You’ve been told you’re too sensitive and should toughen up to handle this unstable world. Somehow, you know things that others don’t. You feel things that most people can’t. You walk into a room and you know the atmosphere before you even take off your coat. These are signs that you are more empathetic than most.

More often than not, this awareness begins to some degree in early childhood. We tend to shut it down eventually so we can blend in and stop drawing attention to ourselves. Although “Empath” has not yet been officially certified as a psychological designation, it is widely used today and may be more relevant than you think. Perhaps empathy is a latent superpower that can give you an edge.

12 Subtle Signs of People Who Are Deeply Empathetic

1. You have no problem putting yourself in someone else’s shoes

Starting with the most obvious sign of empathy, the ability to understand the experiences of others regardless of your perspective. If this is your superpower, you will naturally have a lot of emotional understanding for others and what they might be going through.

You have no problem putting yourself in someone else’s shoes when someone shares your troubles, and you can feel it so strongly that it feels like it were your life and it was happening to you.

2. Your intuition is accurate more than it misses

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You know that strong feeling you get in your gut when something isn’t quite right? This is your intuition calling out to you to pay attention, like explained by Yinying Wang, Ed.D.

When you know that what someone told you is not the truth, it is intuition. It can even be as simple as taking off your sunglasses even though it hasn’t started raining yet. Or take a different route home only to learn of a major accident on your regular road that has brought traffic to a standstill.

Always listen to your gut. you intuition is your internal GPS and will never lead you astray.

RELATED: The 3 Different Kinds of Empathy—And How to Express Each

3. You are an energetic sponge

Have you ever been around a fight and even though it had nothing to do with you, you walked away feeling of heavinesslike you’ve absorbed it all? You may even experience flu-like symptoms.

Empaths are the most energetic room cleaners in the world. Most of the time, most of them don’t even know what they are doing. The next time you’re in a crowd, imagine putting yourself in a double bubble, the energetic version of Teflon, and watch all the negativity slide off the proverbial duck’s back.

4. People are drawn to telling you their life stories

It’s like having a beacon over your head to let the world know you’re a great listener. It doesn’t even have to be in your inner circle.

You’ll be the one at the party who gets to hear all the stories, and because you’re an empath, you’ll most likely feel like you should sit and listen and try to help, which leads fantastically to number five.

5. Attract energetic vampires

One of the downsides of being highly empathetic will be the involuntary collection of people who want it drain your energy. Often starting out as a tale of woe, you listen kindly before you feel hooked.

The big sign is that once you leave their company, you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders or that life has drained from you. Your friendly vampire will happily jump in the moonlight while singing, “Wow, I always feel so great after spending time with you!”

RELATED: 5 Ways to Shut Down an Emotional Vampire — The Kind of Person That Drains Every Bit of Your Energy

6. You have hyper-tuned senses

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You can smell as good as a bloodhound, hear sounds only cats can hear, and when you’re watching a movie, feel like you’ve been shot when the bad guy goes down. Research led by Marylou Mantel, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, it helps you explain why you feel all these sensations and experience them to a greater degree than other people.

7. The crowds are overwhelming

Your empathic superpowers can make large crowds feel a bit overwhelming, and you may prefer smaller, more intimate settings for your social life. This is why most empaths tend to live a more insular life and choose when and with whom they share their magical space.

8. Mother Nature is your supercharger

Regardless of the view, Mother Nature fills your cup to overflowing, like shown in the research of Lucy E Keniger, Ph.D.. A walk in a forest will take you from blue to bloom. A trip to the beach can turn the tide on your gloomy moods.

Something as simple as sitting and admiring your houseplant will uplift and cleanse you. When in doubt, find a tree and hug it.

9. Peace and love are your preferred setting

As a high-functioning empath, you may find any form of conflict challenging. It’s hard enough to hold and know your center when you’re challenged, let alone when you’re also reading other people’s energy and feelings. It can be intense to decipher what you are and what they are.

10. Sometimes you feel like isolation is your only friend

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Especially if you’ve been in an intense situation, you may have a burning desire to isolate and reset, which is fair enough after being overwhelmed. Meditation is a a fantastic tool for a daily reset if escaping into the woods isn’t in the cards. It’s okay to love your own company.

RELATED: If You’re Feeling Lonely or Isolated, You Need a “Third Place” in Your Life

11. Boundaries tend to be complicated

Boundaries, we all need them, but as an empath they can be difficult creatures to keep, like explored by Ingrid Bachmann and Arly Faundes. As children, we are not always taught boundaries.

Everyone needs healthy boundaries, not just with your energy, but you need them with your personal space as well. One sign to know if your boundaries are good is to see how close people stand to you in a crowd.

If someone is in your personal space, you need to take a long, hard look at your boundaries. A good rule of thumb is an arm stretch above, below, in front, behind, as well as side to side. Think Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man and double your balloon.

12. You have so much love to balance

Empaths have the biggest hearts. They can love the world 100 times over and still have more to give, which is a wonderful and beautiful thing when they are in balance.

When it’s out of balance, hearts get hurt and you can be left wondering why the world cares about you. Just put a few empathic self-care in your daily routine and you will always be full of love that radiates for all to see, and because you are a superhero empath, you have the heart and strength to do it.

Go light up the world!

RELATED: 5 New (and Not-So-New) Spiritual Tools The Most Resilient People Use to Get Over Heartbreak

LouLou Palmer is a professional and personal development coach with over 20 years of experience using science-based therapies, shamanic techniques and other modalities. Her work, profiled on BBC Woman’s Houris based in the UK but is available globally.