Here are the biggest challenges empaths tend to face in romantic relationships and how to navigate those challenges so you can enjoy a more nourishing, healthy love life. If you’re happily unattached and not looking to date or partner, consider these helpful guidelines for navigating any close relationship—like a close friendship: Empath pro tip: You don’t have to be in a relationship with another empath for your partner to get your need for space. Let a lover know that you need to regularly pull back and create space for yourself, especially when your sensitive system is overwhelmed and frazzled. This might look like having one weekend “on” with social engagements and the next weekend “off” to chill, recover, and reground. If you’re already in a partnership, let your partner know that sometimes you want to walk the park by yourself, have quiet time reading in bed next to each other, or do another activity either alone or together that is low-stimulation and creates space for your sensitive system to retreat and recover. Empath pro tip: Practice asserting yourself more in the relationship, voicing your needs and wants more regularly. Practice makes anything easier over time. Empaths who are recovering people-pleasers can build up a tougher skin around confrontations by being more of an observer and less of a feeler during these interactions. Remembering that prioritizing your own wants and needs is healthy for both you and your partner will help. By not sounding the alarm when you think your partner is making a poor choice, you can enable their self-sabotaging patterns. By not sharing one of your great ideas that your mate may disagree with or resist, you’re cheating them of benefiting from your brilliance and cheating yourself in so many ways. Keep in mind that relationships are about compromise—no one person should dominate. Empath pro tip: Cultivate hobbies, interests, friendships, and activities that are separate from those you share with your partner. Have grounding practices that keep you centered in your own energy, like meditation, pulling oracle cards, journaling, a solo exercise routine, or a creative hobby. Have empath-friendly methods for processing your own emotions, so you know what’s yours in emotional territory. Empath pro tip: Learn about witnessing so you can pull back and observe your partner from a more neutral emotional and energetic place. When you witness and observe, you employ the claircognizant or intellectual psychic pathway, so you still receive intuitive information. When it comes to dating as an empath, being able to more mindfully tune into or out from a partner is an incredible tool I feel all empaths should learn more about. Empath pro tip: Encourage emotional intelligence and maturity in the relationship by talking about how your emotions affect each other. If the way your partner processes or expresses their emotions is really unhealthy, let them know and suggest they get help. Try individual or couple’s counseling sessions if your partner has rage issues or if they have prolonged periods of high emotional intensity that trigger you. Do a loving self-inventory to see if there’s a pattern of feeling responsible for your partner’s emotions or trying to control their emotions. With awareness and tools, these self-sabotaging patterns can shift dramatically and positively.
