Summary

An empathic writer recounts their experience of being harassed online after openly sharing their journey as an empath, leading to a broader discussion on the importance of respecting personal boundaries.

Abstract

The author, an emotional empath, has been sharing their experiences on a writing platform, which has resonated with many readers and encouraged others to share their own stories. However, this openness led to harassment from another writer on the platform, who crossed boundaries and attacked the author's mental health after reading their articles on empathy and personal experiences with sexual assault threats. Despite the empath's initial tolerance and attempts to ignore the behavior, the harasser's persistence and personal attacks prompted a strong response from the author, emphasizing the need for respect and the right to peace of mind. The incident also revealed that other writers had similar negative experiences with the same individual, reinforcing the author's stance on setting and maintaining personal boundaries.

Opinions

The author believes in using their empathic gift to nurture and heal, not to engage in negative behavior.
They express a live-and-let-live philosophy and a preference to avoid drama and petty conflicts.
The author initially tolerated the harasser's behavior due to empathy for the individual's claimed personal issues.
They feel that common sense should have led them to block the harasser sooner, but chose to ignore the behavior until it escalated.
The author is disturbed by the harasser's audacity to question their mental health and suggest they were intimidated by past threats of sexual assault.
They reject the harasser's unsolicited concern and pseudo-psychological advice, emphasizing the inappropriateness of such behavior from a stranger.
The author considered quitting the platform due to the toxic environment created by the harassment.
They found strength in solidarity with other writers who had been targeted by the same individual.
The author advocates for speaking up against negative and toxic comments or attacks, asserting that one does not have to endure such treatment in silence.

How I was Harassed for Being an Empath by Another Writer

This is the reason why we don’t like to put ourselves out there

“The worst part of being an empath is. that you are understanding towards everything and everybody. And this also includes the sh*t behavior some people offer you.”

I am an emotional empath. Yes, I was afraid of talking about it for the longest time out of fear of being ridiculed. When I discovered The Know Thyself Heal Thyself publication and the kindred souls here, I knew it was time to put myself out there and relate my experiences.

Thus began a beautiful journey of being open about my life as an empath just shortly after joining this platform around 7 months ago.

My articles may have reached a wide audience but what I am most happy about is the fact that it has motivated many readers to share their experiences as HSP’s and empaths and even inspired some to write about their experiences.

However, I recently found myself a victim of harassment. And it is in part due to me being open about my journey as an empath.

“It is difficult being an empath; you know someone is doing wrong to you but you will try to understand why they are doing it” — @aq10fatma

This is a very difficult write for me because I use my gift to nurture not destroy or attack or malign or harass. I believe in live and let live.

I tend to mind my business and frankly I neither have the time nor the interest to engage in petty attention grabbing antics nor do I have the patience for toxic drama.

Unfortunately, not everyone thinks that way. I am talking about a particular person on this platform who has repeatedly crossed boundaries in the comments section of my articles until they finally burned the fu*king bridge once and for all when they attacked my mental health.

WTF?

And all this while I was tolerant of their behavior because the empath in me is sensitive to the fact that they are not well. Or so they keep claiming in their articles.

And how they took advantage of my kindness!

Common sense dictates that I should have shut them down by blocking their a** as soon as they started in on me. Instead, I chose to ignore it. Finally I said “Don’t, you are crossing a boundary.”

Did they leave well enough alone?

No!

They came right back at me and that was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

In their last comment, they attacked my mental health. They asked me to seek help not only because they had an issue with me being an empath (after they read my article titled “What Does an Empath Look for in a Partner?”) but also because they felt I was intimidated by the guy who threatened me with sexual assault back when I was 13 years old! (This was an article titled “How I Reacted to the Threat of Sexual Assault, not Once but Twice” that I had written in order to raise awareness about this topic.)

Talk about being traumatized yet again!

So now they want to be a concerned friend, parent and psychologist all rolled into one?

Let me think long and hard about it here for an entire millisecond.

No, I’ll pass.

Dude, I don’t know you and you sure as hell don’t know me so again I ask “WTF?”

After reading the last comment from them, I seriously considered quitting writing on this platform. My peace of mind is far more important to me than all this toxic energy coming my way.

I felt distressed, alone and so hurt.

A short while later, I happened across an article from the editor of this other pub I write for. The article stunned me. The pub was temporarily closing doors on account of the fact that one of their writers had gone rogue. (Sounds Hollywoodish, don’t it? Perhaps that is the whole point for all these unnecessary comments — Gimme attention!)

It seems it wasn’t just me but several writers have borne the brunt of this person’s negative comments.

I’d like to think of it as an answer from the universe when I realized that I was not alone. That gave me strength.

This is the answer I posted on that article and the reason why I am putting it here is to raise awareness to the fact that boundaries have to be respected. It is not okay to ignore a stop sign and barge right in like a marauding elephant.

“Blowing out someone else’s candle doesn’t make yours shine any brighter.”

I realize that by writing on a social media platform, I am potentially exposing myself to negative/toxic comments. And yes, in my few months writing on this platform, I have been at the receiving end of some such comments. But none have escalated to the extent that this one did.

Perhaps the saddest thing about this unpleasantness is the fact that this person tried to rationalize what they were doing by saying they are trying to help me because they so like me.

🙄

Fyi: In case ‘they’ didn’t know, I have my family, friends and loved ones to give me all the love and help that I require so I definitely do not need some unwelcome stranger from the internet liking me or ‘helping’ me for that matter.

What I’m trying to convey here is that if you have been the recipient of negative/toxic/inappropriate comments or outright attacks, just know that you are not alone. And you don’t have to suffer in silence.

Speak up.