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As intuitives we've all come across people who seem completely dissociated from their emotional bodies.  To us, they feel jarring because on the outside they appear normal, happy, and even like they have it all, but on the inside, they look hollow and empty.   Underneath the emptiness they can be filled with unresolved grief, fear, anger and deep unworthiness.  Sometimes intuitives can be pulled toward these people out of curiosity to see what's causing the contradiction.  Our clear seeing will either frighten the dissociated person away because we aren't buying their image, or attract the dissociated person right to us because it's a relief to drop the persona.  Because intuitives operate from their hearts, and emotionally dissociated people are separated from their hearts, to us the emotionally dissociated person's efforts at relationship can seem insincere and shallow even though everyone else is responding well to the dissociated person, and even though the emotionally dissociated person is doing or saying all the right things.   

If we're in relationships with emotionally dissociated people it's important to understand the affect they can have on our own energy system.  While intuitives will feel the affects the most, others who don't consider themselves empathic will on some level, too.  On top of this, many beginning intuitives and spiritual seekers are also somewhat out of touch with their emotional body, mostly because we are in a culture that ignores our emotional responses, especially the negative ones.  Our society is competitive and goal driven, which can lead to many great strides in knowledge and technology, but it also tends to reinforce achievement oriented behavior.  Being achievement oriented can lead to being disconnected from our hearts and emotional bodies if we look outside ourselves to see if our achievements please others.  (See the essay, Giving Up Outside Approval---Achievement Oriented.)

The person who is dissociated or disconnected from his emotions literally needs someone to process emotional energy for him in order to function in everyday life.  The emotionally dissociated person tends to attract to him a few others who are extremely empathic and giving.  (See The Giving Persona)   The emotionally dissociated person and the empath make an unconscious energetic contract that can be extremely hard to break.  The empath processes the emotionally dissociated person's unwanted emotional energy for him, usually in exchange for being loved and appreciated, or for being taken care of.   (This is usually unconscious, but sometimes unhealthy empaths make this choice consciously.)  Because our emotions act as our feedback system, signaling us when we are under stress or in danger, the emotionally disconnected person is able to engage in situations that would overwhelm most people.  Emotionally disconnected people need more and more stimulation to feel alive, and so tend to lead stressful daily lives.  Becoming workaholics or being in constant doing mode is very common.  Because their high energy impresses others, the producing and achieving continues.

For the empath in relationship with the emotionally dissociated person, (and most empaths are intuitives with unhealthy boundaries) she is processing her own emotions plus someone else's who's tolerance level for drama and stress is much higher than her own.  When the empath calls the dissociated person on his behavior or lifestyle, the dissociated person will truthfully claim his life isn't dramatic or stressful because he's successfully shifted the energy onto the empath.  Because the energy is not hers, it is difficult to process.  Ironically, as she takes on more and more of the dissociated person's emotional energy, the dissociated person will like her less and less, blaming the empath for her sensitivity, which he needs.   However, since the empath is liked and loved by others, the emotionally dissociated person knows subconsciously that the empath is carrying him in their presentation to the outside world as a couple.  The emotionally dissociated person will hang on to the relationship until all closeness and respect for the empath has vanished, or until it becomes apparent that the support of the empath can no longer help him on his achievement-oriented life goals.

What is ironic is that these people are naturally intuitive, but they are using their intuition to monitor others' responses to them to make sure they are making a good impression.  If they aren't getting the response they want, they will literally do anything to change that, sometimes resorting to outright deceitfulness.  If they cannot change others' minds about them, they will shift into denial that the situation exists at all.  For the intuitive, who has had to work hard at building a strong inner core based on integrity, the dissociated person appears to have no ethics and no inner core at all.  In fact, the dissociated person has substituted outside approval for his inaccessible inner core.  Also, if the beginning intuitive hints that the emotionally dissociated person is lacking his inner core, the dissociated person's feelings will likely turn to disrespect and even hatred.  This is because emotionally dissociated people can not stand to be considered bad or lacking in any way.  It brings them too close to their hidden fears of unworthiness.

It is very common for the relationships of the emotionally disconnected person to be extensions of him and so also models of success, too. For the empath in relationship with the dissociated person, she is seen not for who she is, but for what role she plays.   The most common adjustment I have seen beginning intuitives make is changing their relationships to honor their emotional health.  They usually have a few relationships with dissociated people to rebalance.  As they strengthen their boundaries, they will hear the most objections from the most dissociated people in their lives.  For the dissociated person, they no longer have a recipient for their unwanted energy, but if they actually look at their emotions, they will be overwhelmed by them.  The beginning intuitive's new boundaries can be seen as unnecessary and unreasonable at best or as abandonment and betrayal at worst.

When the intuitive confronts the dissociated person, the dissociated person is literally unable to respond in a way that the intuitive needs.  Usually the dissociated person will reject the intuitive's point of view as ridiculous and completely out of reality.  What's really happening is that the dissociated person is out of reality in a very profound way.  By being disconnected from their inner selves, they cannot properly interpret the emotional signals from others.  And because they've chosen a persona that most of their outside world applauds, they can discount the feedback of the closest people to them when they don't like what their spouses and close friends have to say.  So, both the internal world and the external world offer no genuine feedback for the emotionally disconnected person.

Even if they are not conscious of their emotions, the emotionally dissociated person is still experiencing anger and disappointment, but it's slowly accumulating to a critical mass.  Eventually their souls will lead them into dramatic or even risky behavior in an attempt to wake them up.  This moment of personal crisis, (sometimes mid-life crisis) while messy and painful for everyone around them, can lead to major transformative healing.  Emotionally dissociated people, when forced into their inner selves by losing the career, relationships, and image with which they identify, confront the deep unworthiness and self hatred that led them into taking on a persona in the first place.  This is actually the best thing that can happen to them.  They begin to see outside themselves clearly and understand the effect their actions have on the others around them.  They feel true remorse and regret and realize they are not their persona.  Finally, they are in touch with their hearts and do not take others for granted.  They are still highly motivated individuals, but now the achievement oriented behavior is for self improvement and joy.

For the beginning intuitive dealing with her own emotional dissociation, it is essential to come back into deep relationship with the heart.  For the beginning intuitive in relationship with dissociated people, it's essential to strengthen boundaries so emotional energy is not being passed to her.  Move out of the way as gently as possible and let the emotionally dissociated person awaken on his own.  (See the essay, Forgiveness:Setting Boundaries for how one of my client's dealt with an emotionally dissociated relative.)  Do not try and explain what is "wrong" with the dissociated person; the only way for them to be able to know it is to experience it on their own.  Usually that takes a crisis of a magnitude that intuitives would normally avoid.  It is essential for beginning intuitives to take care of their emotional and psychic health and put enough distance between themselves and these old relationships.

Want to know more?  See 3's and 3 wings in Riso and Hudson's Personality Types

Click here to go to a list of teleconference calls on this subject for the Empath

Coming soon--resources for the Emotionally Dissociated Hero

Coming soon--Resources for the Emotionally Dissociated but not a Hero

Questions from Readers:

Click here for a question on revealing this information to the Hero

Click here for a question on when to leave the Hero/Empath marriage

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