We have all heard of the word empath.
Usually, an empath is someone who can recognize others' emotions by looking at their facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice.
We all know someone who is an extreme empath.
They will ask you what is wrong before you say a word because they just know.
But what if you met someone who did that same thing, then deceived you?
You felt so wanted but they turned the whole situation around to their benefit?
That is what a dark empath does, using manipulation and empathy to lure you in and proceeding to use your vulnerability against you.
In your weakest moment, they strike.
We can consider a dark empath like a predator in the wild; they don't strike you at your toughest moment, but when you turn around, they bite.
It is hard to tell when a dark empath is coming your way.
So stay tuned for some interesting and surprising dark empathy traits.
You might start to reconsider who is truly a dark empath in your life.
Number 1: They have extremely low self-esteem.
It may come as a shock to you to hear that someone who can be considered a kind of narcissist has low self-esteem
but it is very much true.
Dark empaths are known for their incredibly low self-worth.
They appear to have high egos
but they require a vast amount of validation from others to feel like they matter.
They may appear to others to want compliments and attention to inflate their ego, but they just seek them out to have an ego in the first place.
You can tell a dark empath, along with many other signs, by looking for a person who fishes for compliments regularly.
They will purposely say phrases such as, "I just don't feel like I am good enough to do this, I know you and everyone else would agree too."
Or, "It's okay if you don't care about me the same way I care about you."
Then the dark empath can feel their self-esteem ballooning as the other party will begin to go on and on about how great they are and how much they are loved.
This creates a temporary ego for the dark empath.
Usually, these sessions don't last very long as they will need more reassurance and validation eventually.
This will continue to go on and on till they choose to make serious changes in their life.
Number 2: They tell sarcastic, mean jokes.
A dark empath is a lot of things, but funny is not one of them.
Many times a dark empath, despite their ability to understand people's emotions, will sometimes use the victim's pain as a means of humor.
Usually, these jokes are a way for the dark empath to tell that person how they truly feel about them without outright saying it.
Dark empaths want you to feel understood and loved, but they also want you to know that they don't support you or care, and they use humor to reflect that.
They will joke about people they may see as superior to bring them down to the dark empath's level.
They will also joke about people whom they see as inferior to keep them at a lower level.
This is a tactic many dark empaths use to keep people down.
Sometimes their joking around can be considered bullying to others.
When confronted or questioned if they were joking or not, they will act like they are being cornered and become defensive.
Now, will they joke all of the time?
No.
Dark empaths will understand when it is appropriate to make jokes on their terms.
This can mean if they are strategically planning on luring a victim in through empathy and charm, they will use their humor as a meaning of flirting and persuasion.
If they are already hooked on that person and looking to bring them down, that is when the inappropriate humor comes into play.
Number 3: They struggle with their mental health.
As we know already, dark empathy is not considered a mental health disorder, but a personality trait of other mental health disorders.
They struggle with mental health issues themselves.
Since dark empaths have a bigger awareness of emotions and can understand them, they have a more in-depth understanding of their own emotions.
This self-aware mindset can lead to depression or anxiety.
Depression and anxiety are very common in dark empaths and they can struggle with them for their whole life.
But exactly why does someone with traits of narcissism, a high level of self-love disorder, get depressed or get anxious?
Well, they usually suffer from low self-esteem but they also have high expectations of themselves.
That mixed with the need for validation can lead to high levels of anxiety.
People labeled as dark empaths usually score higher on anxiety tests than normal narcissists.
The thing about dark empaths is that they can form friendships and relationships, but they are unable to maintain them, which can cause depression.
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Number 4: They understand your feelings, but then use them against you.
There is a difference between sympathetic and empathetic.
Empathy is understanding why someone is upset and sympathy is understanding from your own perspective.
Dark empaths will seem understanding of your feelings at first.
They may never say if they personally understand where you are coming from, but they understand enough to be there for you in your dark time.
Then eventually they will begin to use your feelings against you.
They use your dark and vulnerable time to manipulate you to get what they want out of you.
The goal of a dark empath is to get you in their control.
That is why it can be harder to spot a dark empath, because of their clever ways of manipulation.
If you know of a dark empath, you know that it is harder to confront them because they will argue that they are understanding and there for you
and they do not understand why you are so upset with them.
The victim is usually gaslighted and played long before they even realize they have been abused.
Number 5: Self-serving in the relationship.
Dark empaths will use their abilities of empathy to get what they want out of their partner.
An example of that would be if you are upset over something your partner did, such as if they said something hurtful or indirectly hurt you and you tell them you are not going to their family dinner.
The dark empath will grow to be understanding of your feelings and manipulate you to get you to change your mind.
The victim does not realize that they suddenly grew to be empathetic because they realized that they were wrong.
It's because they needed you to attend dinner that night
and they knew exactly what you wanted to hear to achieve that goal.
Dark empaths will usually only agree to compromise in the relationship if they feel they will benefit more.
Sometimes in relationships you will compromise with your significant other and you still may not be pleased with what you get, but you accept it and move on.
Not dark empaths.
Dark empaths will argue and stand their ground till their end of the compromise works exactly with their needs.
Dark empaths will also act understanding if you are venting to them about how you are upset with them.
They will be understanding until they see the conversation is not leaning towards their favor.
For instance, if they begin to feel attacked or underappreciated, they will turn off the empathy and begin to ignore or be hurtful to the victim.
Dark empaths do not take criticism well.
Number 6: They will gossip about you constantly.
There are many dark empath traits, but one people do not seem to recall or think of is gossiping.
Dark empaths will gossip about others if they feel like they have been hurt by others or they feel inferior to someone.
If a loved one has said something about the dark empath, instead of confronting the loved one about their unhappiness, they will instead go around to others and speak ill of them.
They will begin to do this when they don't get what they want
and it makes them feel better to influence others to not like that person as well.
That will be their end goal to gossip.
It is not to get their feelings off of their chest, but it will be to make sure no one else likes that person as well.
They will never directly confront the other person because they do not want to deal with backlash or a chance they will call them out on the manipulation.
They will be indirectly hurtful and vindictive because it makes them feel better.
Dark empaths will target certain people in the victim’s life that seem to be easily persuaded.
This tactic is used all of the time and
most victims do not know about the gossip until it has reached many people.
Many dark empaths have ruined victims' lives by gossip.
Number 7: They guilt trip people.
This last one is short and to the point.
Dark empaths are known to guilt trip victims to make them feel like a bad person.
Dark empaths, as stated before, do not enjoy confrontation or being made to feel like they are in the wrong.
So they will make the victim feel as guilty as possible when backed into a corner.
They will also use guilt trips to get the victim to do small things they want, for example taking time off work for the day to spend it with them, canceling plans with their family to spend time with the dark empath, or even cutting a friend out of their lives to please that dark empath.
Many victims do not realize how much they are trying to please the dark empath while none of their needs are being met.
They are learning to be conditioned to please the dark empath and do not realize it till it is too late.
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