Am I An Empath? Or Do I Need Medication?

I have always been extremely emotional. I would not consider myself bi-polar. But, my emotions fluctuate very rapidly. One minute I can be crying, and the next minute I am completely happy. I can be high energy one day, and low energy the next (or even a few hours later).

When I was ten years old I was depressed, I prayed to God that he would just let me take on other peoples problems too, because I was already depressed, so it didn't matter if I took their pain as well.

I am a human lie detector. I can tell when someone is lying to me very easily. I feed off of the emotions of others. If someone is depressed, than I feel depressed too. If someone is happy, than I am happy. If I drink alcohol, after the first couple drinks of a beer I feel drunk.

I often finish other peoples sentences, or know what they are going to talk about before they start to talk about it. I just always thought that this was normal, and that I was just smart enough to see the signs and know what they were going to talk about. But, I met this guy online and we talk for hours, and he says it is totally weird that I can finish his sentences and know what he is talking about or going to say before he says it. I kind of just think that maybe I am just seeing obvious clues as to what he is going to say. But, it is not just with him. It is with most people.

I prefer to stay to myself. When I am in large crowds I am very quiet and feel really anxious a lot of the time. I am not shy at all. I just need to know if there is something wrong with me, or if maybe I am empathic?

I am twenty-seven years old, and just thought of this today. I have found that when I pray really hard for something, it often happens. As a child we were really poor, and my parents truck would never start. But, I would close my eyes and pray so hard about it over and over it my mind and it would start every time after that. That kind of stuff happens a lot to me. I just always assumed it was just God answering my prayers.

I sense things about people. Sometimes I don't listen to the thoughts that cross my mind, and I regret it later. For example, when I was sixteen my friend and I decided to shop lift. It was the first time I had ever done anything like that. As I walked into the fitting room I saw a customer pushing a cart towards me. I though to myself. That guy is security. But, I was like, "Why did I think that? Security wouldn't be here. We haven't done anything wrong." Turns out he was, and I learned my lesson that day. That kind of stuff happens to me all the time, and I have finally just learned to trust my intuition.

Anyway, I could be way off base here. But, if for some reason it sounds like I am not, could someone please give me some advice? Is there a book I should read or something? If this is what I am, I would love to learn to develop this more so that I can help others.

I have worked in management and in Human Resources most of my life, and I have always been able to motivate people based on their individual motivations. I am now going to school to be a nurse. I have a huge interest in psychology, and am thinking about getting into nurse psychology.

Thanks so much for any advice.