New Empath

I can relate to all of this. I am a male. I'm a Leo. I am an empath. It can be a very challenging gift to live with. Some things that I have found helpful in balancing it out are as follows.
1. Art. I am artistically wired so being creative is huge.
2. TONS OF PRAYER! Especially with other people that have similar gifts. Prayer for me consists of honestly sharing where I am at in that moment and disclosing what is going on in my head vocally to God or what ever you want to call it.
3. 12 Step groups. I go to Alanon and ACA and work the steps thoroughly. If I don't continually do this I get overwhelmed with emotions and loose my ability to function. Also I go a bit crazy:)
4. I write a lot
5. When walking into a new social situation I look for something that I can do that is positive. Like introducing myself to some who is by themselves or picking up litter or whatever. The key word is be of service to my intuition.
6. I sit in the quiet a lot and commune with the silence. Being outside is most effective.
7. I talk to people that I can trust on a regular basis about what is going on with me.
8. I stay away from loose women!

The thing with being an empath is that you are continually 'feeding' your energy/gift out into your immediate environment, be it consciously or subconsciously and it acts as a sort of magnet, that locks onto not onto the emotions of other people in your immediate vacinity (such as a supermarket, library, church etc) but also their own life force. This is how you might find yourself constantly being sought after for advice from family, friends even strangers, as they are subconsciously feeling your own energy feeding into them and telling them that you are someone they can trust and feel comfortable in sharing their problems with.
Being an empath is emotionally and physically draining, because you are constantly sending out your energy, without grounding it or recharging yourself - this leads a lot of empaths to feel happiest most when they are alone and feel anxious when they need to leave the house or interact with groups larger than 5 people. There are some simple ways that you can ground your energy and shut people out when you're feeling drained, from sitting in a chair or on your bed (making sure your feet are firmly on the ground, facing out in front of you) and imaginging a protective light slowly fall over you, starting from your head until it surrounds your entire body and then feeling it slowly sink away into the ground, or taking regular baths or showers (as this not only cleanses your body, but you'll note at times you feel an inner calm wash over you whilst in the shower - that is your spirit energy being cleansed as well).
The ratio of male empaths to female is not great - in fact it more has to do with girls being more open to such things and able to talk about them in a more relaxed way than what we blokes are able to do. Rest assured that you're far from alone in that regard!
I've known I was a strong empath for roughly 11 years but, unfortunately, never knew anyone who coukd help train me in my gift so you should definitely have your parents help train you so you can control your gift and not let it control you.