Looking for Guidance on Anxiety during readings

[venusinaries_]

Recently I started a small tarot business as I have been practicing on my own for some time and am trying to make some money before moving out. So it’s been about two weeks and I’ve had three readings I’ve done now for three separate people where I start to get a lot of anxiety out of no where. I’m not sure if it’s just me or if I’m picking up on their energy because they’ve all been trauma readings with the exception of one which was for a girl asking if she’d get back with her ex soon. So I’m a little concerned as to why this anxiety is coming out of nowhere and if it’s something that I should or shouldn’t be experiencing during readings. Any insight would be appreciated!

[natty]

Hi Venusinaries im a trained therapist in my main job, i have started tarot reading as-well its something iv wanted to do for ages and have been practising more since may this year,  did readings for close circles before, im hoping to start doing it as paid work soon. Id say if youve picked up on trauma in your readings the anxiety could well be from the anxiety energy your picking up on but to try to discern this better i would ask weather you get anxious before, during or after the reading?

If you feel anxious before the reading this may just be a bit of pre nerves, if your nerves settle as you get into it then could be your own anxiety,  if you get anxious during the reading but not before this will probably let you know this could be your picking up their anxiety. I also do reiki and when i did a reiki practise with someone i wasnt anxious before but i did feel anxious during and when i feed it back to her she said she did have bad anxiety so i use this as a guide.Hope it helps 🙂 x 

Edited November 15, 2020 by natty

[natty]

Ps forgot to say i would go with what you intuatively feel, also if your anxious start to end try to recognise when your anxiety may go up or if you notice it more in certain parts of the reading, if drawn to certain cards anxiety stromger or when talking more about say the trauma as this may also hint to their anxiety energy. If your anxiety reduces over time of doing the readings despite trauma ones then this may be a hint to your own anxiety however like i say intuatively you may know hope this makes sense x

[toby]

hey venus!

while i can't say that i often get anxious during readings, i struggle with a moderate anxiety disorder in my day-to-day life, so i thought i might have a useful bit to say. before i say anything, though, i would practice taking a decent amount of salt with everyone's advice. although some people here may be qualified to give you guidance, many of us are not, and nothing beats talking to your therapist or personal care physician! 

 

natty asked some good clarifying questions about when, exactly, you start noticing your anxiety rising. if you're anything like me, you probably get nervous as you start shuffling, and the initial "oh-****-do-i-remember-what-this-card-means" as you begin laying down what you have pulled for your sitter. it may be useful for you to recognize what anxiety feels like for you, physically, if you haven't considered it already. your body will start trying to signal that you are anxious often before you realize that you actually are. for me, my anxiety often starts as a twisting or drop of my stomach, usually accompanied with shakiness, sweatiness, etc. the earlier i am able to "catch" my anxiety rising, the easier it is for me to start deescalating with coping mechanisms, which leads me to part two!

 

even if you do not have an anxiety disorder, everyone has things that trigger their anxiety. that also means that there are a lot of different coping mechanisms that you can use! while i wouldn't consider Psychology Today to be a super reliable source, i was able to find this cheat sheet of coping skills (link to Psychology Today article "50 Strategies to Beat Anxiety" by Boyes, Ph.D.) that you may find useful, if that isn't something that you've explored already. 

 

i really do wish you the best with your anxiety around readings! im sure you do a wonderful job :))

[natty]

Yeah id agree and as toby has mentioned coping mechanisms can help if it is your anxiety, you can try a short breathing or mediation before the reading to help calm everything.  I have started to do this just 5 mins breathing and i do a short breathe meditation as i find for me it calms my own nerves and anxiety a bit and if i do pick up any feelings in the cards i see what i feel intuatively and if iv calmed mine its easier to feel if this is not mine. As toby says we all get anxious at times but if your an empathic sometimes you can pick up on how someone else is feeling. I think for me which is still a work in progress but im trying to trust  my feelings more so i just did a reading exchange with someone on another website iv joined,  i said i picked up on anxiety in the solar plexus she said she just had reiki and was told the same thing re her anxiety so sometimes it helps to check that and get validation from the person so i knew it wasnt my own i was tapping into hers and there was a card i pulled for her which also hinted anxiety 🙂

Good topic though and it helps to share ideas x

[venusinaries_]

23 hours ago, natty said:

Hi Venusinaries im a trained therapist in my main job, i have started tarot reading as-well its something iv wanted to do for ages and have been practising more since may this year,  did readings for close circles before, im hoping to start doing it as paid work soon. Id say if youve picked up on trauma in your readings the anxiety could well be from the anxiety energy your picking up on but to try to discern this better i would ask weather you get anxious before, during or after the reading?

If you feel anxious before the reading this may just be a bit of pre nerves, if your nerves settle as you get into it then could be your own anxiety,  if you get anxious during the reading but not before this will probably let you know this could be your picking up their anxiety. I also do reiki and when i did a reiki practise with someone i wasnt anxious before but i did feel anxious during and when i feed it back to her she said she did have bad anxiety so i use this as a guide.Hope it helps 🙂 x 

So I don’t ever get anxious before readings, it usually happens during and after the reading and it’s happened during really heavy readings. I was informed by a certified reader somewhere else that I could be an empath picking up on their anxiety? Not sure if this is accurate or not.

[katrinka]

2 hours ago, venusinaries_ said:

So I don’t ever get anxious before readings, it usually happens during and after the reading and it’s happened during really heavy readings. I was informed by a certified reader somewhere else that I could be an empath picking up on their anxiety? Not sure if this is accurate or not.

Well, here's your answer:

 

On 11/15/2020 at 3:14 PM, venusinaries_ said:

I’m not sure if it’s just me or if I’m picking up on their energy because they’ve all been trauma readings with the exception of one which was for a girl asking if she’d get back with her ex soon.

 

While someone asking if they'll get back with their ex may be experiencing anxiety, it's one of those common, everyday questions. It shouldn't have the same effect as a trauma reading. 

Also this:
 

On 11/15/2020 at 3:14 PM, venusinaries_ said:

So it’s been about two weeks

 

I'd chalk it up to inexperience. You aren't used to doing this yet.   It's like everything else.
People have this idea that there's this calm, meditative zone we go into, but it isn't really like that at all. You're dealing with people you usually don't know well. You're also performing. Not exactly like an actor, since there shouldn't be any fakery. But it's still a performance, and your audience has expectations that may or may not be realistic. You have to "think on your feet", so to speak, so it's all kind of edgy.

 

 

[natty]

11 hours ago, venusinaries_ said:

So I don’t ever get anxious before readings, it usually happens during and after the reading and it’s happened during really heavy readings. I was informed by a certified reader somewhere else that I could be an empath picking up on their anxiety? Not sure if this is accurate or not.

It may well be if your an empath you can pick up on how other people feel and there emotions,  if this happens in daily life too for example where you get a certain vibe from someone and turns out it was true and you tend to soak up other peoples emotions and putting yourself in their shoes you could be an empath. I would go with what your gut feeling deep down is telling you as only you will know. Sometimes aswell we all get anxious when starting new things or when theres pressure as katrinka says some anxiety is normal to better decide this see if your anxiety settles over time of reading professionally if it settles it could be yours if it doesnt settle it then id say it could well be their anxiety your picking up on. If your an empath it helps to make sure you have practises that help you to disconnect after readings. I usually say after working with someone that is their thoughts, feelings, emotions not mine, i then ask my angels to help realise it out,  i do this in my therapy also, i have regular salt baths as not only is it relaxing but i have epsom salt baths as it helps clear energies from people iv worked with in the day. I feel better after and less depleted. Going out in nature also helps to keep your own energy high and sometimes i do reiki on myself i can them selfies. Its important especially whem doing heavy readings but i think self care in general in any caring profession where your working with different peoples  issues is important to do, hope this helps 🙂

Edited November 17, 2020 by natty

[venusinaries_]

Okay so to follow up tonight I did a love reading and I started to get really bad right lower back pain during and after the reading. When I asked the client if she or her partner had back pain she responded that they both did and that hers was on her right lower back. I want to just state that this seems like a coincidence but it definitely related to this topic. So I wanted to follow up to see if this was a specific instance if my empath abilities.