Highs, Lows, & WTF Moments: The Truth About Being an HSP Empath
Written 10.9.22 | Updated July 2025
And Why I Wouldn’t Change a Thing
Surfing the waves of life…
What a f*cking rollercoaster it is to be a High Sensory Empath; especially when it comes to relationships. The pain? Sometimes unbearable. The highs? Blissful beyond description. And still, after each heartbreak, each death of the dream, I somehow stay open to love.
I often find myself asking:
“What’s wrong with me? Why do I keep doing this to myself?”
But then, when the magic hits, when I feel fully met, even briefly, it’s like touching the divine. And I remember: this is what I’m here for.
At 36, I’m man-free, child-free, and still very much in love with freedom; even if it breaks my heart some days. It’s okay to feel both. I love my solitude, but I also crave deep connection. Sharing day trips, nature adventures, a quiet sofa moment… those things still matter to me.
Being a creative empath means some days feel euphoric. Magical. Life-shatteringly beautiful. Like I’m plugged into something bigger than myself. I feel love radiating through me from a stranger’s smile, a bumblebee on a flower, the sound of sea against rock.
And then there are days I wake up and think:
“Why the hell am I still here?”
The lows feel like drowning in emotion that no one else seems to understand. At times, it’s felt like physical pain.
I used to think, surely everyone feels like this?
Spoiler: they don’t.
Some humans are blessed never to have faced the desire to leave this life. My late Gran, apparently never had that thought once. I, on the other hand, have felt it many times. Never acted on it, but I’ve known the ache. My brother, days before his 31st, went all the way. That loss is now tattooed onto my nervous system.
Despite it all, despite the heartbreaks, the disappointments, the suffocating waves, I still have this strange, quiet knowing that the right man must be out there.
And if he’s not?
I’ll still keep going. Because this life, messy, brutal, exquisite, is mine. And it’s worth living.
The day I wrote this, I was processing a fresh break-up. My head was noisy. I wanted to cry, paint, journal, blog, launch my website, lie down, disappear, swim in the sea, scream into the sky, and do absolutely nothing. All at once.
Typical empath day.
But here’s what saved me:
I wasn’t alone.
Over the previous few months, I’d started meeting spectacular HSPs and empaths, people who got it.
Who didn’t flinch when I said,
“Sometimes I wish I was dead… but sometimes I cry with joy just watching a bee land on a flower.”
The intensity is real.
The overwhelm is real.
But so is the beauty.
So is the joy.
So is the magic.
I wouldn’t trade this sensitivity for anything. It gives me access to awe. To love. To the sacred.
While others numb or distract to feel a glimpse of aliveness, I feel it when a stranger makes eye contact or the moon catches on still water.
Would I feel the highs as vividly if I hadn’t met the lows?
Probably not.
And that’s what anchors me.
That, and this quote I remind myself of constantly:
“If you’re going through hell - keep going.”
Winston Churchill
I always come out stronger. More aware. More myself.
The truth is, life isn’t linear. We’re taught it should be, tidy, upward, easy. But it isn’t. Not for anyone. And definitely not for people like us. Mother Nature isn’t linear and neither are we. We have seasons. Monthly. Weekly. Hourly. Be raw, be messy, be REAL. BE YOU!
We bloom.
We wilt.
We shed.
We rise.
So if you’re riding the waves right now - hold on.
You’re not broken.
You’re built for waves.
And you’re not alone.
Keep loving yourself.
Keep meeting your heartfelt needs.
And keep choosing to stay.
Ready to feel more understood, less overwhelmed, and back in your body?
I work with HSPs, empaths, and high-frequency humans who’ve tried it all — but still feel too much.
