Empath or Introvert? What’s the Difference?

This is a pretty good question and one that comes up pretty often.

An empath is a person who has the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, often without being affected themselves. (although many empaths definitely can suffer from emotional contagion, and are influenced by the moods/energy and emotions of others in our orbit)

By contrast, an introvert is a person who is more inwardly focused and tends to prefer being alone or in small groups rather than being in large, loud, or highly stimulating environments. While some people may be both an empath and an introvert, these are two distinct personality traits that do not necessarily go hand in hand.