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China Elevator Stories
Empaths and the Invisible Signals Human Beings Send
Empaths read energy instantly.
17/03/2025
Ruth Silbermayr
Author
One thing narcissists commonly do is called “future faking.” This is when they pretend they will do something in the future but never follow through.
In my case, my ex-husband convinced me that we would move to Austria with our children. I believed him and moved there first to prepare his residence permit—only to later realize he had no intention of coming. Right now, he’s doing the same thing, claiming he’ll let our children move to Austria in three years, but I know better.
Narcissists don’t just future fake—some also fake past and present events. A sociopathic stalker I’ve dealt with, who is schizophrenic, fabricates false realities constantly. He claims to be successful, own a major company, and that he is highly sensitive and an empath—even though his lack of empathy make that impossible. He even pretends we are in a relationship and part of the same group. It’s like he lives in an alternate reality and tries to pull me into it. No matter how many times I tell him I want nothing to do with him, he ignores me completely.
According to choosingtherapy.com,
highly sensitive persons (HSP) are ultra-aware of sensory input, other people, and their environment. Heightened sensitivity is a personality trait often resulting in increased conscientiousness, meticulousness, and empathy.
Highly sensitive people (sometimes known as hyper-sensitive people) have higher rates of general sensitivity to the world around them. (…)
Highly sensitive person traits may include:
Sensitivity to lights and sounds
Sensitivity to caffeine and medications
Feelings of being overwhelmed by crowded places
Feeling more drained than others after spending time with people
Affected by the energy and moods of the people around them
Startling easily
Difficulty with transitions and change
Avoiding violence in television and movies
He also distorts his identity to fit in. Another person and I were discussing being highly sensitive, and we both recognized that the other was an HSP based on behavior. When he realized this, he wanted to be part of that “cool group.” He repeatedly claimed to be highly sensitive and empathic, becoming quite hysterical when I pointed out that it was obvious he wasn’t—that he simply wanted others to believe this about him without actually possessing these traits. In his mind, these were desirable traits, which is why he felt the need to “fake” having them. He probably thought I would think more highly of him if he pretended to have qualities he didn’t actually possess.
Isn’t it funny how someone would think that? Usually, the mere fact that a person lies about such insignificant things would already make me disinterested in this particular individual.
He also lied about other things. He tried to impress me by claiming that the two of us were very similar, even though we were actually nothing alike. We couldn’t have been more different. He had already stalked me before approaching me and knew certain details about my life, such as the fact that I had been married to a narcissist. He initially claimed he was healing from his ex-fiancée, who had been a narcissist. He knew very well that he was a malignant narcissist because he had studied narcissism to protect himself from other narcissists.
He also claimed that his mother had raped him repeatedly when he was eight years old. An empathic person would feel pity if a man confided in her about being raped as a child, and wouldn’t usually think that a normal person would lie about such a severe occurrence. It’s easy to see that he is a sociopath because he doesn’t feel guilty about lying about something as extreme as being raped as a child.
It took another person who knew him to tell me that his lies weren’t the truth. Usually, when someone shares details about their past, how are we supposed to discern that it isn’t the truth? We can’t.
His actions told a different story—he lacked emotional awareness, showed no genuine empathy, and constantly did things that overwhelmed me as a highly sensitive person. I still feel completely drained from enduring his histrionic and narcissistic behavior—his outbursts, constant drama, intense emotions, and complete disregard for the need for quiet.
His emotions are always extreme, swinging wildly like a pendulum. He refuses to let others remain calm or balanced—if you are at peace, he will provoke you until you aren’t. It’s as if he needs everything to be chaotic and extreme, particularly other people’s emotions. He especially cannot tolerate introverts who seek solitude, as if their very existence threatens him. Anything different from him must be erased. The way he has tried to erase my sense of self has been deeply damaging.
When you tell him that the way he behaves emotionally is extreme and too much for others to handle, he’ll blame you for “not feeling enough”—for not having the “correct” emotions when you’re simply quiet and neutral, rather than consumed by out-of-control feelings like he constantly is.
A person like him, who doesn’t process his own emotions but constantly provokes others and pushes his emotions onto them, will inevitably create more extreme emotions in those around him. His engulfing nature leads to a feeling of suffocation—of not being able to breathe—for the person experiencing it.
Believe me, I’ve tried everything to regain some energy—Vitamin C, Vitamin B, iron supplements, eating meat daily (my sleep hasn’t been very healthy lately either; being stalked causes a lot of anxiety and sleepless nights. Though I’ve tried healing these triggers, the stalking is simply too much—too extreme, too intense, a bit much to handle for one person, really)—but this energy vampire is incredibly draining to have around. If he doesn’t leave my life, I’m certain no amount of vitamins or meat will replenish my energy levels.
If you are constantly being violently attacked, bullied, and harassed for being an introvert, a woman, and an empath, then, in the end, the person who needs to be eliminated from your life is the one who repeatedly attacks you—the one who is wasting your energy and acting as though you have an endless amount of it to spend on him and his insignificant issues, rather than on the major challenges in your life. If a stalker never leaves you alone, you will never be able to get your life back on track.
Being an HSP and an empath refers to two different personality traits, but both can exist within the same person. An HSP doesn’t have to be an empath, but an empath is usually also an HSP. According to chakracenter.org:
Most experts agree all empaths are highly sensitive, but not all highly sensitive people are empaths. Here’s the distinction:
A HSP is sensitive and primarily reactive to the energy around them. Dr. Elaine Aron, the originator of the term, defines it this way:
“A Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) has a sensitive nervous system, is aware of subtleties in his/her surroundings, and is more easily overwhelmed when in a highly stimulating environment.”
While all empaths are highly sensitive to energy, the difference is in their ability to feel and perceive another person’s actual feelings. Empaths, therefore, are more extrasensory and possess at least one significant gift for directly experiencing what it is like to be in the emotional/mental/or physical body of another– literally feeling what the other is experiencing.
This is not to be confused with basic empathy. All humans have the ability to empathize (minus sociopaths, which is an inability to comprehend another’s emotions). Example: If a friend looses their child, most humans have the ability to empathize with the tragedy, even if they themselves have never experienced a significant loss. An empath, on the other hand, might literally feel what the friend is going through in their body – the anxiety, sadness, and emotional pain mimicking in the empaths system as if they themselves were directly experiencing the loss.
This particular stalker constantly tried to analyze my natural reactions—such as discomfort with loud noises or people shouting—as if they were irrational problems. In his mind, these were issues that no one else had, and I was the only one struggling with them (I’m talking about loud noises I have to hear all day long, not for a short period of time). He saw them as something that needed to be “fixed” so I could blend into my surroundings—where everyone acted like him, feeling completely at ease with loud, obnoxious incels—rather than recognizing them as innate traits of a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). This only proved that he wasn’t highly sensitive at all.
In my experience, HSPs are very common. Some go undetected, like my dad, who passed away in 2021 after suffering a heart attack. But they are certainly very common, probably much more common than the official number would suggest, and not as much of an exception as some would assume. Now certainly, there is a scale, with some HSPs being more sensitive than others, but usually, a real HSP will find it easy to detect if another person is highly sensitive or just claims to be.
He also relentlessly floods me with his extreme emotions—not that I ever allowed him to do so, it can be extremely harmful for a sensitive system. If you truly understand and accept high sensitivity, you wouldn’t feel the need to “fight” HSPs or empaths for their inborn traits, as if they were some kind of extremely powerful and dangerous people who needed to be eliminated. Rather, you would recognize them as a natural part of humanity and understand that an HSP is perfectly designed, just as nature intended.
If someone falsely claims to be an HSP, it eventually becomes obvious—especially to those who actually are. I can easily recognize HSPs within my family, even if they don’t realize it themselves. Some key signs include:
- Feeling overwhelmed in crowds
- Sensitivity to noise
- Experiencing exhaustion from activities that don’t drain others, like commuting
- A nervous system that frequently shows signs of stress
Empaths, in particular, have an acute ability to sense people’s emotions. They automatically pick up on energy shifts, body language, and unspoken messages. They also tend to scan conversations for hidden meanings, especially when someone’s words don’t match their true intentions. This can be exhausting, especially when dealing with manipulators, liars, or people who create unnecessary drama.
Some empaths also have an internal ‘narcissist scanner’ that allows them to quickly pick up on toxic personalities. This heightened awareness can sometimes make them targets of narcissists, as empaths tend to set boundaries when those boundaries are violated to conserve their energy—something narcissists resist, often reacting with hostility. But if you don’t naturally have these traits, that’s okay! Please don’t feel like you have to. Being an HSP or an empath isn’t a special badge of honor—it’s simply how we’re wired (like having different hardware, so to speak). In fact, many of us would gladly trade places with those who don’t experience the world this way.
A few days ago, I was selling some of my belongings in preparation for a move. As I handed a woman her items, I instantly sensed her low self-confidence, exhaustion, and even a possible discomfort with Austrians (she was Asian). She didn’t say any of this outright—it was something I naturally picked up on, an unspoken energy she emitted.
People constantly radiate emotions, whether they realize it or not. As an empath, I absorb these energies automatically, which is why I avoid people who drain me—especially those who refuse to take responsibility for their emotions or issues. When you process your emotions in a healthy way, you don’t project your emotions onto others. If you take responsibility for what you’re responsible for, you won’t radiate that lack of taking responsibility outward onto other people. But if you don’t, that energy spreads, and for empaths, it’s exhausting to be around you if this is your way of going about life.
Are you an HSP or an empath?