A Super Feeler’s Experience

I have spent my life as a “super feeler.” A couple years ago, a friend said to me, “You’re an empath.” I had no idea what she was talking about. I started to look into it, and yes indeed, it was a good description of my experience, for the most part.

Now, “empath” and “highly sensitive person” are common, frequently-talked-about buzzwords. I don’t really like labels; however, they do help us sometimes to understand each other’s experience.

I now use “empath” to describe myself sometimes, and I like my original phrase “super feeler.” I feel things so intensely that it has been a burden as well as a gift many days.

Here is a poem I wrote about how I feel being a super feeler.

Under Your Skin

Just under that thin skin of yours is a universe of feelings

One scratch or cut and you can bleed out

Red fast flowing guts of millions of emotions

That aren’t even yours

No shield is ever big enough to protect from the thoughts of others

Even without contact you get filled up with more than you can take

Damn the collective

Jump ship

Go off world

Where you don’t get penetrated by all the feelings others don’t let themselves fully feel.