How to handle being empathic.

The key to not letting the negativity of others hurt you as a sensitive individual is in learning to identify what feelings you are feeling and what feelings are coming from outside of you.
In crowds, or other places where you feel a mish-mosh of energy coming at you from all directions it might held to shield - either to block out all the vibrations around you, or to concentrate on only one or two others. When people are angry with you, whatever their reason, love yourself enough to forgive yourself and refuse to accept any negative vibrations that people chose to throw at you.
As an Empath, you will find that aside from being able to pick up on other people's emotions, you can pick up on energy emanating from all other living being (including animals, plants, e.t.c. in physical life and in dreams and/or OOBEs), books, letters, people over computer networks, music, art... All beings communicate at an emotional (non-verbal) level through all media, most people are just not conscious of how they are doing so.
In addition to being able to pick up on people's feelings, you can also tune into people's auras, and get a general sense of what the person is all about: are they loving, do they have a lot of anger, are they dabbling in manipulative magick, e.t.c.
The easiest way to do this is through eye contact, though in cases of people with intense autas, eye contact is not even necessary. If eye contact is uncomfortable for you to maintain with a person, don't stop yourself from looking away; your energy just doesnt blend well with that of the person in question, and it is a sign that it is wise to be careful how close you get to them.
At the other extreme, there are people that it feels wonderful to look in the eyes; these are often soulmates (people we have known before in past lives) and the most intense of these soulmates is the Twin Soul (our 'other half' for lack of a better definition). Soulmates are often in deep love for eachother, which is, especially in the case of Twins meeting, almost tangible.
If you do not think that you are already empathic, the ability can be developed. Try to be more conscious of your own feelings, and be more aware of other people's body language. This will give you clues as to their feelings while you are learning to pick up on the energy that different feelings emanate. If you know someone with whom you can talk about this kind of thing, you might want to practice by projecting emotions at eachother, guessing what they are, being careful not to give the emotion away with body language.Over the phone (or computer) is a good place to do this. It's probably best to practice with only positive emotions. If you don't have a friend that you feel comfortable doing things with, just work on it in your daily life, like by trying to guess your friend's mood before they say anything about it. If you are a very shielded person, this will require opening yourself up a bit first.
Are You Empathic?
Are you the type that feels what others around you are feeling? Or do other people's moods affect you? Do you find that you are easily hurt by things that other people see as insignificant? Do you consider yourself sensitive and/or introspective? If so, you are probably empathetic - able to pick up on the feelings of those around you.project to all those around you and they feel what you are feeling? Well, here is the deal about Empaths. We are all empaths to some degree. We all have the abilit to feel and project. But there are empaths out there who are not only stronger, but are more than capable of using this gift in their daily lives.
Do not try to change how people feel around you.It is unethically wrong.How would you like it if someone was trying to change how you feel and what you feel to suit thier needs? The is just a huge "don't do" when given this gift.
Let's look at what the gift is. Empathy is an ability to relate to what people are feeling and to relate to others and what you are feeling. It is 'knowing' what the emotions around you are and being able to put a name on it. Sounds easy? Yes... and no. If you are a closed personality you may never notice what kind of emotional maelstrom is around you. This is not a bad thing, mind you. There are worse things in the world, But if you are open to the emotions that are around you, if you can feel them as vividly as your own, then you have an opportunity to learn about and understand those around you.
Ethics of Empathy Let's look at using the gift in a well-adjusted and ethical manner. Firstly, NEVER EVER use the gift to change someone's feelings and emotions. Like I said before, it's WRONG. Like magick, it can and WILL rebound and bite you in the butt. You can not make anyone accept who and what you are.
Remember that everyone around you has the right to feel what they feel and live with what they are feeling. You must be asked for direct intervention. Don't just do it because it seems right at the time. Make sure that you are invited first. Secondly, there are an aweful lot of people in this world who would like to get a hold of you and test your gift. Being tested is one of the most annoying things in the world. The question that really gets to me is, "What am I feeling right now?". Thirdly, always remember that as an empath, you are a very unique person. You have a gift that can be a great thing... or a true burden.