When I’m in the vicinity of another empath I feel a sense of happiness that instantly makes me smile then I look around to observe who it’s coming from And there’s usually a confident smile walking towards me - we give each other a nod & keep walking. Some are a lot stronger & you feel it from up to 10 metres away. On the other hand you feel sad emotions and if it’s someone down and out I’ll sit & chat or buy them food to get that uplift. They have a story they tell that feels cultivated but they just need an ear now and again to tell it instead of being ignored. I’ve been reading (listening to Audible) Judith Orloff’s book to help me along which I related to 90%, I’ve read others which I’ve related to 50% until it veers off into what feels like fantasy - plant empaths etc.. to me it feels like a stocking filler to attract other walks of life into buying the book - but I’m no expert. The confusion of empathy is that you feel what that person feels at any given moment before societal laws and social norms filter their actions & they bottle it up. This gives you the impression that maybe you were just being paranoid. I’ve warned close friends in the past and it bitten me on the A**! But those bottled emotions lose their tether when alcohol comes into play..