I'm at a loss right now, and am not entirely certain what to do next. I could go into my life story, but instead I'll make this short and sweet. I'm an empath, and I HATE it. Picking up strangers' random thoughts, and suffering bouts of depression and euphoria because someone near you is feeling one of those things is not fun.
I've tried various things to deal with those issues. Therapy lead to some heavy drugs that made me loopy, but still allowed me to be able to know things I shouldn't. Medical testing yielded absolutely nothing other than telling me I have excellent health (Yes, I hoped I was just a crazy person, or someone with a brain tumor).
Ignoring the issue, and attempting to block everything out didn't end well either. It worked for awhile (two weeks of blessed mediocracy) but like a dam breaking, the aftermath was terrible. My final step was reluctant acceptance. I can deal with being antisocial. I like animals and plants better than people anyway, they don't lie to you, and don't overwhelm you with a sea of emotion.
So why am I posting this story and asking for help you might ask? Simple. My empath abilities are getting stronger. You would think that given the depth of my hatred for this ability, the powers-that-be would take pity on me, and at least leave me alone. Instead, I receive a steadily more powerful, uncontrollable "gift".
When I was a child, I was just more sensitive to situations, and responded accordingly. Now, I can not only sense emotions, I can HEAR occasional thoughts, and even FEEL (as in physical sensation) other's pain. The bigger the emotional bond with the person, the more I feel from them.
As much as I would love to turn into a hermit with no emotional ties to anything, I am a human being, and want the things most humans want. However, I can't have a normal relationship with anyone, because of this ability. The more it increases, the more I feel like I'm cut off from regular people.
So I was wondering if anyone has any advice on better ways of dealing with this, and possibly ways to prevent the ability from growing any further?