Being an Emapth	
Written by Mikyla Abigor	  
Friday, 15 May 2009 11:49
Being an Empath  (while working with the public)

I would like to preface this with a few personal statements; first, I have never previously, nor am I now, claiming to be an expert. I can only speak for myself, from my own personal experiences. Second, I understand that quite a few of us work with the public on a daily basis; I just chose this particular subject because I am a customer service representative for one of the top 5 Wireless providers. I am, obviously, also empathic. 

So, that being stated...

There has been a lot of discussion lately, across many different boards, regarding negative energy. Most people would consider this the perfect time of year to have an abundance of POSITIVE energy - shouldn't we be in our "holiday cheer" mode, after all? Unfortunately, that just isn't the case anymore. The majority of the world no longer cares about the "reason for the season"; it's all about what we can get for ourselves and to hell with everyone else. This is not longer a celebration (regardless of your religious belief); it's a time to spend, spend, spend. This all leads to a lot of negativity; if you don't believe me, take a look around the next time you're out shopping!

Of course, in the midst of all the holiday gloom, we must continue to pay our regular bills, which is where I come in. Doing customer service for a wireless provider can be hard enough for an Empath in May, let alone in December when no one wants to part with any more money. Add to this stress the fact that I work in a department that mostly handles calls from customers who have been notified their service is going to be cancelled or restricted due to contract violations. 

As anyone who has known me for a while can attest, I have difficulty shielding beyond that which my body does naturally. This has made dealing with negative energy very difficult in the past. I didn't start out feeding from negative energy; it became necessary to retain both my job and a semi-satisfying life quality. A bonus result for me? 
My customers are just that much better when we end our call (with exceptions, ALWAYS) than before when their negative energy would bog me down and cause me to be to be negative in return. Rather than lifting their negativity away, I could end up adding to it on accident and the call/interaction didn't always turn out so well. 

For me, negative energy feeding is fairly simple - I listen to the customer...As I listen, I acknowledge and resolve their issues. We chat a bit, joke a bit, whatever. After a while, I feel a little "boost" -- as if the negative energy was removed from their shoulders. From there, I am able to gather it into myself to process by picturing it like a cloud in a cartoon - moving from them to me (you know, the little rain cloud that goes from one person to another to signify a bad day)...I take the energy I need and then picture the rest leaving my body into the floor - not the ground, I work on the second floor.

I don't take a lot; that might lead to over-feeding. Just a little here and there. In addition to the possible over feeding, I consider the possibility of taking the newly discovered positive emotions/energy back from the customer. That would just be a vicious circle leading us right back where we started!

Obviously, as I don't fall under the category of expert, this doesn't always work for me. I do, occasionally, get overwhelmed by the negativity of the customer. When this happens, I can only take a step back and breathe deeply. And of course, keep in mind I am only responsible for my own actions, no one else's. (This would be a good time to chat about shielding, but again - not my forte!)

Well, that was a tiny peek into my Monday through Friday life. I hope you enjoyed it