It’s not your imagination. You’re not crazy. You’re an old soul and you suffer because of that.
The world is a lot harder on old souls than it is on young ones. The younger a soul, the less they have to carry around, and the easier life should be for them.
But old souls typically have to deal with things that young souls don’t, because they are reaching back through long lifetimes, trying to finish the lessons they started before.
And that’s not all!
So, if you’re an old soul, here’s the deal:
Old souls suffer so much in life because of 15 main reasons. Let’s talk about them one by one.
1) You are a deeply empathetic person
“Deeply empathic people, or empaths, are often seen as old souls,” according to Healthline.
But what makes you deeply empathetic?
Empathy is defined as “the ability to sense other people’s emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling.”
This means that empaths literally feel others’ pain and that’s why they can understand what someone else is going through.
At the same time, empathy can go a bit too far.
Empathy makes it difficult for you to make decisions in your life. For example, empaths can have a hard time saying no to others. That’s because they can’t stand the thought of causing someone discomfort.
What’s more, empaths are highly susceptible to the needs of others. Even when the situation doesn’t require it, empaths typically feel an obligation to help those in need.
So, this is one of the reasons why old souls suffer so much in life: because of their deep sense of empathy.
2) You are searching for deeper meanings
The second reason why old souls suffer so much in life is that they are searching for deeper meanings in everything and they do it constantly.
According to Catherine Hurst, a writer at the LawOfAttraction, “you are focused on the more meaningful things in life”, which means you tend to see the long-term and the bigger picture.
Simply put, you may overlook the little things and instead focus on more spiritual and philosophical aspects of your life.
And while that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it can make your life much harder because you can struggle to see the various possibilities that come with the daily mundane activities in your life.
For example, you may have a hard time appreciating something simply because it’s ‘the norm.’ Or, you may be oblivious to the beauty of small things in life.
Old souls have big plans, and they can easily let go of the present moment to get to their next big idea.
3) You are attracted to the spiritual side of things
“Old souls are individuals who are usually more spiritually-minded than others their age. They often find themselves drawn to things like meditation, yoga, and other forms of spirituality,” notes AwakeningState.
This means that old souls suffer so much in life because of their attraction to the spiritual side of things and because their mindset is different than that of people their age.
On the one side, you might be tempted to look for signs and omens in the most common of events, which can make it difficult to see what’s really happening in your life.
On the other side, you might feel a strong pull towards ideas and people that share your spiritual beliefs.
In addition, you may be more likely to feel that life is unfair and that there’s more to your existence than just the physical world. And while this may be true, you may find it difficult to connect with others if you don’t share their same view of reality.
And of all these could make you suffer so much in life.
4) You are very different from people your age
Another reason why old souls suffer so much in life is that they are different from people their age.
This means they don’t fall into the same categories that others do.
Awakening State explains it:
“You’re probably not like everyone else your age. You don’t care about the same things and you don’t have the same interests. That’s because you’re not like everyone else. You see life differently from others. And it shows.”
For example, you may be very hardworking, and people your age might not be as dedicated to their job as you are. In fact, they might even be absorbed in excessive partying or other forms of social activities. But you are likely to just work on getting what you want out of life.
And while this is definitely not a bad thing, it makes your life so much harder because you won’t feel connected with people your age and you won’t feel like you belong either. Simply put, old souls don’t fit in in their age group.
5) You are incredibly dedicated to your ideas and values
Another reason why old souls suffer so much in life is that they are incredibly dedicated to their ideas and values. What you believe matters a lot and you feel like you want to spread your beliefs to others around you.
And while this is not necessarily bad either, it makes things harder for you because of all the resistance that might come with it. You might find yourself facing many confusions, doubts, and struggles.
You see, there are so many people that disagree with those things you hold most dear and this could make you feel rejected.
Sarah Regan, spirituality writer and yoga instructor explains it:
“Not only do old souls feel deeply connected to God, spirit, the universe – whatever it is they call it – but they also feel that with nature, the people in their lives, and even strangers.”
In other words, your beliefs put you in a different situation than that of most people.
For example, you might be more spiritual than most people your age and you might be looking for a deeper connection to the spiritual side of the universe. And while that’s fine, it makes everything harder because you might not have anyone to share these ideas with.
6) You want to change or better the world
The sixth reason why old souls suffer so much in life is that they want to change or better the world.
Simply put, you want to make a difference and this makes everything harder for you because it’s not easy to change the world. In fact, it’s quite a big challenge.
“You know you can’t change the world single-handedly, so you focus on making improvements where you can,” explains Healthline.
Can you relate?
This means that old souls’ desire to change the world can make things harder for them because it’s not always easy to make a difference. In fact, most of the time, it doesn’t work out that way, and you end up feeling frustrated and discouraged.
And while this is quite a big challenge, it’s not impossible. You can still make a difference in your own way.
7) You have a strong sense of self-awareness
The seventh reason why old souls suffer so much in life is that they have a strong sense of self-awareness.
According to the Cambridge dictionary, self-awareness means “knowing and understanding yourself very well.”
Simply put, self-awareness is knowing yourself very well, being conscious of your thoughts and feelings, and being able to understand yourself.
And let’s face it, old souls have an extremely developed sense of self-awareness. Don’t you agree?
This means that they all have a strong idea about who they are and what their purpose in life is. And while this is definitely not bad, it can make things harder because they might feel very lonely at times because their experience is so much different.
And as a result, they can become very sad and discouraged, which are reasons for suffering.
8) You are a highly intuitive person
“Your intuition works far better than the intuitions of others. You can sense things people rarely notice,” says Aurora Eliam, writer at Medium.
Simply put, an intuitive person has the ability to notice things and feel things that are not so obvious. They are sensitive to what is happening around them and they have a strong sense of understanding.
And this is another reason why old souls suffer so much in life – they are very sensitive and aware of how things work. They are very likely to read between the lines, ask the right questions, and find hidden messages.
But why is that a bad thing?
For example, your intuition could tell you that your sister’s new boyfriend is actually not a good guy. If you tell your sister about it, she might get mad at you and start looking for fault in you. This is a great example of how your intuition can make matters harder for you.
Another example would be something like discovering a person who inspires you, only to find out that they’re very different from what they preach. In this case, it makes you want to distance yourself from them because of how “fake” they really are.
9) You have a hard time finding love
Here’s another reason why old souls suffer in life – they have a hard time finding love.
According to Tracy Ann, a writer at Pinkvilla, old souls struggle to find love because of the following reasons:
- They don’t like casual dating
- They’re looking for authenticity
- They have complex personalities
- They are looking for soulmates or twin flame
- They have a baggage
Can you relate to any of these reasons?
If you do, then you already suffer because of it. And if you don’t, then you might suffer later on because of them.
Finding love is complicated enough for everyone, but if you have some of the above-mentioned characteristics, then it might be more difficult for you to find that special someone.
But this doesn’t mean that old souls don’t want to find love and have successful relationships in life. In fact, they do, but it’s just that their approach differs from most people’s approach.
10) You are much wiser than other people
What does it really mean to be wise?
Simply put, being wise means having a good understanding of life and knowing how to live your life in the best possible way.
And when does it become a source of suffering?
The most common answer to this question is when other people rely on you for answers.
Here’s what Patricia C. Osei-Oppong, a writer and poet, has to say about this:
“Those people who come to you for advice, though somewhat freaked out by your amazing prophetic powers to impressively offer solutions and predict outcomes, trust you wholeheartedly and don’t doubt your authenticity.”
This means that old souls often have a larger impact on other people, and because of that, it can make them feel responsible and pressured to help others.
Even so, this can be a source of pride for some old souls, but for most of them, it’s a source of suffering because they realize that they’re always being looked up to or making decisions for others.
11) You are inclined to always seek justice
Another consequence of having lived many lives?
You are inclined to always seek justice.
This means that you are more likely to be the person that will stand up for what is right and fair. You do not like to see people suffering, and you usually have a strong desire to help them.
And when this is combined with your empathy and tendency to overthink, you might find yourself in a place that it’s really hard for you to get out of.
So, you might find yourself trapped in a situation that it’s hard to get out of just because you’re trying to help others. And as a result, you can become stressed and anxious.
And these are two more reasons why you might suffer so much in life.
12) You have a lot of karma to deal with
Since you’re an old soul and this means that you’ve lived many lives and have experienced a lot of things, you have a lot of karma to deal with.
To be sure that we’re on the same page, here’s how karma is defined according to the Cambridge Dictionary:
“The force produced by a person’s actions in one life that influences what happens to them in future lives.”
To be more precise, karma is the sum of all your good and bad deeds and experiences that you have accumulated through time.
And you cannot avoid karma because it keeps following you no matter where you go, until and unless you’re able to deal with it completely.
And why is that a source of suffering?
Learning from your mistakes and taking action to fix them is definitely not easy. It requires a lot of courage and hard work.
13) You find it challenging to connect to other people
The next reason why old souls suffer in life is related to their ability to connect to other people.
When you’re an old soul, you connect with other people on a deeper level than most people do.
For example, you are more likely than others to be able to see past outer appearances and judge people by the way they behave and react. You are also more likely to be able to see through their masks and understand when they’re being fake.
But here’s the thing – this ability is both a blessing and a curse. It can make things a lot easier for you, but it can also make things harder for you.
14) You lack a sense of belonging
Let me ask you this:
Do you feel like you belong?
You see, most people don’t really think much about this. They just go on with their lives and try to do the best they can without paying much attention to their sense of belonging. And if you fit into this category, then you are in luck because it can make life easier for you.
But for old souls, this is a lot harder because they feel like they don’t belong anywhere. They feel like all the other people around them are different and that they don’t understand them. This can cause a lot of anxiety and stress, especially in social situations.
15) You find it difficult to express yourself fully
The last reason old souls suffer so much in life is that they find it difficult to express themselves fully.
When you’re an old soul, your emotions are more vivid and intense than other people’s. And because of that, you might find it difficult to express what you really feel.
Your emotions could be so complex that it’s almost impossible for you to be able to describe them in words.
This makes communication not your strong suit. In turn, it could bring you a lot of suffering because you feel that it’s hard to explain yourself or get your emotions or needs across to those around you.
Conclusion
As you can see, being an old soul is not all rainbows and butterflies. There are many reasons why old souls suffer in life.
But, if you’re aware of them, you might be able to handle them and make your life a lot easier.
So, take your time to reflect on these reasons and see which ones resonate with you, and then decide how you want to deal with them.
