The Empath and the Alchemist:
There's the Empath (the negative energy sponge) a subject or sacrificial lamb of the world's emotional baggage. Everybody here was once that or is that (to a degree) and is learning how to not be that to whatever degree the potential of their soul (their shell, the nervous system, and their ego) will allow.

Then there's the Alchemist (a transmuter of energy/emotions) also an Empath. The difference is he/she applies an understanding of universal law (via the 7 Hermetic principles) to the state of his/her emotional body via meditation.

To actively heal or learn to transmute emotional pain into spiritual gain or power (think Christ or Buddha) Here is a link to The Kybalion (A guide to Hermetic philosophy) a must-read for all Empaths. The most important book in my life, the Bible being the 2nd. 
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14209
Here is a guide on my understanding of meditation:  https://afroempath.com/meditation-how-ive-come-to-know-god/
This "gift" is going to seem more like a burden or a curse for a while. Until you learn how to apply the inner sciences to take control of your emotional state, inner peace, and your life as a result.

"The lips of wisdom are closed, except to the ears of Understanding" -The Kybalion
"Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever." - John 2:15-17