I’ve worked in a few high-pressure projects over the years where it was imperative that you do your job well and you put in all the hours you need to get it done. I can’t say they were always enjoyable roles but I certainly learned a lot about myself and other people in the process. And for that I am profoundly grateful because I have grown exponentially as a result.

In those kinds of environments, people who are energetically sensitive and empathic (yes, you can definitely count me in this group) but unaware of how they respond to energy can often experience ill effects but be unaware of the true cause. This can lead to even more heightened stress, emotional responses, tears, anger and dysfunctional teams in already challenging workplaces.

Energetically sensitive people frequently feel the emotions of others keenly and when they couple that with the challenge of managing their own stress levels (and sometimes, perfectionist people-pleasing tendencies), it can become very messy indeed. After all, if you know the people around you are in pain and you’re in pain too, how can you find a way through?

It is important to understand how to manage your sensitivity in these environments so you can buffer out the energetic turbulence of others and keep yourself in balance. If you are consumed by their stuff you won’t be able to deal with your own or, in the end, provide any useful assistance. I understand this is often easier said than done and I am not suggesting you need to become some cold-hearted robot. But if you’re going to do more than just survive in these environments and you want to be there because you feel it is part of your calling, then you will need to do things differently.

So, where do you start?

Begin to notice how you respond to the energy of the people around you. Does being around someone make you feel less or more stressed. Can you somehow know when they are upset or anxious or happy? Notice how that feels in your body and in your emotional state.

As you do this, you will be raising your awareness and becoming more conscious of how energy works for you. Keep in mind, that other people aren’t responsible for your response to their energy, you are simply picking it up because that is one of your gifts.

When you are sensitive in this way, other people’s energy can wreak havoc on your internal state of being. So how can you manage that?

One of the most useful and simple techniques I have learned (and now teach to my clients) is as follows. If you find yourself feeling overcome by emotions that don’t feel quite right, ask yourself, “Is this mine or someone else’s?” Trust the answer that comes up for you intuitively. Don’t question it, just accept it. And if the answer is, “It’s someone else’s” then simply acknowledge that and say to yourself, “Okay, I’m letting that go and releasing it”. You don’t need to know who it belongs to or why it exists. Just let it go.

This simple practice will help you begin to understand and manage your own energy more effectively and in healthier ways for you.

Of course, there is much more complexity to this topic. Energetic sensitivity is a multi-layered gift that shows up in a multitude of ways. But this practice is a great first step towards helping you to harness your gift so you can live the fullest expression of you and not become a burned out mess in tough work environments.