What is the difference between having empathy and being an empath? “Having empathy means our heart goes out to another person in joy or pain,” says Judith Orloff, MD. “But for empaths it goes much further. We actually feel others’ emotions, energy, and physical symptoms in our own bodies, without the usual defenses that most people have.”
With The Empath’s Survival Guide, Dr. Orloff offers a practical tool set to help sensitive people develop healthy coping mechanisms in our high-stimulus world―while fully embracing the empath’s gifts of intuition, compassion, creativity, and spiritual connection.
This practical, empowering, and loving book was created to support empaths and anyone who wants to develop their sensitivities to become more caring people in an often-insensitive world. It helps empaths through their unique challenges and gives loved ones a better understanding of the needs and gifts of the sensitive people in their lives. In this book Dr. Orloff offers crucial practices, including:
• Self-assessment exercises to help you identify your empath type
• Tools for protecting yourself from sensory overload, exhaustion, addictions, and compassion fatigue while replenishing your vital energy
• Simple and effective strategies to stop absorbing stress and physical symptoms from others and protect yourself from narcissists and other energy vampires
• How to find the right work and create relationships that nourish you
• How to navigate intimate relationships without feeling overwhelmed
• Guidance for parenting and raising empathic children
• Awakening the empath’s gift of intuition and deepening your spiritual connection to all living beings
For any sensitive person who’s been told to “grow a thick skin,” this paperback edition of The Empath’s Survival Guide is an invaluable resource for staying fully open while building resilience, exploring your gifts of depth and compassion, and feeling welcome and valued by a world that desperately needs what you have to offer.
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13 reviews for The Empath’s Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People
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Chrissy Kelly –
This book felt like it was written directly for me. It not only explains what it means to be an empath but also gives practical tools for protecting your energy, setting boundaries, and navigating relationships without feeling drained. I appreciated how it mixes science, real examples, and actionable advice instead of just theory. It’s one of those books I’ll keep coming back to whenever I need a reminder that being sensitive is a strength, not a weakness.
Kofi Williams –
I always knew there was something different, yet special about me. For most of my life different meant “wrong.” My highly sensitive spirit struggled through life unknowingly absorbing other people’s energy, suffering a great deal emotionally and wondering why I was so drained and socially awkward despite a brilliant outward smile.
The Empath’s Survival Guide gave me insight and understanding into everything I’ve struggled with since early childhood in a profound and life-changing way. With the understanding I gained from this book I am able to forgive myself for past mistakes and to forgive others. It has also empowered me to make much healthier, guiltless decisions for self care and self preservation.
Dr. Orloff’s work has given me new life and insight into my unique powers as a HSP and an empath. Most importantly, she provides lots of techniques and processes throughout the book for self-care and self protection.
This book has given me a never before insight and understanding of what it truly means to be empathic and in doing so, Dr Orloff’s work has given me an in depth understanding of myself that no other helping profession could provide me.
I am eternally grateful to be able to come to terms with my own beautiful truth rather than the discomfort of attempting to be who and what others thought I should be.
If you are a highly sensitive empath, if you struggle to function in your world, if you feel isolated and misunderstood, if you want deeper self awareness, I strongly urge you to read The Empath’s Survival Guide. It will give you peace of mind, help you cultivate more self love, give yourself grace and equip you to face a world often not so kind to the kindhearted.
An Amazon Customer –
I loved The Empath’s Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People!
It was so full of information and I learn by using as many senses as possible so I read it allowed from the book – seeing and hearing – and I took extensive notes. It was so informative I was taking too many notes; I eventually just highlighted or outlined in the book!
I particularly enjoyed learning how to Center and Protective myself and am practicing as much as I can. I am obese and for years I have tried to lose weight and what the underlying causes were but could not keep it off. Now I am centering and protecting myself for whatever reason and I feel protected! For the first time I believe I am going to be able to lose the weight, which I see now was a form of protection, and keep it off! I lost 41 lbs. last year and am planning on losing another 50 lbs. this year. This is just one little piece of the information shared in this amazing book!
The last two weeks I took the “Become an Intuitive Healer” Workshop, which was taking just one portion of the book, Working in Health Care and Other Helping Professions, in greater detail. It was wonderful to see and hear Dr. Orloff personally and to be able to participate, ask questions and see other’s questions, and to get answers from Dr. Orloff directly.
If you are a sensitive or empathic person, I recommend you get this book! Your life will be changed forever!
I have taken three workshops of Dr. Orloff’s since last year and loved them! If you want to go deeper than her books and get it directly from her, with a group of like-minded people, check out one of her workshops!
Love My Bookish Life –
An excellent guide to the curious, wonderful, confusing, exciting, anxiety inducing world of being an empath. This book helped explain so much, helps you to assess your level of empath tendencies, & gives good basic guidelines and tools on how to deal with that. There is no one size fits all book. This book may be the perfect fit for you, or it may just have a few good useful tools.
CMFitzpatrick –
I’d apologize for the all-caps, but that’s actually how I feel about this book & I’m no longer conforming to others’ feelings. 😉
OK, that’s a bit of a joke based on the book, but I am completely serious about how this guide has changed my life.
I was always a people-pleaser, sacrificing everything including my own identity just so people would like me and/or not leave me. Of course, most of the time I didn’t realize what I was doing and why, but over the past six months I’ve been on a spiritual journey of self-discovery. This book was recommended to me by a dear friend on a similar journey.
This guide isn’t just a one-time read—although of course reading it through at least once is always good. But I’ve marked mine up w/flags, highlighting & pencil comments like a textbook, so I can refer to certain items as needed.
This world isn’t exactly built for is empaths and in many ways our lives are stacked against our sensitivities. But rather than blame everything around us for our unhappiness, etc, we can look within ourselves to understand why we feel and/or do what we do. This guide helps with that and encourages readers to continue (or start!) journeys of self-discovery.
It’s useful to look into past experiences for the purpose of learning lessons, but not to dwell on what we did, or should have, or could have done. This teaches you how to review past actions in an effort to learn from them while also guiding you towards present and future actions that are right for you.
Simply put, unlike a lot of other self-discovery or self-help books, this one isn’t about assigning blame. On the other hand, it encourages readers to take responsibility for their actions, their feelings and their lives. Once we learn how to make the choices that are in our highest good—without just being told what to do or just given the answers—that’s when our actions, feelings/emotions and lives begin to change.
I highly recommend this book to anyone ever told they’re “too sensitive,” or advised to “get a thicker skin.” But I also recommend it to anyone who has ever said or thought those things about someone else.
Empaths are amazing people with truly awesome gifts and perspectives. We empaths just need to learn how to manage our proclivities for our own highest good, which will send positive energy into the world around us.
This book is one of the essentials for your empath tool kit. 💟😊⭐️
Cliente Amazon –
The title is true and i have never been so positive in a review before. Im tremendously grateful for the author for this gift. It has helped me so much as an empath to understand myself and the tools i have at hand. Thank you Judith.
Amazon Customer –
Judith Orloff’s brave and wise words have helped so many people understand their lives, their skills and their needs. She has taught me that empaths have a precious gift which we need to cultivate, and that we also need to learn self-protection at the same time, in order to be able to use those gifts. The world needs more empaths, and Judith gives us the tools to use to shape ourselves into empowered people. She is encouraging, motivating and caring in her approach. This is one of the most important books I’ve ever read.
Jenny luvs –
As soon as I received it a read a few pages and I couldn’t stop laughing and understanding that I was not the only one and it is actually a pretty gift, now just need to learn how to manage it. It helped me also to understand my family members now, cause it seems that I was not the only weirdo in my family. It is a relief!
Ashley Marie –
I like the insight of this book. I first heard about this book on a public radio station. The author did a brief explanation about energy vampires advised taking a shower and remove all the negative energy. I checked the book out from the library. The book was on hold at the library and on a waiting list. I figured the book was in demand. I didn’t have too much time to read it before the due date of the library so I decided to buy my own copy. I figured it’s worth the investment. I feel more empowered by reading this book. I applied some of the author’s steps into practice. I am more aware of my surroundings and conscious of the negative energies in my life. I slowly try to protect myself from the negative energies that sensitive people like me may feed off from. It’s an interesting book. I am glad I have my own copy. The library had the hardcover but I purchased the paperback. The book was reasonably priced. I’ve been into self-help books lately. I am also wary of them. I am careful to I make sure that I have some knowledge about the writer etc. before trying something new. It’s a good buy. In my opinion, this book helps the reader raise awareness of socially draining situations and helps empower a person to be in control of a potentially negative situation. I will look into other books as well. I like the book and I think you’ll be satisfied. I’ll try to submit images of the book when I get a chance. Enjoy
Susan F –
Great book! Very affirming for Empaths
Michael Luikart –
My wife is enjoying the book. A better understanding of her gift. If you feel deeply and waves of emotions a must read,
Love My Bookish Life –
It is interesting that Judith Orloff starts off in her book, ‘The Empath’s Survival Guide’ in saying that empaths have a hyperactive mirror neuron system so that we are able to sense what other people are going through, and that narcissists have empathy deficient disorder. I say we have to be careful as empaths not to get pulled in by a narcissist. I have, and it takes a lot of time to undo it. Save yourself some time for more pleasant life experiences and really learn how to protect yourself as an empath. Dr Judith Orloff covers all aspects of how to do this in the book. You can purchase it as a book, as a kindle ebook or as an audio CD.
Dr. Orloff goes on to talk about how the medical system tries to diagnose empaths as having a disorder. No no no. It is not true. We have very healthy boundaries and are taking care of ourselves. Yes, we empaths almost always sense what is going on with people, and just have to continue to know there is nothing wrong with us, and continue setting those boundaries such as knowing when to leave when we start feeling overwhelmed around someone or a group of people. This is important for all aspects of our health.
I resonate with so many things Dr. Orloff mentioned in her book ‘The Empath’s Survival Guide’. One thing in particular is that she thought it was a good idea to take a separate car when going to an event or party. I always took a separate car when going to parties with someone to be able leave when I felt overwhelmed. I couldn’t stand small talk either. I took side streets, many of the things she mentions that empaths do.
I referred a couple of friends to this important book. One of them bought ‘The Empath’s Survival Guide’ thinking it is just what she needed because she has a client that doesn’t honor her boundaries and she needs help with that. She was so grateful I told her about it.
We as a society should be thinking about teaching this in schools before children go out into the world and it would help in interactions with other kids. Like Dr. Orloff, I too was scared of my own sensitivities in my childhood and tended to withdraw instead. So what did I do after High School? I worked for a Psychiatrist hoping I could also figure out what was wrong with me. I get more out of Dr. Ofloff’s lectures, radio interviews and books that help me now than I did then. Psychiatry has taken a more positive and personal stance, thankfully.
Read and reread this book, ‘The Empath’s Survival Guide, so that you don’t get yourself in situations you don’t want to be in and find an easier way to express yourself. You will be more at ease being an empath.
Enjoy!
Kathy SE
SLH –
Fantástico. Vale a pena. Ensina a parte prática. Não apenas teorias. Torço para ter a versão em português