4 Ways Poetry Can Help Empaths
Being an empath can feel like both a blessing and a curse. Although feeling others’ emotions as if they were your own increases your capacity to empathize with someone’s struggles, this experience can often be emotionally and mentally draining. If you identify as an empath, it’s important to practice self-care, which can help you navigate this complex part of your personality. And what better way to support yourself than through a creative outlet like poetry? To encourage you throughout this process, here are four ways poetry can help empaths.
Poetry Encourages Us to Process Our Emotions
Poetry, like any form of written word, explores human experiences—poets often search for creative ways to communicate their thoughts and emotions. Because poetry encourages us to process our emotions, writing poems is an ideal practice for empaths who regularly feel many emotions simultaneously. Writing poetry, therefore, can allow empaths to let go and make more mental space in their minds.
Poetry Can Help Empaths Establish Boundaries
Establishing boundaries can be challenging for everyone, but this is especially true for empaths. Empaths often feel the need to provide emotional support to whoever needs help, frequently at the expense of themselves. Poetry, though, can help you draw boundaries with others by encouraging you to develop and embrace your own voice, which can translate to real-life moments. For a more in-depth understanding of poetry and boundaries, check out our insightful guide on 5 Ways Poetry Can Teach Us How to Set and Stick to Boundaries.
Poetry Allows Us to Understand Others’ Experiences
When you read someone’s story through poetry, you gain a deeper understanding of their identity, life experiences, and emotions. This can sharpen your ability to detect when you’re feeling your emotions or someone else’s. Similar to reading poetry, if you’re an empath, writing poems is a good way to identify this distinction. Consider writing poetry about your own feelings as well as others, which will help you determine which emotions belong to you vs. another. Reading and writing poetry might also help you recognize the strengths and positive qualities of empaths, allowing you to process these experiences in a more uplifting way.
Poetry is a Self-Care Tool
Since empaths often feel emotions strongly, which can make taking care of oneself challenging, poetry can help you create a self-care practice. Whether you start your day by listening to spoken word, reading a poetry collection on your lunch break, or writing a few poems in the evening, turning to poetry for escapism and emotional expression is a great way to practice self-care. You might even consider taking this a step further by creating a self-care journal.
Hopefully, these points inspire you to incorporate poetry into your self-care journey as an empath. For even more mental health and poetry content, reference our guide on how to write poetry about mental health.
