Did you get my e-mail or why didn’t you write?

As Empaths, we may often find that we are picking up on feelings that are not connected to us, but misinterpreting them as though they are.

A comment was made to me recently by someone who thought I didn’t like them, and curiously enough, I was thinking the same thing about them.

I’ve realized that many times, over the years, I’ve actually stressed over someone’s respond to my e-mails… or rather, their lack of response.

The problem then becomes, do you try and reach out or do you just let things drop, assuming that you’ve somehow offended them?

Fact is, e-mail (and to a lesser extent letters) are a really horrible way to create friendships, or even maintain them, because life gets in the way.

And by that I mean, we get busy, we forget, or put off responses or worse, miss them completely.

Have you ever thought you sent an e-mail, only to find it still sitting in your draft box months later?

Have you ever read an e-mail, and then totally forgotten to answer it because you had so much else going on?

Have you ever stopping e-mailing someone because they never responded to you last e-mail?

I’m pretty sure that many people have experienced just that.

Problem is that we cease contact because other people have not responded, but the other person might have done the same, simply because they think that you have not responded.

Or they got busy, or they simply forgot because their memory sucks. (Just like mine does.)

I can’t recall the 100s of people who have e-mailed me over the years who have just suddenly stopped doing so without any apparent reason.

Did they miss an e-mail? Did they feel they were bothering me? Did I maybe offend them? Did we misunderstand  or misread what was said? Is their reply still sitting in their draft box?

So many ifs, and we assume the worst.

And if too much time passes, you feel awkward about trying to reconnect or see if they are still interested.

Personally, I have a policy to always respond to all e-mails, comments and feedback, even if it’s just a quick Thank You.

If you don’t get a response from me, it means something has gone wrong.

What is important is some kind of acknowledgement, good or bad. At least you get a sense of what is going on.

No answer or reaction is often much worse than any, and generally, as an Empath, you tend to assume the worst.

I guess, the best thing you can do, if you want to see where someone is at is a quick: So, how’s it going? e-mail .

Of course, you might also find yourself stuck with someone who might end up driving you crazy!