difficult it might be.

In conclusion, being an empath is a constant struggle. The weight of others' pain and the harsh realities of the world can feel unbearable, often leaving me wanting to disappear. Despite my best efforts to distance myself from these overwhelming emotions, I can't escape the deep connection I feel to everything around me. It's exhausting, and at times, it feels like too much to handle. But I can't turn it off either. I didn’t choose to be like this, and sometimes it feels like I have no control over it. This constant emotional burden can drain me, but it's a part of who I am.

It’s not always about finding peace with it, sometimes it’s just about surviving the storm and navigating this world the best way I can.

Pic 🖼️ : designed by freepik.