The Ripple Effect Of Taking On Others' Emotions

Can you relate to a situation where you were feeling fine, but when faced with someone else's heightened emotions, you found yourself adopting and experiencing those emotions as well?

In this episode, I open up about a pivotal moment when I ignored a gut feeling, setting off a series of unfolding events. From the initial tranquility following a car wreck to a sudden, frantic shift in energy, we examine the profound impact of these emotional fluctuations on the unfolding situation. 

As I reflect on the wisdom and insights gained from this experience, I invite you to join me in an exploration of intuition, taking on others' emotions, and the profound lessons inherent in navigating life's unexpected turns. 

The Inner Knowing I Ignored

It was a normal weekday morning and I was thinking about going to a coffee shop to work. I felt an inner nudge to not go but my mind vetoed it and convinced me to go anyways.

I ordered a coffee. It wasn’t good. So I ordered a matcha. Also not good! What the hell?!

This was my favorite coffee shop, but this time, I just felt like I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. This situation brought up a ton of frustration in me - more than felt appropriate for the situation. Of course it’s JUST coffee, but in my body it felt like a much bigger deal.

I knew this was a sign there were old, stuck emotions coming up that needed to be released so once I got to the car, I did my best to feel and release them.

I started driving home. Next thing you know, I’m stuck in dead stop traffic and the car in front of me reverses and hits my car. 

I had no reaction at all to the wreck. I felt calm, neutral and at peace. I got out, began exchanging information with the woman in the other car and peacefully did what needed to be done.

Taking On Other’s Emotions: A Tale Of Unintended Reactions

Because I couldn’t find our insurance in the car, I called my husband. He didn’t take the news well and got upset, frantically and fearfully urging me to make sure I got proof of her admitting fault.

My energy suddenly shifted from calm and neutral to fearful and frantic. Without intending to, I took on his emotions.

It went from feeling like an accident to a conflict, where there was only going to be one winner. I became more defensive and frantically asked the woman to admit fault on video.

I was aware enough to know I’d taken on my husband’s emotions. But the energy was so strong at that point, that I couldn’t help reacting to it.

The Wisdom On The Other Side Of Challenging Experiences

After a good bit of releasing and reflection over the next day, several valuable insights emerged from this experience.

1. I was a vibrational match for the wreck. 

I didn’t listen to my intuition about not going to the coffee shop and a lot of frustration was brewing inside of me. This doesn’t mean I did something “bad” and “fucked it all up”. It just means life was giving me an opportunity to release energy within me that would give me more freedom and wisdom on the other side.

2. Conflict and fear can start out completely innocently

A small seed of fear in one person can spread and escalate. I didn’t intend to get into conflict and as much as I “knew better” than to take on others emotions, I participated in this chain reaction. 

Conflict isn’t always derived from malicious intent. It starts with fear in 1 person and can innocently spread. This doesn’t make it right but I also realized I couldn’t judge it as wrong either. 

3. True wisdom sometimes stems from directly experiencing and processing an event, not from being perfect and “not reacting”

This experience wasn’t about teaching me to not react to fear. It was more about growing awareness and gaining wisdom which happened not by being perfect and not reacting but by reacting and then wisdomizing the experience through release and insight from awareness of the experience.

Sometimes experiencing the situation and reacting is what allows the wisdom to come through. It doesn’t make reacting right, but when we unknowingly do it, we can come out on the other side with more clarity and wisdom.

4. Offering a genuine apology can be really supportive in situations like this

Sometimes it feels good to “out” your mind (or own your humanness in other words) to others involved. To acknowledge and be honest about how you took on fear, projected it and didn’t intend to.

Let your intuition guide you to when it’s appropriate to apologize. And notice if you’re wanting to apologize to get rid of guilt or placate the other person’s emotions. I prefer to release and clear my energy before apologizing so that when I do, it’s genuine and I have no expectation of something in return.

I sent her a text owning my part in the unfolding of the situation. It was a beautiful moment of “yep, we’re all human here”. Instead of judging others when they react, I’ll now have even more humility and compassion because I too, as much as I’ve practiced not reacting hundreds of times with myself and clients, couldn’t control this reaction. And it’s okay. Life was giving me an opportunity for deeper freedom, compassion and wisdom.

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