Autonomy Results
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. Energy regulation is a relief for empaths.
Empaths, sensitives, HSPs have as much right to autonomy and self-containment as anyone else. Too often, trauma is the foundation of empathic sensitivity. In fact, in my private practice or with practitioners I’ve worked with in the EHI programs, 100% of those who’ve called themselves empaths acknowledge early childhood trauma as a major factor in their lived experience. In other words, the empath is made, not born!
Why Energy Regulation Goes Missing
When there’s a volatile environment, a little person is going to develop radar, sensitivity to be aware of when there is comfort and safety, and when it’s important to be vigilant, quiet, unobtrusive.
Energetic regulation is sacrificed to the necessity for vigilance, for sensing the atmosphere to know how to engage and interact.
Children are naturally ebullient, curious, loud, unaware of ‘indoor voices’ or moods. Children learn. Through gentle parenting, consistent feedback. Or perhaps, through volatility. When mom or dad has a bad day, tensions erupt. Perhaps there are other factors that contribute to tension and volatility, financial stress, marital disagreements, alcohol or drugs.
The age of reason occurs in child development at around age 7. It’s the period in time when a child is able to discern the difference between their own emotional landscape and someone else’s. Perhaps a 7-year old child had a fabulous day at school; they got to hand out the snack to their classmates, or it was show and tell day, and they were the one who was on deck to tell their story, or share their favorite toy or book.
They’re excited to go home and tell their family all about their wonderful day. But as they walk through the door, everything changes. The tensions are high. Doors that signify discord between parents are closed. The mood is pervasive, and the child shifts from the inner emotional landscape to external vigilance and wariness.
When emotions are stable and relatively healthy, empathic sensitivity needn’t play much of a role. There may be a child who is particularly emotional, but that’s not the same as empathic sensitivity, where everyone else’s feelings are unconsciously surveilled to give context for how to behave. A child who is particularly emotional is tuned into their own emotions, not everyone else’s!
The Second Chakra & Energy Regulation
Do you know which chakra is the most flooded when empathic sensitivity is a concern? The second chakra.
What is the function of the 2nd chakra? Emotional awareness (and sexual energy, creativity, of course).
Do you know when the 2nd chakra becomes an active, vital energy center in our lives? Age 7. The age of reason. When children become aware of the difference between their inner emotional state and that of others!
When does a child in a volatile environment become an empath? Around age 7, and possibly earlier.
I’ve talked with many therapists about this hypothesis, and the vast majority of them agree that empathic sensitivity is a manufactured phenomenon, and not present from birth.
Energy Regulation for the Win
So what can an empath do to dial down their empathic sensors? They can learn and practice energy regulation.
EHI Practitioners regularly support their clients to achieve energy regulation to help them unravel patterns and behaviors that are part of empathic sensitivity. It often begins with the client expressing their exhaustion from emotional flooding – taking on and absorbing other people’s energy. A general question or two uncovers the childhood volatility that generated the empathic sensitivity. And then? The solution is introduced.
The relief these clients experience is always so rewarding to hear about. As they learn the skill and apply it in their daily lives, the shifts in awareness and lived experience is enormous. From flooding to regulation, from feeling ‘all the feels’ to being present and compassionate, from withdrawing and isolating to a fuller, broader life.
Would Energy Regulation Help You?
Consider EHI’s free course, The Present of Presence. In one short hour, you can learn and practice the skill of energy regulation. You can download the free guided practice, and the pdf resources. When you begin to apply the practice as part of your daily life, you’ll start to see how you’ve got the resources and the know-how to manage your energy and be more aligned, grounded, balanced and present.
Do me a favor? Let me know how Energy Regulation supports your healing and evolution! I’d love to hear from you!
