Have you ever had a perfectly normal phone conversation with someone, hung up, and suddenly felt anxious or sad for no apparent reason? Or maybe you’ve sat next to a stressed coworker and found yourself inexplicably off afterward, even though your day was going fine?
Here’s a situation you might relate to. You’re having a great morning—productive, energized, positive—until you spend 30 minutes in a meeting with a visibly stressed colleague. Though nothing bad or negative happens in the meeting itself, you leave feeling drained, foggy-headed, and tense in your shoulders. It’s as if someone has suddenly unplugged your battery.
What happened? You weren’t tired before.You haven’t received any bad news.
The answer is both simple and profound: you have absorbed the other person’s energy and emotional state.
This phenomenon isn’t just common—it’s happening to most of us, most of the time. Many of us are walking around carrying emotional baggage that isn’t even ours. And here’s what’s fascinating—this isn’t a character flaw or weakness. It’s actually a sophisticated response that your nervous system has developed, often without your conscious awareness.
Let’s explore 6 surprising signs you might be carrying other people’s energy—and how to finally let it go.
1. Mysterious mood swings that arrive out of nowhere
You’re having a perfectly fine day—productive, balanced, maybe even cheerful—when suddenly, for no apparent reason, you feel anxious, irritable, or sad. You can’t pinpoint why your mood shifted; nothing happened to trigger these feelings.
What’s really happening:
Your nervous system has picked up and absorbed the emotional state of someone near you—a coworker silently stressing about a deadline, your partner worrying about finances but not mentioning it, or even the collective anxiety in a coffee shop full of strangers.
Think about that for a moment.
How many of your emotional shifts throughout the day aren’t actually yours? Our brains contain specialized mirror neurons that help us understand others by essentially “trying on” their emotional states. This biological mechanism helped our ancestors survive in groups—but in today’s complex world, it can leave you carrying emotional states that aren’t yours to hold.
Freedom Practice:
When a sudden mood shift occurs, pause and place one hand on your heart. Take three deep breaths and ask yourself: “Is this feeling mine or have I absorbed it from someone else?”
Creating this moment of discernment helps your system distinguish between your emotions and those you’ve picked up from others. If the feeling isn’t yours, visualize it dissolving or flowing out of your body with each exhale. Or better yet, do some Tapping to release it!
2. Unexplained physical symptoms that appear after being with certain people
Your body suddenly develops tension headaches, digestive issues, or unusual fatigue—but only in specific environments or after spending time with certain people. There’s no medical explanation for them, and these symptoms mysteriously disappear when you’re alone or with different company.
What’s really happening:
Your body is literally manifesting someone else’s physical or emotional state. This isn’t psychosomatic—it’s your nervous system’s sophisticated capacity to mirror others’ experiences as a form of empathic understanding.
I’ve worked with countless clients who describe this phenomenon—like the woman who consistently developed migraines after visiting her high-strung mother, or the man whose back pain flared up only when meeting with a particular client. Their bodies were literally echoing someone else’s stress or pain as a form of unconscious empathy.
Freedom Practice:
When unexplained physical symptoms arise, especially after being around others, try a simple body scan: Close your eyes, take three deep breaths, and move your awareness through your body from head to toe. For any area of discomfort, gently ask: “Does this sensation belong to me?”
You’ll often intuitively know when you’ve absorbed someone else’s physical state. If the sensation isn’t yours, place your hand on that area and imagine it dissolving with each exhale.
3. Feeling surprisingly exhausted after seemingly simple social interactions
You meet a friend for coffee—a seemingly low-key activity—but afterward feel as drained as if you’d run a marathon. Or perhaps you leave family gatherings needing days to recover, even when there was no obvious conflict or stress.
What’s really happening:
Your system is processing not just the conversation and visible social dynamics, but also the underlying emotional currents, unspoken tensions, and energetic information that others might filter out automatically. It’s like having an extra sensory channel open at all times—one that requires significant energy to process.
Many people attribute this exhaustion to being “introverted” or “sensitive,” but it’s often more specific than that. It’s your body’s way of telling you it’s carrying and processing extra emotional information that isn’t yours to hold.
Freedom Practice:
Create an intentional energy clearing ritual after social interactions. Find a quiet space and take several deep breaths, imagining that with each exhale, you’re releasing any energy that isn’t yours.
You might also try a quick round of Tapping, focusing specifically on releasing absorbed energy. We have a great meditation in The Tapping Solution App called Clearing Negative Energy Picked Up From Others that people just LOVE for this exact purpose.
4. You consistently “know” things about people they haven’t shared
You find yourself accurately sensing when a friend is upset despite their cheerful facade. Or perhaps you “just know” when someone is holding back information, even when they appear completely normal to everyone else. This knowing comes with physical sensations or emotions that feel almost like your own.
What’s really happening:
Your nervous system is picking up on subtle micro-expressions, voice tone shifts, and even physiological changes in others that most people filter out. Your body may actually be mirroring their internal state, giving you direct, physical information about what they’re experiencing but not expressing.
Evolutionarily, this came in handy for staying safe and connected with your tribe – the more you know about what’s going on with those around you, the better able you are to stay aware of potential threats.
Many people have experienced this phenomenon at social gatherings. Have you ever been at a party where everyone was laughing and seemingly having a great time, yet you kept feeling waves of sadness from one particular person? Later, you might discover they were going through a significant life challenge they hadn’t shared with anyone there.
Freedom Practice:
When you sense something about someone that they haven’t expressed, create some mental distance between their experience and yours. Imagine placing that information in a transparent bubble—you can see it and acknowledge it, but it remains separate from your own emotional field. This creates space for compassionate awareness without absorption.
5. Your emotions intensify or scramble in crowded places
You avoid crowded places not because of social anxiety, but because something more specific happens: your emotions become amplified, confused, or overwhelming in busy environments. Malls, concerts, or busy restaurants leave you feeling emotionally scrambled in ways that take hours to settle.
What’s really happening:
You’re experiencing emotional overload from processing dozens or even hundreds of different energetic signatures simultaneously. Your nervous system is picking up fragments of emotions from everyone around you—the excitement of shoppers, the stress of employees in an office space, the impatience of diners waiting for tables—and attempting to process it all at once.
Have you ever experienced that feeling at a busy shopping center during the holidays? You walk in feeling perfectly fine, and within 20 minutes feel completely exhausted and overwhelmed with conflicting emotions—none of which match your actual mood before entering the space. That’s not just sensory overload—it’s emotional absorption in action.
Freedom Practice:
Before entering social spaces, establish an energetic boundary. Imagine yourself surrounded by a permeable shield that allows you to remain connected to others while filtering excessive emotional input. You might visualize this as a bubble of light or set an intention that you’ll remain centered in your own energy field.
Periodically take conscious breaths to reinforce this boundary, reminding yourself: “I am aware of the emotions around me, but I choose which ones to engage with.”
6. Making decisions based on other people’s unspoken needs or emotions
You frequently change your plans, opinions, or choices based on what you sense others want—even when they haven’t expressed these desires. You might say no to an opportunity you were excited about because you somehow “know” your partner is anxious about it, or change your lunch order because you sense the server is overwhelmed, even though they appear perfectly composed.
What’s really happening:
Your system is so attuned to others’ emotional states that you unconsciously prioritize what you perceive as their needs above your own authentic desires. This isn’t just people-pleasing—it’s a deeper form of energy absorption where your own wishes become indistinguishable from what you’re picking up from others.
Freedom Practice:
Before making decisions, especially when others are involved, create a moment of internal stillness. Take a deep breath and silently ask yourself: “What do I truly want in this situation?” and “Am I responding to someone else’s unspoken needs?”
Do some Tapping to clear the energy from others and create clarity of your own. This can create space between your authentic desires and the emotional information you’re picking up from others.
Reclaiming Your Energetic Sovereignty
If several of these signs feel familiar, you’re in good company. Many sensitive, empathic people spend years carrying energy that isn’t theirs, often without realizing it.
The good news? You’re not doomed to be an emotional sponge forever! You can maintain your natural sensitivity while establishing healthier energetic boundaries.
What makes these patterns so challenging is that they operate largely below conscious awareness—they’re automatic responses your nervous system has perfected over time. The key to changing them isn’t willpower or simply “trying harder” to maintain boundaries. Real change happens when you work directly with your nervous system.
This is where Tapping comes in. I’ve found Tapping (also known as EFT) to be particularly powerful for resetting the nervous system when you’re carrying others’ energy. By tapping on specific acupressure points while focusing on releasing absorbed emotions, you send calming signals to your brain’s stress centers.
This helps you let go of what isn’t yours to carry, and over time interrupts the automatic pattern of absorption – helping your nervous system distinguish between your own emotions and those you’ve picked up from others.
In The Tapping Solution App, we’ve created several guided Tapping meditations specifically for sensitive people who tend to absorb others’ energy:
- Clearing Negative Energy Picked Up from Others
- Be Calm in Social Situations Sleep Programming
- Gratitude for Healthy Boundaries
- I Slow Down and Check In With My Needs (Quick Tap)
- I Release the Weight of Others’ Expectations (Quick Tap)
- I Give Myself Permission to Set Healthy Boundaries (Quick Tap)
- I Honor My Sensitive Heart (Quick Tap)
And if you’re interested, go here to read more about “The Sensitive Empath” – a common emotional archetype that relates to absorbing others emotions and energy.
Remember: Your sensitivity isn’t a weakness—it’s a gift that allows you to navigate the world with compassion and insight. The goal isn’t to become less sensitive—it’s to develop the discernment to recognize when you’re carrying energy that isn’t yours, and the skills to release it with love.
Which of these six signs resonates most with you? Have you noticed yourself carrying others’ energy in ways you hadn’t recognized before? Share in the comments!
Until next time… Keep Tapping!
Nick Ortner
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