Chapter 3: The Empath's Relationship With The Family
Chapter 3: The Empath’s Relationship with the Family
Advantages and Disadvantages of Empathic Parenting
As an empath, you feel anxious when your child whines or cries. Moreover, you feel more stressed when you have children and often worry about their safety. You become overly reactive and cautious with your children. You notice everything about them and often feel their pain. At times, your pain is more unbearable and you suffer sleepless nights. You worry a lot and become anxious about them. More often than not, you experience burnout.
According to research, children of empathic parents grow up healthier and happier. Moreover, they thrive because the parents are in tune with them. They get the right kinds of experiences, environments, …show more content…
and foods for their temperament and needs. As an empathic parent, you have a higher purpose in life, as well as a higher self-esteem. Yet, you also have a higher inflammation level that can result to more stress.
You are very vigilant because of your deep concern and empathy.
Yet, this type of vigilance can bring about anxiety disorders. Being extra cautious and attentive to your child, your system is always in a “fight or flight” mode. Actually, some stress can make you focused and alert. Yet, if there is long-term stress, your cognitive skills and immune system can suffer. By ensuring that your children get only the best, you can experience burnout and exhaustion. In addition, you begin to ignore your own needs daily.
Your children can thrive, yet you suffer. You must think of some ways to care for yourself because your children need you. Even with your parenting style, you must remain resilient. As an empathic parent, you must ensure that you improve your overall health. Moreover, you need to keep deep and positive relationships with your children.
How to Develop Emotional …show more content…
Resilience
Perform Breathing Exercises
One way to remain calm in stressful situations is to breathe. If you are anxious, your breath becomes rapid and fast. Yet, if you are relaxed, it deepens and slows down. If you change the way you breathe, you emotions will also change. Practicing deep and slow breathing can result to feeling of relaxation. Your heart rate increases when you inhale. On the other hand, it decreases when you exhale. If you prolong your exhales, you begin to calm down.
Practice Self-Compassion
Your self-compassion can boost you psychological well-being and health, as well as your emotional resilience. You need to treat yourself as a friend or colleague. This means that you have to practice empathy on yourself, instead of criticizing, berating, or judging yourself.
You may turn to self-criticism because you are an empathic parent. Yet, you can reverse this by changing your internal dialogue. Instead of self-criticism, you use positive words when speaking to yourself. Words of encouragement and comfort can help. Moreover, you can be less upset and critical if you realize that everyone commits mistakes. This way, you do not become too hard on yourself. No one can be a perfect parent.
You must also practice mindfulness. You observe your thoughts and feelings with distance and perspective, without over-identifying with the emotions. You present them as they are, without a need to deny or suppress such feelings. You can try meditation to develop mindfulness.
Give Time to Self-Care
You experience a higher heart rate when you are around other individuals. Thus, you need to spend time alone to restore your energy. For example, you can go for a walk, have time away from your gadgets, take an Epsom salt bath, have a massage, or read a book. While it may be true that you need to prioritize your children’s needs, it is also right to spend alone time to recoup your energy.
Do Not Tolerate Emotional Drama
You need to teach your children the difference between positive and negative responses. This way, they understand not to use emotional drama for their own selfish agenda.
Teach Awareness
Teaching awareness to your children makes them realize the difference between appreciation and respect for material things. You need to let them know how lucky they are to have clothing and toys. This way, they can become grateful and start sharing and caring of other people.
Explain Empath Sensitivities
You need to let your children understand your sensitivities. Tell them your life as an empath growing up. Share your stories about how you perceive things. This strategy will help develop a bond between you and your children. Yet, you need to consider and acknowledge your children’s ability to understand your sensitivities. You have to ensure that you communicate with them at a level that they can understand, absorb, and relate to what you are telling them.
Set Boundaries
As an empath, your most difficult task is explaining boundaries to your children.
When you teach them boundaries, your children will begin to compare you with the others. It can strain your bond and relationship. Your children may demand and rebel because they want you to be like the others. One effective way of explaining boundaries to your children is to allow them to appreciate the variations in their lives. They can spend time with other people outside of the home. Yet, when they come home, they can spend time alone with you, without other people around. You can stress to them that they get more “me” time and attention at
home.
Establish Support Network
To reduce stress, ensure that you have family and friends to help you cope. You can strike a balance with parenting if your spouse can take charge with those things that you cannot manage. Yet, if you are alone, you need to step up and plan. You can explain to your children’s teachers about your limitations. Instead of saying that you are an empath, you can tell the teachers that you have a nervous predisposition.
Furthermore, you can assert and be confident about your being highly sensitive. You are not a bad parent if you are an empath. Your hyper-awareness is an advantage in satisfying the needs and emotional wellbeing of your children.
Teach Children about Confidence
You can teach your children about confidence. Even at your most sensitive moments, you can still become confident. Your child can learn about confidence if you use art and graphics to highlight positive and negative emotion. The use of colors is also an effective way of showing confidence as a welcoming and excitable emotion. Teaching them about confidence lets your children accept you as you are. You teach them to become compassionate to people who are very sensitive.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Empathic Parenting
As an empath, you feel anxious when your child whines or cries. Moreover, you feel more stressed when you have children and often worry about their safety. You become overly reactive and cautious with your children. You notice everything about them and often feel their pain. At times, your pain is more unbearable and you suffer sleepless nights. You worry a lot and become anxious about them. More often than not, you experience burnout.
According to research, children of empathic parents grow up healthier and happier. Moreover, they thrive because the parents are in tune with them. They get the right kinds of experiences, environments, …show more content…
and foods for their temperament and needs. As an empathic parent, you have a higher purpose in life, as well as a higher self-esteem. Yet, you also have a higher inflammation level that can result to more stress.
You are very vigilant because of your deep concern and empathy.
Yet, this type of vigilance can bring about anxiety disorders. Being extra cautious and attentive to your child, your system is always in a “fight or flight” mode. Actually, some stress can make you focused and alert. Yet, if there is long-term stress, your cognitive skills and immune system can suffer. By ensuring that your children get only the best, you can experience burnout and exhaustion. In addition, you begin to ignore your own needs daily.
Your children can thrive, yet you suffer. You must think of some ways to care for yourself because your children need you. Even with your parenting style, you must remain resilient. As an empathic parent, you must ensure that you improve your overall health. Moreover, you need to keep deep and positive relationships with your children.
How to Develop Emotional …show more content…
Resilience
Perform Breathing Exercises
One way to remain calm in stressful situations is to breathe. If you are anxious, your breath becomes rapid and fast. Yet, if you are relaxed, it deepens and slows down. If you change the way you breathe, you emotions will also change. Practicing deep and slow breathing can result to feeling of relaxation. Your heart rate increases when you inhale. On the other hand, it decreases when you exhale. If you prolong your exhales, you begin to calm down.
Practice Self-Compassion
Your self-compassion can boost you psychological well-being and health, as well as your emotional resilience. You need to treat yourself as a friend or colleague. This means that you have to practice empathy on yourself, instead of criticizing, berating, or judging yourself.
You may turn to self-criticism because you are an empathic parent. Yet, you can reverse this by changing your internal dialogue. Instead of self-criticism, you use positive words when speaking to yourself. Words of encouragement and comfort can help. Moreover, you can be less upset and critical if you realize that everyone commits mistakes. This way, you do not become too hard on yourself. No one can be a perfect parent.
You must also practice mindfulness. You observe your thoughts and feelings with distance and perspective, without over-identifying with the emotions. You present them as they are, without a need to deny or suppress such feelings. You can try meditation to develop mindfulness.
Give Time to Self-Care
You experience a higher heart rate when you are around other individuals. Thus, you need to spend time alone to restore your energy. For example, you can go for a walk, have time away from your gadgets, take an Epsom salt bath, have a massage, or read a book. While it may be true that you need to prioritize your children’s needs, it is also right to spend alone time to recoup your energy.
Do Not Tolerate Emotional Drama
You need to teach your children the difference between positive and negative responses. This way, they understand not to use emotional drama for their own selfish agenda.
Teach Awareness
Teaching awareness to your children makes them realize the difference between appreciation and respect for material things. You need to let them know how lucky they are to have clothing and toys. This way, they can become grateful and start sharing and caring of other people.
Explain Empath Sensitivities
You need to let your children understand your sensitivities. Tell them your life as an empath growing up. Share your stories about how you perceive things. This strategy will help develop a bond between you and your children. Yet, you need to consider and acknowledge your children’s ability to understand your sensitivities. You have to ensure that you communicate with them at a level that they can understand, absorb, and relate to what you are telling them.
Set Boundaries
As an empath, your most difficult task is explaining boundaries to your children.
When you teach them boundaries, your children will begin to compare you with the others. It can strain your bond and relationship. Your children may demand and rebel because they want you to be like the others. One effective way of explaining boundaries to your children is to allow them to appreciate the variations in their lives. They can spend time with other people outside of the home. Yet, when they come home, they can spend time alone with you, without other people around. You can stress to them that they get more “me” time and attention at
home.
Establish Support Network
To reduce stress, ensure that you have family and friends to help you cope. You can strike a balance with parenting if your spouse can take charge with those things that you cannot manage. Yet, if you are alone, you need to step up and plan. You can explain to your children’s teachers about your limitations. Instead of saying that you are an empath, you can tell the teachers that you have a nervous predisposition.
Furthermore, you can assert and be confident about your being highly sensitive. You are not a bad parent if you are an empath. Your hyper-awareness is an advantage in satisfying the needs and emotional wellbeing of your children.
Teach Children about Confidence
You can teach your children about confidence. Even at your most sensitive moments, you can still become confident. Your child can learn about confidence if you use art and graphics to highlight positive and negative emotion. The use of colors is also an effective way of showing confidence as a welcoming and excitable emotion. Teaching them about confidence lets your children accept you as you are. You teach them to become compassionate to people who are very sensitive.