How to navigate the Holiday Season as an Empath?
The holiday season can be a magical time, spending quality time with family and friends.
It also comes with its challenges as well, the flip side of the coin, spending time with people you don’t tend to see very often.
Even time spent with people you enjoy being around can come with its downsides.
As an Empath myself navigating spending time with people I don’t see very often, I thought it would be a great opportunity to share my strategies.
This time of year can be so much more than navigating social gatherings...
Your routine can be thrown out of sync, navigating different environments, burdens, expectations and pressures.
This makes it so important for you to be armed with my new online workshop Christmas Toolbox: 7 Days of EFT Tapping to navigate your festivities.
My Tips to Thrive through the Holiday Season.
- You have a choice
- Protect your energy
- Cleanse your energy
- Manage your expectations
- Your feelings are valid
- Your presence is enough
- Ground your energy
You Have a Choice!
Part of getting to know yourself is understanding what people and places are safe for you. Also understanding that you have the right to choose the people you spend time with and the spaces you choose to step into.
Now of course I understand this isn’t always 100% possible, especially if it is family or friends that may not feel completely safe for you.
Your choice can be to limit the time you spend in those places but also guarding your vulnerability in these places and with these people.
Energy Protection
As an empath and highly sensitive woman it is vital that you know how to protect your energy, especially in certain environments and with certain people.
I received a question about dealing with negative people and emotions and this tip is going to help with that.
Now there are going to be times where you have to endure people that are more negative both in words and emotions, but it doesn’t mean it has to be detrimental to you.
Your personal energy is for you and you only and as I said it is vital that you learn some energy protection techniques to support you with that.
One that I find very helpful, powerful and effective is bubble of light. Envisioning that you are surrounded by angelic light, covering you from top of your head, all the way down to your toes.
Having an intention that any negative vibes or emotions do not enter your energy field and are sent back to the owner.
I invite you to download my free energy protection guide:
Another strategy I want to share with you is the Golden Bowl. This is essentially when someone negative is venting at you or to you, you envision an energetic golden bowl between the two of you and have an intention that all of that negative energy drops into the energetic golden bowl for transmutation.
Energy Cleansing
As an empath and highly sensitive woman it is important to adopt a regular routine of energy cleansing.
I remember my healer telling me one day about energy cleansing, her first question to me was ‘did you know you are an empath?”. I said to her “yes I do” and even though I did know, it was a great validation, she said “oh good” and then proceeded to share with me about the importance of energy cleansing.
The analogy she used has served me well and I trust it will serve you well, think about mine workers, at the end of the day of working in the mines they are visibly covered in black soot from head to toe.
She said that is what it is like being an empath interacting with others throughout the day, only it is not visible to the naked eye. You can be covered in energy residue from all the interactions you had with other people and environments.
Like if your partner came home covered in soot, you wouldn’t allow them to jump into bed without showering right? No different for you, it is important to cleanse away the energy you have accumulated throughout the day.
One great technique I use is called Waterfall Shower, this is as simple as jumping in the shower, standing under the stream of water and envisioning you are standing under a waterfall and as the water falls over you, it rinses your energy field and body of any energy that doesn’t belong to you or is not for your highest good.
The old energy runs down into the drain to be transmuted by Mother Earth.
I invite you to download my free energy cleansing guide:
Managing Expectations
Managing expectations is an important part of your emotional wellbeing, especially at this time of year. The pressures and the burdens can feel very intense, both the ones you put on yourself, but also those you feel from other people.
It is important to manage the expectations you have put on yourself, that very long to do list of all the things you think you need to do to fulfill your obligations. Obligations as a mum, as a wife, as a daughter, as a daughter in law, as a sister, as a sister-in-law, and as a friend.
We can very easily get caught up in the energy and hustle and bustle of this time of year, trying to keep up with those around us or just keep up with past years traditions.
Problem with that is it will zap your energy, cause high stress levels, anxiety and frantic energy. Not an enjoyable way to feel for you or your family.
I encourage you to look at your big to-do list, do all of those things need to happen and if they do, does it have to be you who does them.
Remember the first tip I took you through “you have a choice”, this follows up from that. You can choose to limit the expenditure of your energy, simplify or streamline your plans and actually allow yourself to enjoy this time, like everyone else in your family that you have always done everything for.
Your Feelings are Valid
I feel this one is so important because when we spend time with people throughout the holiday season, we can get sucked back into the old patterns of behaviour. Behaviours that used to be acceptable by people you grew up with, they are used to the old you and that can lead to feelings of invalidation.
I want to remind you that your feelings are valid, whether you have known the person your whole life or they are a new family member or friend, your feelings are important.
As I mentioned in “you have a choice”, not all people are going to be your safe space and in particular family you grew up with. This is where you want to mind your vulnerability, you don’t need to share everything with them, you don’t need to open yourself up completely to be a target.
I grew up in a patriarchal home with 4 siblings, two older sisters and two younger brothers, yes middle child here. I am happy to be honest with you and tell you the family I grew up with are not my safe place. I am very mindful what I share with them, I keep our conversations surface level, very light and jovial.
Now if they step over the line, I will pull them up, but this has come from many years of healing that has empowered me to be able to take that stance.
If you find certain people are triggering for you, this is a great awareness for you and you will know to use energy protection and another technique I will share about grounding your energy.
With these people it is also going to take some self-awareness and self-control, when they trigger you, it is about calming yourself in that moment and not reacting. Not giving them any satisfaction or adding fuel to the fire.
Your Presence is Enough
I feel this once can be a very powerful shift, detaching worth from what you do and bringing it back home to your essence. Every time you walk into a room, your presence and energy is felt.
Somewhere along the way we have shifted our worth to what we do for others instead of the essence of who we are.
They won’t like me if I don’t do everything for them
I won’t get their approval if I don’t do everything perfectly and in the way I think they expect me to
If I help them, they will love and adore me.
When I feel needed, I feel fulfilled.
As I mentioned in our tapping round for managing expectations what if your family look more forward to time with you, than what you can do for them.
Obviously, they appreciate (well I hope they do) all you do for them, but I am sure if they have your highest good in mind, they will not want you bending over backwards and affecting your health in mind, body and spirit.
As you start to acknowledge the power of your presence, and start emitting that energy and confidence, they too will start to acknowledge it as well.
Ground Your Energy
I chose to end with this one, as I feel it to be both the most powerful but also the most accessible in all situations.
As I mentioned in “your feelings are valid” there are always going to be people and times where you feel triggered, it is just part of our human nature and the experiences we have endured here on Earth.
I want to empower you to know, in any situation, with any person, you have a way to feel calmer and less triggered even in their presence.
Grounding your energy, brings you back to you, brings you back to the present moment and connects you with mother earth.
It is as simple as feeling your feet on the ground, your bottom on the seat and noticing what is around you. Look around the room, what can you see, and what can you hear, what can you feel (temperature of the room), what are you noticing. Now bring your attention back to the contact with the environment, feet on the ground and bottom on the seat.
This helps to ground your energy and bringing you into the current moment and allows your nervous system to regulate.
As your nervous system regulates the behaviour that was triggering you will have less of an affect on you. This brings you to a place of power, where you can choose to respond instead of reacting or just walk away.
These practices are your pathway to enjoying the Holiday Season without it draining your personal energy.
I trust sharing my own strategies for navigating the holiday season will support you.
