If you’re an empath, you already know how acts of giving and generosity can sometimes feel exhausting. You might not know that being an empath can actually take a toll on your health in the form of adrenal fatigue.

If you’re an empath that suffers from adrenal fatigue, or if you’re new to the subject of adrenal fatigue and feel like exhaustion might be taking its toll on you, read on!

Are You An Empath?

• Being very generous, kind, and thoughtful towards others

• Deepy feeling other people’s emotions and being affected by them

• Getting easily overwhelmed in stressful or emotional situations

• Experiencing mood swings

• Having good intuition

• Feeling emotionally drained after spending time with certain people or a big group of people

• Feeling overwhelmed in crowded places

• Feeling obligated to help others

• Regularly people pleasing

What Are Your Adrenal Glands?

Are you an empath who suffers from adrenal fatigue? Symptoms of adrenal fatigue can include:

• Depression

• Exhaustion

• Feeling overwhelmed

• Feeling tired no matter how much you sleep

• Low blood pressure

• Stress

• Sleep issues including inability to fall asleep or stay asleep

• Thyroid imbalances

Empathy & Adrenal Fatigue - How They Are Connected

I personally am an empath, and in past years I suffered from adrenal fatigue, so I know exactly what this feels like.

Years ago I went through adrenal fatigue for a few reasons. Since I am a people pleaser, I took a promotion at my job at the time. I thought I would enjoy the job but realistically it was too stressful and demanding for me.

Despite this, I still put 120% of my effort into my work as always (as many empaths do) and found myself incredibly drained. I actually got really ill and because of this I gained weight, suffered from depression, and I was always physically and mentally exhausted.

I have always been somebody who is more susceptible to being run down, and I can surely connect this to being an empath. I personally find that spending too much time with too many people make me feel exhausted and I need a lot of alone time to regenerate.

I’m highly sensitive and feel other people’s energy, especially my family members. When the people in my life are experiencing stress, I also experience stress and hardship. It really does take a physical and emotional toll.

Because I am conscious of the connection between being an empath and adrenal fatigue, I make it a habit to ensure that I protect my energy. I also take good care of my body and try not to “burn the candle from both ends”.

You Can Still Be An Empath

Empaths truly are beautiful people. It’s unfortunate that it is easy for personal health to suffer as a result of this, but the good news is that you can still be an empath!

There are 2 main ways to get healthy and stay healthy if you’re an empath that suffers from exhaustion.

3. First, take care of your physical body and address adrenal fatigue.
4. Second, learn how to protect your energy as an empath. 

How To Relieve Adrenal Fatigue

There are many ways to heal from adrenal fatigue. I suggest working with a holistic health practitioner to get a personalized plan to address your adrenal health. However, some everyday habits you can do to improve your adrenal health are to:

• Get adequate good quality sleep each night

• Eat a whole foods diet, rich in protein and healthy fats

• Supplement with natural adaptogens such as holy basil and ashwagandha

• Supplement with vitamin d, b vitamins, and other critical vitamins and minerals

• Do gentle exercises that aren’t too strenuous or exhausting, such as yoga

  Practice stress management techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, mindfulness, and spending time in nature

• Practice stress management techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, mindfulness, and spending time in nature

• Drink plenty of pure filtered water

Change Your Habits To Protect Your Energy

For empath’s it can be difficult to put yourself first when it’s your instinct to always put others first. Always putting others first is what leads to burnout. You can still absolutely be generous, kind, and empathetic to your loved ones, but it’s time to direct some generosity, kindness, and empathy towards yourself!

It is not selfish to focus on self-love. Afterall, you can only truly help others when you are in a good place and state of mind! It can take some time and effort to get into a new mentality, but implementing some of these habits will allow you to focus on protecting your energy while still allowing yourself to love and help others.

1. Learn To Say Now

Empaths find it difficult to say no. Constantly saying yes to every commitment or saying yes every time somebody needs something can be incredibly draining. I find often that when people ask me for something, I saw yes before I even think about it!

Start by living more present and being in touch with your emotions and needs. When somebody asks you for something, really take the time to think about if you are able to do that, if you have the time, and if you even want to be involved. If you don’t actually have the time or heart to help somebody with something, start learning to politely say no. You can still be kind and you will feel better afterwards!

2. Put yourself first and practice self-love.

I can’t stress enough that putting yourself first in a lot of situations is not selfish or unkind. You need to put your health and wellbeing first in order to serve others at your full capacity.

Practice acts of self-love by doing things that serve you. Take time to relax and have you-time and put your health and happiness first. Once you get into the habit of this, you’ll find it much easier to manage your emotions and determine when it is your place to help others and when it’s best to leave yourself out of certain situations.

3. Practice protecting your energy.

This is one of my biggest challenges as an empath. I find that I can feel people’s energy as soon as they walk into a room. There are many practices and techniques to try and protect your own energy, but try to focus on:

• Living in the moment

• Not caring what people think

• Being happy no matter what situations arise

• Knowing that you don’t have the power to make everyone feel better, so it’s best to just let things be

4. Manage your environment.

This ties into the previous topic of protecting your energy. People often tend to cling to empaths and unload on them because they are such good listeners, but that means that empaths often fall victim to “energy vampires”.

Manage your environment by screening out people in your life who might not be good for your wellbeing, and establish boundaries in your relationships. This doesn’t mean you have to completely cut people out of your life, however it can be healthy to limit your time with them.

Let people know that their energy affects you and you might need some time away from them to protect your wellbeing.

Be Empathic To YOU

Empathetic people typically put themselves last in most situations. It’s time to put yourself first and focus on your health and wellbeing! I promise that when you do this, you will be so much more equipped to help others and you’ll feel so much better about doing it too.