I've always been very sensitive; in fact, I was often told I was too sensitive by my family when I was growing up. I have also always been interested in who people are deep down inside, which led me to become a psychologist. I've now been practicing for about six years, and I'm really struggling. I love my job but I find I am totally overwhelmed by the endless problems and issues people bring into my office. I feel their feelings, I get caught up in their anxieties, and I end each day feeling totally wrung out myself. I also have visions of the things they are talking about during our sessions and often just know
what is going to happen with some concern they may be worrying about. Of course, I can't tell them about any of that! Though I love my job, I also dread going in every day because I know it will totally exhaust and overwhelm me. I find I am always thinking of my patients and worrying about how they are doing whether I'm at work or not. Are you the same way? I'm hoping you have some advice that will enable me to continue with my career!
J.
Susyn:
One of the most challenging aspects of being empathic and very sensitive to the emotions of people around you is learning how to protect yourself. When helping people to work through intense thoughts and feelings, it can be difficult to remain balanced ourselves.
Many psychics experience this when they first start their practices. All of us with extra-sensory perception must learn to put boundaries around our involvement with clients while still remaining open enough to help them. This is easier said than done, but if you want to be effective in your career and in your life, you must practice putting limits around your involvement with patients.
It can really help to start the day with a protection meditation. During your meditation, envision yourself surrounded by a translucent bubble or light. This allows you to do your job but creates a spiritual boundary that prevents your patients from taking so much of your energy. Before you meet with a client, visualize this bubble. At the end of the session, bless them as they leave and then turn them back over to the care of Spirit.
Sometimes psychics and psychologists imagine that constantly worrying about their clients actually helps them. In truth, it can hinder our clients' progress by encouraging them to lean on us more heavily than they should. For this reason, you should avoid inviting them to call day or night or working them in for an unplanned session when you already have a full schedule.
I face the same challenges in my career, and have learned over the years how important it is to create and maintain balance with my clients. You must remember to nurture yourself before attending to others' needs. Make sure your personal life doesn't suffer because of your work, and that you maintain activities outside the office that fulfill you. When your own spiritual, emotional, mental and physical needs are being met, you will be able to direct others on how to find good balance in their own lives.
When I first became a psychic, I found a book called Second Sight by Judith Orloff helpful. Like you, she was a practicing psychologist who began to have trouble in her practice because she was also a strong empath. Her story is inspiring; I think you would find it helpful.
Good luck to you in reclaiming your passion for your chosen career!
*****
Mata Maya:
You have many qualities of a great therapist. You are compassionate, sensitive, and truly caring. To have a more comfortable, rewarding, positive experience, in addition to being a psychologist, you will have to become a healer.
By this, I mean that you must learn how to bring others up to your high energy level instead of allowing them to bring you down. To do this, you will have to develop faith that all is well - that everyone is doing whatever they need to be doing and experiencing whatever they need to experience in order to learn what they need to learn in life.
There are many ways to develop this faith, but one of the easiest is to read about things like life between life research and near death experiences, for this information brings this truth to light over and over again.
Next, you will have to learn how to set your own tone and hold the energy of your healing space. With this in mind, perhaps the most powerful thing you could do is get some training as an energy healer. Even if you're not doing energy healing overtly, getting this training will teach you how to control the energy in interactions. It will also empower you to go above and beyond your normal therapeutic approach.
When I find myself in a situation where people are distraught, I will center myself in my knowing that ultimately, all is well. Then I will consciously begin to draw divine healing energy in and send that energy out around me.
This is similar to what needs to happen if we want to save someone from drowning. If we jump into the water and struggle with them, we may both end up going down. Instead, we have to remain calm, clear-headed, and sure-footed so we can throw them a life preserver and draw them back to safety.
When you have someone in your office who is caught up in fear, sorrow, or some other heavy emotion, as you are listening to them tell you their problems, you can bring healing energy into your body and radiate it out to them. Though they may not be aware of what is happening on a conscious level, they will leave your office feeling much better, and you will feel high as a kite.
This is an easy thing to learn how to do; you may even be able to master it in a weekend workshop. Get some energy healing training soon - it will make you a better therapist and a happier person.
2355
Astrea:
Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.
Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!
While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!
I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!
As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.
I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.
You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!
Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.
A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.
You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.