In this article, we talk about the challenges that male empath face in a world that doesn’t always understand or appreciate their sensitivity.
We also discuss some solutions on how to deal with these challenges and how you can implement them in your life.
When we talk about empaths, we often refer to women. But there are a lot of men who identify as empaths. Others suppress their energies out of fear that they will appear weak.
Being an empath can be a challenging experience, but for men who are often expected to be tough, it can be even more difficult to navigate.
Let’s look at some of the challenges in detail and possible ways of managing them.
Challenges of Being a Male Empath
If you identify as a Male empath, you could be familiar with the challenges below.
1. Societal Expectations
Men are taught to be strong from a tender age in many cultures. You grew up in a society where showing any form of emotion is frowned upon.
You were not supposed to show emotions, you couldn’t cry like a girl, and you were always expected to be strong.
These societal expectations are referred to as the “Man Box.” People expect men to be strong, emotionless, domineering and have other “masculine” qualities.
Even when you are going through emotional turmoil, you should suck it up and be a man.
But physiologists argue that expressing emotions help men heal faster. Studies show that suppressing emotions lead to depression, mental breakdown, and low self-esteem.
2. Inability to Get In Touch With Their Inner Selves
Male empaths usually have challenges with getting in touch with their inner selves. This condition is a result of creating a habit of suppressing their emotions.
The shutdown of emotions is also a default for many male empaths. Emotional shutdown may have acted as a shield during childhood.
But when you grow into adulthood, you realize it no longer protects you. Your surroundings still shout at you. The more you create walls, the more they intrude.
Sometimes male empaths seek refuge in drugs and alcohol to numb their feelings. This is an addictive route I’d hate to see any empath take, so please don’t.
3. Sensory Overload
Do you sometimes feel stuck? It’s like you can’t figure out what to prioritize.
Sensory overload is the overstimulation of any of your five senses. It’s good to note that empaths possess a sixth sense, intuition.
Empaths are highly sensitive, making them susceptible to sensory overload episodes. Because empaths absorb all the energies in their surroundings, there are easily overstimulated.
They can’t stand loud music and crowded places. Some empaths even react to disorderliness in a room or flashing headlights.
Empaths can also experience sensory overload working under pressure. They also get overstimulated when they have little time to make critical decisions.
When overstimulated, empaths in general experience irritability, restlessness, and anxiety.
4. Emotional Burnout
Emotional burnout is a situation where one gets emotionally and mentally worn out. It usually happens when a person cannot release unhealthy stress hormones.
An ordinary person can get emotional burnout due to work-related stress, relationships, and parenting.
Male Empaths go through all these challenges, but in addition, they carry other people’s challenges, sometimes willingly or unwillingly.
For instance, if an empath sits next to a person with a relationship crisis, they get into that state. So, empaths deal with their own emotions and those of others.
Emotional burnout can lead to headaches, depression, mental instability, mood swings, and other presenting problems.
5. Low self-esteem
Empaths take everything to heart. So, they are likely to be affected by negative comments from others.
As a result, male empaths often lose their sense of self. They do not know whose emotions they are carrying. Is it theirs or that of their neighbor?
This emotional absorption is good when your neighbor has a positive aura. Most negative energy has stronger vibrations than positive energy.
So, empaths often tap into the emotions that are hurting other people. So, an empath who cannot self-differentiate often carries all these negatives leading to low self-esteem.
6. Need for Personal Space
Empaths often need personal space to recharge. But sometimes, this need needs to be understood by other people.
If you are a man, telling your partner that you need some space may be interpreted as “I don’t want you.”
As a result, most empaths do not keep long-lasting relationships. Empaths invest deep and intimate feelings in a relationship. So, these breakups hurt a lot.
As a result, empaths often feel misunderstood and unloved. They fear getting intimate lest history repeats itself.
Related Reading – 10 Disadvantages Of Being An Empath.
How Do I Deal with Being a Male Empath?
Below are 5 proven ways to help you deal with being a male empath.
1. Connect with Your Spirit Guide
Every human being has a spirit guide or a guardian angel. But as an empath, you are more aware of your spirit guide because they always try to communicate with you.
Spirit guides help us to receive guidance in all aspects of our lives. Do you often feel the presence of someone else even when there is no one in the room?
A spirit guide has a calming presence that makes you feel that you are not alone. You get the feeling that someone is looking out for you.
Sometimes they speak to us through intuition, that inner voice that warns and guides you. Some empaths who are more in touch with their spiritual guides hear their voices. More gifted empaths can also see them or feel where they are.
For an empath, your spiritual guide is your best friend. He encourages you to be who you are. A spirit guide also helps you understand your natural gifts and learn how to use them.
Here’s how you can connect with your spiritual guide.
- Open Communication
Our spiritual guides are always up and active, ready to help us. They are the most intimate companions in life. But sometimes, we get so carried away with life’s busyness that we forget to ask.
Since spirit guides are courteous beings, they won’t interfere much unless you allow them. So, you have to make a conscious decision to involve them.
Ask questions. Take time to listen. Feel and appreciate them.
Getting in touch with your guide even when you don’t need help will help create a warm relationship.
The same way you call your friends to check on them even if you do not need anything from them.
2. Meditate
Meditation is a practice that helps you train attention and awareness. Meditation can help you achieve mental and emotional calmness. It enables you to achieve a stable state of being
Meditation history goes back thousands of years ago. Many people suggest that it started in Eastern traditions.
Some types of meditation involve focusing on a particular sensation. You can focus on a visual image, breathe, listen to a specific sound or repeat a mantra.
Meditation also consists in maintaining awareness of the present without making judgments.
Meditation helps you get in touch with the forgotten inner self if you are an empath. It helps you bring clarity and self-awareness to your feelings and thoughts.
Meditation also helps you clear overload by discarding external energies.
Spirit guide meditation helps you connect with your spirit guide and ask for their help. Remember that they have walked through your human experiences with you.
So, they are in an excellent position to advise you in your current dilemmas. Getting in touch with a spirit guide through meditation will also help you align better with your energies.
At the beginning of meditation, it may be hard to concentrate. But as your practice, the communication with your spiritual guides becomes clearer.
3. Build your Self Esteem
Most empaths suffer from low self-esteem. We do not have emotional boundaries. So, often our feelings muddle up with those of the surroundings.
Sometimes you may find yourself lashing out in anger. Later, you realized that you vented out someone else’s feelings. As a result, this confusion may create a self-identification crisis.
The mixed identities result in the loss of your authentic self. You may end up feeling fearful, moody, and insecure.
Empaths are vulnerable to criticism. They care about what other people think about them. So, your self-esteem may also have suffered from relating to narcissistic people.
If you identify with authentic self-crisis, building your self-esteem is essential. It will help you reaffirm your abilities and purpose in life.
4. Learn to Accept Compliments
It becomes difficult to accept compliments when we are not sure of ourselves. Besides, an empath is more outside-oriented and often forget to nurture themselves.
For a male empath, it is more challenging to receive anything. So, male empaths often resist compliments even when they need them most.
It would be best to learn to receive compliments to get out of the low self-esteem cocoon. You can start with simple responses such as ” Thank you .”
As you progress, you will find it easier to be receptive to people praising and appreciating you.
5. Avoid Self Criticism
Empaths have high standards for themselves. Unfortunately, when they feel they have failed, they are their worst critics.
Self-criticism can further lower your already affected self-esteem. To increase your self-esteem, you must learn to substitute self-criticism with self-worth.
The best way to counter self-criticism is to ask ourselves what we could have done if it was another person in our shoes. By nature, we could have comforted them and advised them how to counter the “mistake.”
You consciously build up your self-esteem by learning to have self-compassion.
6. Identify Your Strengths and Grow Them
Another way you can build up your self-esteem is by identifying your competencies. Fortunately, empaths are endowed with many natural gifts. List down all your good qualities and meditate upon your achievements.
You might be reading this and concluding, ” This is self-glorification.” But identifying your competencies will help you concentrate on them.
You can sign up for competitions and train with other artists if you are an artist. In the end, you will find people who are more in tune with your energies and can fit in.
Identifying your strength will also help you affirm your real self-worth. In the end, you can confidently counter attacks on your personality or character traits.
Building your self-esteem may need some work on your side. It involves shredding images that shatter you and creating healthier self-images.
But your hard work will pay off in the long run as you meet purpose and meaning in your life.
Related Reading – 8 Surprising Empath Abilities
7. Manage Emotional Contagion
Emotional contagion occurs when someone transfers their feelings, emotions, and behaviors to others. According to studies, emotional contagion is higher in people familiar with each other than in strangers.
Empaths are highly sensitive people prone to the emotions of others, even strangers. They also feel emotions at a deeper level and often confuse other people’s feelings with their own.
Emotional contagion could lead to emotional turmoil if you are a male empath. If you are struggling with this, you need to identify your feelings.
It is good practice to step back and figure yourself out. For instance, if you are suddenly depressed, take a moment and find out what just happened.
Did someone enter the room? Or do you feel particularly connected to a particular person?
Identifying your feelings will help you put other emotions into perspective. It will also help you counter negative emotional transfers.
- Offer Positivity
As an empath, you have natural healing capabilities. You can opt to protect your emotions by providing positive vibes.
If you have learned the art of self-protection, you can easily counter negative emotions. For instance, sharing a joke can help lift the groom from a room.
8. Allow Your Self Some Time Alone
Creating some time alone will help you to reconnect with yourself. You can use that time to filter out negative emotions and rejuvenate your feelings.
Use headphones to shut yourself out if you are always in a busy office environment. You can also “escape” during breaks by opting for less noisy eating places.
9. Cleanse Your Aura
Empaths have strong electromagnetic fields. As a result, they attract all sorts of energy from the surroundings. They may suffer from energy blocks if they don’t release the absorbed energies.
As discussed earlier, meditation can help you go back to your essence. Empaths have excellent connectivity with nature.
Getting into contact with its elements helps you repair and revitalize your energies. If you have access to an ocean, you can submerge yourself in the water every once in a while.
If not, look for a saltwater pool around you. The healing properties of salt cleanse any physical debris. Exposing yourself to the sun will also help you repair your energies.
Your aura might need healing if you went through trauma, especially when growing up. Working with a professional will help you through any negative feelings you have.
10. Limit Your Workload
If you are a male empath, you know it can be hard to say no. Even when you are overwhelmed, you always find a way to help someone.
Sometimes you end up with so much to do that your body does not get a break. Learning to say “No” is one way to take care of your essence.
You could suggest someone else who can assist with the particular task. Or you can, respectively but firmly schedule for a later date.
Working under pressure can also subject you to sensual overloads. Try to negotiate achievable deadlines that you can work with. Most of all, avoid any form of the last-minute rush.
Related Reading – 4 Surprising Signs You’re A Precognitive Empath
Final Thoughts on Being a Male empath
Being a male empath comes with many benefits. You are the sensitive and robust person that provides a haven for the vulnerable.
You are creative and enjoy the small things in life. You also get more satisfaction in deep and intimate relationships.
But sometimes, you feel exhausted and lose your sense of being. So, learning how to deal with being a male empath comes in handy.
Fortunately, nature has endowed you with everything that you need to survive. You only need to tap into your essence and prioritize self-care.
Photo by Bruce Dixon on Unsplash