Am I An Empath, Did I Inherit This?

Alright, 

So I figure I'll give this a shot. I'm a bit of a sceptic despite many of my experiences and I'm just trying to figure out what's going on.

If anything I probably get this from my mother. Since my grandmother passed away she's been appearing to my mother in her dreams with predictions about the future. 

In my own dreams I have seen deceased relatives of a friend who gave me messages to pass on.

Now what brings me here is mainly what I've been reading about "empaths". I've had experiences before we're I knew what a place or person looked like (accurately) without ever having seen them but lately I've been thinking about how my ability to "empathize" with people. I don't think the way I do this is "normal" like most people. Seeing someone in physical pain is horrible as I feel as though I can feel this pain myself. Seeing someone in emotional pain or torture makes me feel sick to my stomach.

I'm not sure if this is a "disorder" though where I'm just extra sensitive, when I was a child a used to believe that inanimate objects could also feel both physical and emotional pain (is that crazy?). At this  age however I can usually pick up on other peoples emotions pretty easily, but it's not always simple, it's not like if someone is depressed I can tell if they are, sometimes it's much stronger, if someone is really depressed or suicidal I start feeling depressed and suicidal myself.

I can't handle strong emotions because of this. Being around people who are angry and yelling at each other makes me want to leave the room... I can't handle arguments and "games" people play when they're dating for example make me feel physically Ill

My therapist thinks that It's all psychosomatic (I've been Ill for extended periods of time, but couldn't find any physical explanations) so this could be possible. 

I really just don't know what to Make of this or what to do.