I pick up on others' emotions easily. Sometimes this is helpful, other times it is harmful-to me. If you are stressed, sad, grumpy, anxious, or any of the seven dwarves, it doesn't mean I have to be along with you. I have a hard enough time coping with my emotions let alone yours.
I have to give myself a talk after I feel that familiar tightening of my stomach that says I'm feeling what you are. I can be empathetic to whatever you are going through without going through it too.
For the last few days I have picked up emotions from someone in my life that I'd like to get away from. The best way I know to do this is solitude and silence. Spending time with just myself. Even writing those words, just now, feels selfish.
But logically I know it is not selfish to care for myself. Indeed it is mandatory.
When I first realized I did not have to feel what you do, I was in therapy. I'm embarrassed to admit this realization absolutely floored me. It changed my perception of myself, you and my place in life. What it did, in addition to those things, was to return myself to myself.
If I'm spending time feeling my emotions, not yours, it makes sense I'd get to know my own self better. And that is not selfish either.
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