3 Key Skills Codependents and Empaths Need for a Happy Life

There are 3 key skills codependents and empaths need in order to have a happy, healthy life. And, if you’re a codependent, an empath, or have traits of both personality types, it’s important to know the difference.

Codependents have an undefined sense of self and the need to fix other people. And, empaths may have codependent tendencies, but not all codependents are empaths.

Empaths

An empath is someone with an almost psychic ability to pick up on the mental or emotional state of another person. So, they have a tendency to minimize their own feelings.

Empaths react intensely to how someone feels about them, and therefore, will come across as too accommodating or overly welcoming. In addition, empaths are hypersensitive to what’s happening around them. As a result, they get easily overwhelmed in large crowds.

Many empaths have a hard time setting healthy boundaries. And, because of their generous, often vulnerable, nature they attract narcissists and other emotionally wounded people into their lives.

As a result, empaths often wonder why they find themselves in harmful, dysfunctional relationships.

Empathy Fatigue

Too much empathy, or empathy fatigue, can be detrimental to your well-being. When you lead with your heart rather than your head, you tend to make poor decisions in relationships.

As an empath, you may ignore the potential long-term consequences of your actions and lose perspective of what is best for you.

3 Key Skills Codependents and Empaths Need for a Happy Life!

The Gift of Empathy

You can be an empath and not be codependent, or you can be both. Being an empath doesn’t necessarily mean that you allow yourself to be hurt by others. So, the term empath should not be used interchangeably with codependent.

As an empath, you can develop the coping skills you need to protect your own well-being. It is possible to learn how to empathize without feeling the pain of another person.

As a result, you have a unique ability to support the people in your life in a deep and meaningful way. And, this is a wonderful gift.

Codependents

Codependents feel responsible for rescuing others. They often enable a narcissistic or codependent partner to indulge in unhealthy, underachieving, or addictive behaviors.

They will even jump in to lift someone’s mood because that’s what they have been programmed to do. Most codependents have been wounded in childhood due to abandonment, abuse, or neglect. So, they are always trying to get that unresolved need met and may recreate unhealthy patterns.

A codependent will unconsciously attract narcissists into their lives. And, a narcissist will always take advantage of the codependent’s need for validation and acceptance.

Codependents often fall prey to the belief that the chemistry they feel with the narcissist is true love, or even a soulmate experience.

However, over time, this relationship will become painful and even abusive. Inevitably, the codependent person will feel broken and begin to see the relationship as dysfunctional, unhealthy, and one-sided.

Codependents and Empaths

There are key coping skills codependents and empaths need in order to live a happy, healthy life. That’s because the codependent empath does not only feel other people’s emotions intensely, they dive right in to make everything better. Therefore, if you don’t know how to set healthy boundaries, you risk creating chaos in your own life.

Setting Boundaries

Although you may be a codependent, an empath, or both, you are not here to be a guardian angel. Everyone is on their own unique journey. So, there is no need to assume the role of a protector and try to make life easier for others.

Instead, respect your loved ones by allowing them to face the consequences of their actions. It is not your fault if someone in your life is depressed, addicted, has anger issues, or self-harms.

You do not, and honestly cannot, control them. So, stop blaming yourself for the experiences they create in their own lives.

3 Life Skills Codependents and Empaths Need

1. Don’t Agree to Anything Immediately

When you are a codependent or an empath, your kindness can be taken for weakness. So, a simple, but effective way to take back your power is to not agree to anything in the moment.

Instead, give yourself the luxury of time. That’s because when you change the dynamic of a relationship, you’re actually retraining your brain. And, you’ll need time to develop new neural pathways to reflect this new you.

So, when someone asks you to do something, buy yourself time. You can respond by saying, “I need to check my calendar, let me get back to you tomorrow.” And, then take some time away from the person who asked you.

Consider your schedule and think about how you feel. Ask yourself,

• Do I really have time?
• Does it serve my greater purpose?
• Do I want to do it?
• Is it a good use of my time?
• Do I feel taken advantage of?

Now that you’ve had the chance to reflect on your own needs, you can answer honestly. And, if it’s not something you can do, say no. Speak your truth without feeling as though you have to explain. No is a complete sentence.

While you want to help the people in your life, your first responsibility is to yourself. And, if they get angry, be prepared to accept their reaction without getting dragged in emotionally. This is simply an indication that the relationship is one-sided.

So, in order to continue the friendship or relationship, the dynamics will have to change. And, although it can be difficult at first, now is the best time for you to stand up for yourself and establish healthy boundaries!

2. Eliminate Negativity

As a recovered codependent, and an empath, I’m mindful about who I spend time with and how I spend my time. So, I made some purposeful choices and this shifted my energy and changed my life in a big way!

Here are some helpful ways for you to eliminate the negative and cultivate the positive in your life.

Interacting with the World

The first thing I did was to change the way I interacted with others and the world. This meant I had to limit my interactions with certain people. And now, I make more of an effort to spend time with people who uplift me.

In addition, I spend a lot less time scrolling through social media and watching television. Instead, I try to engage in activities that elevate my life and raise my vibrations.

Finding Balance

There are some key ways you can find harmony in your life and reduce the negativity. For instance, be sure to get enough sleep, hydrate, and nourish your body with healthy, natural foods.

These are crucial ways to maintain balance. Without it, you’ll feel tired, resentful, and unhappy. So, get back to basics by nurturing yourself body, mind, and soul.

Gratitude

If you don’t know where to begin, or you’re struggling to feel better, gratitude is the answer. Gratitude blocks the negative emotions that destroy your happiness. You cannot feel envy, resentment, or regret and gratitude at the same time. They’re incompatible feelings.

Gratitude helps you engage as an active participant in your life. When you’re grateful, you feel abundant and this multiplies the good things in your life.

Schedule Me Time 

Most codependents and empaths need down time in the same way other humans need air. It’s essential to your mental health and even survival. This may sound like an exaggeration, but it’s the reality for a codependent or empath.

Empaths are like energetic sponges, constantly absorbing other people’s emotional pain. Therefore, take time for yourself. Get active and do the things that you love. This will release endorphins and inspire you to keep going.

Spending time in the flow of life returns you to the present. And, because you create your future in the present moment, this is exactly how you manifest an abundant, successful, and happy life.

3. Practice Grounding

Grounding, or earthing, is a therapeutic technique in which you participate in activities that reconnect you to the Earth. And, it is an important tool for codependents and empaths. This practice allows you to shed any residual energy that isn’t serving your highest good.

All you have to do is make direct skin contact with soil, or another conductive surface that’s in direct contact with Earth. The easiest strategy for grounding is to slip off your shoes and take a walk outdoors, in a grassy yard or field, a beach, or a nearby park.

The premise is that electrical charges from the earth have positive effects on your health. And, reconnecting with the Earth can bring you back to a balanced, neutral state. Earthing therapy reduces pain, stress, depression, and fatigue.

I would love to hear about your experiences as a highly sensitive person or codependent. So, feel free to ask questions, comment about what you’ve been through, or let me know what you think about the strategies I introduced in this article. Have you tried any of them, and how have they worked for you?

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Disclosure: Melissa Damiani is a participant in the ShareASale Affiliate Program an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to select merchants, and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking amazon.com. Although I only promote products that I love, use, and have confidence in, always do your own research before purchasing any product or service. Read my disclaimer here.