Some people are born with a greater than normal capacity for empathy.
They can sense what others around them are feeling.
They can even pick up on things during phone conversations or from text messages.
It’s a gift.
But that doesn’t mean it’s an easy one to live with.
If you’re not empathic by nature, sometimes it takes an effort to put yourself in other people’s shoes and understand what they’re feeling.
But it’s something you can learn.
That’s where this list of quotes about empaths comes in.
The Benefits of Empath Quotes and How to Use Them
Whether you’re an empath or you know someone who is, the following quotes can help you understand better what that means. And with that understanding come other benefits:
- Less confusion about what you’re feeling and why;
- A lightening of the emotional load you carry;
- Growth in self-knowledge and self-compassion;
As you read through the quotes listed below, we hope you’ll find some favorites. Here are a few ideas on how to use them;
- Create a mug, bracelet, keychain, throw pillow, etc. with a favorite quote;
- Add one to your vision board and keep it where you’ll see it;
- Use your favorite quotes as journaling prompts.
Spiritual Empath Quotes
Empaths tend to be more open to spiritual experiences and insights, as you’ll see from the quotes listed below. How has being an empath influenced your spiritual identity?
1. “Life has not been able to break me and it will not break you. Stand tall for you are loved, you are enough, you are able, and in the end we will survive.” ― Donna G. Bourgeois
2. “I think that listening to music or creating music is a spiritual undertaking. The process of creating music involves listening. It involves sensitivity. It involves humility. It’s something higher than words.” — Matisyahu
3. “One of the greatest advantages of being an empath is that experiencing a spiritual awakening is virtually inevitable. In other words, spiritually awakening seems to be written into our DNA.” ― Aletheia Luna
4. “When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator.” — Mahatma Gandhi
5. “There’s beauty everywhere. Amazing things are happening everywhere, you just have to be able to open your eyes and witness it. Some days, that’s harder than others.” — Sarah McLachlan
7. “Empathy is about standing in someone else’s shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes. Not only is empathy hard to outsource and automate, but it makes the world a better place.” – Daniel H. Pink
8. “Empathy is really the opposite of spiritual meanness. It’s the capacity to understand that every war is both won and lost. And that someone else’s pain is as meaningful as your own.” – Barbara Kingsolver
9. “Your destiny is bound with the destinies of others. You must either learn to carry the Universe or be crushed by it. You must grow strong enough to love the world, yet empty enough to sit down at the same table with its worst horrors.” – Andrew Boyd
10. “You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Drained Empath Quotes
As an empath, you know your energy drains more quickly around other people, especially when your filter is either thinned out or nonexistent.
12. “Those who are sometimes described as being a ‘hot mess’ or having ‘too many issues’ are the very fabric of what keeps the dream alive for a more caring, humane world.” — Anthon St. Maarten
13. “Empaths feel more deeply, more intensely, and more persistently than those around us. We even feel what other people are afraid to feel within themselves.” ― Mateo Sol
14. “Create boundaries. Honor your limits. Say no. Take a break. Let go. Stay grounded. Nurture your body. Love your vulnerability. And if all else fails, breathe deeply.” ― Aletheia Luna
15. “I think recharging is important, absolutely. Now and then, you need a couple of weeks to just chill out and let your emotions balance themselves out.” — Malin Akerman
16. “Suffering and joy teach us, if we allow them, how to make the leap of empathy, which transports us into the soul and heart of another person. ” -William Fritz
18. “As an empath, it’s vital that you learn how to hold space for your emotions, even the most painful ones. By anchoring yourself in your breath, you can learn how to witness the emotional energy of others within you, without attaching yourself to these sensations.” – Luna & Sol
19. “I’m a passionate person; a lot is going on underneath my carousel of blazers: a cauldron of sensitivity and emotion.” – Sue Perkins
20. “The agony of the empath is feeling their pain but being unable to save them from it.” – Donna Lynn Hope
Empath and Narcissist Quotes
Narcissists and empaths are often drawn to each other. Something about narcissists—their self-assuredness, maybe, or their ability to be around others without feeling compromised—appeals to the empath. Which of the following are familiar to you?
21. “But that’s the thing about narcissists. They can try to fool you, with all their heart, but in the end, they’re just fooling themselves.” – Ellie Fox
22. “Love doesn’t die a natural death. Love has to be killed, either by neglect or narcissism.” – Frank Salvato
23. “The reason a person should love you is for you, not what you can do for them.” ― Shanna Star
24. “Narcissistic love is riding on the rollercoaster of disaster filled with a heart full of tears.” – Sheree Griffin
25. “We don’t need to save the world; we need to love people. We can’t fix anything for anyone, but we can listen. We can love. We can empathize. And as long as we can, we should.” ― MARY SWAN-BELL
26. “She feels more than you. You have to understand that about her. She feels the edges and the details of things and when she gets close to someone, she feels their happiness and their pain.” JmStorm
27. “When you show deep empathy toward others, their defensive energy goes down, and positive energy replaces it. That’s when you can get more creative in solving problems.” – Stephen Covey
29. “Letting go of toxic people in your life is a big step in loving yourself.” – Hussein Nishah
30. “It’s a gift to let other people be themselves. Let them face their own difficulties.” ― Judith Orloff
What Is Special About Empaths?
The special (and stressful) thing about being an empath is your ability to soak up the feelings of the people around you, whether they’re feeling joy, frustration, anger, sadness, irritation, or something else.
Dr. Judith Orloff’s book, The Empath’s Survival Guide, suggests empaths lack the filter that protects most people from the emotional radiation of the people around them.
It’s similar to the way hIghly sensitive people (HSPs) feel more exposed to the sensory stimuli in their surroundings. And since many empaths are also HSPs, being around other people in stimulating environments can feel doubly overwhelming.
Just knowing what it means to be an empath can help you better understand yourself and the people you care about.
Empath Quotes to Inspire More Sensitivity
Maybe you’re an empath learning how to make the most of your gift without drowning in it.
Or maybe you’re someone who’d like to be more empathetic and understanding,
In either case, the following quotes can help you put things in perspective.
Being An Empath Quotes
Only other empaths truly understand what it’s like to be one. So you’ll enjoy the following quotes from fellow empaths
31. “Empaths did not come into this world to be victims, we came to be warriors. Be brave. Stay strong. We need all hands on deck.” – Anthon St. Maarten
33. “Empathy is one of our greatest tools of business that is most underused”. – Daniel Lubetzky
34. “The struggle of my life created empathy – I could relate to pain, being abandoned, having people not love me.” – Oprah Winfrey
35. “The loving parts of your personality have no trouble loving. That is all they do. You experience the loving parts of as gratitude, appreciation, caring, patience, contentment and awe of life.” – Gary Zukav
36. “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
37. “This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.” – Dalai Lama
38. “It’s also selfish because it makes you feel good when you help others. I’ve been helped by acts of kindness from strangers. That’s why we’re here, after all, to help others.” – Carol Burnett
39. “I believe empathy is the most essential quality of civilization.” – Roger Ebert
40. “Empaths don’t act fake. They get quiet.” – Jane Lightworker
41. “All empaths can feel if someone is genuine or not. Unaware empaths often disregard the red flags. Empowered empaths listen to their intuition right away.” – Jane Lightworker
42. “Being an empath is a huge asset when you learn to manage it.” –Judith Ofloff
43. “Some people are far more cognizant than others but sensitivity has its own cross to bear and ample insight, in many cases, can bring on disquietude.” ― Donna Lynn Hope
44. “Emotional empathy is what motivates us to help others. “-Brian Goldman
45. “We can influence a person and actually change a person’s thinking by the words we use. We can show kindness and empathy by the phrases we use and the actions we take.” Catherine Pulsifer
46. “Empathy is a respectful understanding of what others are experiencing.” – Marshall B. Rosenberg
47. “There’s nothing that inspires that deep sense of belonging like shared empathy!” –Brene Brown
48. “Empathy means both understanding others on their own terms and bringing them within the orbit of one’s own experience.” – Jacob A. Belzen
49. “Empathy is connection; it’s a ladder out of the shame hole” – Brené Brown
50. “The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy.” – Meryl Streep
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51. “If it is not tempered by compassion, and empathy, reason can lead men and women into a moral void.” – Karen Armstrong
52. “Empathy represents the foundation skill for all the social competencies important for work.” – Daniel Goleman
53. “Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” -Albert Einstein
54. “I want us to organize, to tell the personal stories that create empathy, which is the most revolutionary emotion.“ — Gloria Steinem
Intuitive Empath Quotes
Empaths often rely more on their intuition than on logic or groupthink. Lean into that with the following quotes.
55. “I know a beautiful soul when I feel one. The empath in me honors the authentic in you.” ― Melody Lee
56. “Because of their sacred gift of translating and embodying energy, empaths are able to spot their soul mates or twin flames a mile away.” ― Aletheia Luna
57. “As empaths, we are not here to be sponges or enablers. We are here to be helpers, guides, and supporters.” – Aletheia Luna
58. “The empath helps others by absorbing some of their pain, but who helps the empath?” ― Donna Lynn Hope
59. “As empaths, one of the quickest ways to completely losing our grounding in reality is by deferring our needs and wants in relationships.” ― Mateo Sol
60. “You will never say goodbye to the past, until you understand why the flashbacks haunt you.” ― Shannon L. Alder
61. “I understand now that I’m not a mess but a deeply feeling person in a messy world. I explain that now, when someone asks me why I cry so often, “For the same reason I laugh so often – because I’m paying attention.” – Glennon Doyle Melton
62. “All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart.” — Tahereh Mafi
63. “I do not ask the wounded person how he feels, I myself become the wounded person.” — Walt Whitman
64. “We empaths have many marvelous traits. We have huge hearts and the instinct to help others in need or who are less fortunate.”― Judith Orloff
65. “Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?”― Henry David Thoreau
66. “Derived from the Greek word “em” (in) and “pathos” (feeling), the term “empath” refers to a person who is able to “feel into” the feelings of others.” – Mateo Sol
67. “Speaking the truth is often a struggle for an Empath. The last thing they want to do is cause pain or conflict for others.” – Judi Eisner
68. “One of the greatest advantages of being an empath is that experiencing a spiritual awakening is virtually inevitable. In other words, spiritually awakening seems to be written into our DNA.” – Aletheia Luna
69. “Being an empath is like seeing with the soul.” – Dean Koontz
70. “Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another, and feeling with the heart of another.” – Alfred Adler
71. “Empaths travel the path of the heart. They are driven by the desire for transcendental love, connection, passion, and service to others.” – Sherrie Dillard
72. “When you’re deeply sensitive, love is ecstasy. Music is godlike. Heartache is a wide, somatic wound. Visual natural beauty is jewel-drenched, wild bliss. Tension and conflict are muscle tightening and toxic, straight down to the cells.” – Victoria Erickson
73. “You cannot make everyone think and feel as deeply as you do. This is your tragedy as an empath. Because you understand them, but they do not understand you.” – Daniel Saint
74. “If we could look into each other’s heart and understand the unique challenge s each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and care.” – Marvin J. Ashton
75. “Be kinder to yourself, and then let your kindness flood the world.” – Pema Chodron
76. “Never apologize for being sensitive or emotional. Let this be a sign that you’ve got a big heart and aren’t afraid to let others see it. Showing your emotions is a sign of strength.” – Brigitte Nicole
77. “The opposite of anger is not calmness. It’s empathy.” – Mehmet Oz
78. “If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.” – Dolly Parton
79. “When you start to develop your powers of empathy and imagination, the whole world opens up to you.” — Susan Sarandon
These “being an empath” quotes can enhance empathy.
Now that you’ve looked through these 79 empath quotes, which ones stood out for you? Which felt familiar, either because they hit home or because they reminded you of someone you know?
Whatever your relationship goals, empathy and self-care go hand-in-hand. You can’t be someone else’s rock if you don’t make time to fortify yourself. Everyone needs time for themselves.
What will you do differently this week?
