Energy is powerful. Regardless of your level of belief or practice, there is something to be said about the energy individuals exude into the universe. There are undeniable instances in life where you can feel a certain way about someone's presence without a specific explanation. Think about it, we have all been there when someone has just rubbed us the wrong way, without any definitive proof. Conversely, I for one have certainly experienced the phenomenon of someone "lighting up a room" without saying a word.

All of this being said, I think there is a distinct difference between recognizing energy and being affected by energy. I can go on and on about this topic, but basically, I see personalities on a spectrum with rejection and acceptance of energies on either side. On the far left, you would find your textbook evading, narcissist type. This person does not recognize nor absorb anyone's energy but their own. On the far left, you will find your intuitive empath. This person recognizes and embraces other people's emotions to the extreme. Now neither side is good or bad, they are just two extreme personality types. Further, most people fall within this range of personalities. Depending on your mood or current stage of life you may vary, but for the most part, the majority of people fall somewhere in the middle.

I for one, identify as an intuitive empath, the far left extreme. This is something that has always been innate within me, but I did not learn how to verbalize it until about a year ago. I never understood why my mood could change so quickly between different social situations. I never understood the extent to which other people's energies could affect my own. I attributed my social downfalls to things like social anxiety, but honestly, I was never satisfied with that answer. I knew that there had to be more than an imbalance in my brain because I could never pinpoint a reason for my shifts in emotion.

Thank goodness for my mother who opened my mind to my role as an intuitive empath. Being one herself and enduring similar struggles, she took it upon herself to do some research (which I would totally suggest doing if you are at all interested in this kind of study) and found out about this personality type. When we sat together that day and spoke about my unknown sources of sadness and unease, her explanation hit me like a truck. I finally understood that it wasn't just me and my emotions affecting my psyche, but those emotions surrounding me as well. It was such an invigorating, eye-opening moment to know WHY I had been feeling this way for so long.

This is why I say that there is a difference between detecting and embracing others' emotions. Learning that there was a group of personalities who were extremely affected by emotion, and then learning that I was apart of that group, has been more than half the battle of dealing with my mental identity and its downfalls. I now know how to handle myself in negative or tense situations, and have come to appreciate even more the people who help light up my life.

There is something to be said about the influence one person can have on their surrounding environment. Wherever you are on the spectrum, recognizing the importance of energy and emotions in your life can provide great insight into the way you as an individual deal with social interactions and other types of taxing situations.

I bring this all to your attention to show that self-introspection is one of the great tools we have as humans to work through the intricacies of daily life. Without recognition and acceptance of ourselves and our varying attributes, there is a great risk of misunderstanding and neglect invading our society of social interactions.