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Metaphorically what do you do to protect your hands when you are sensitive to something you need to handle? A common approach is wearing gloves. Does this mean you are any less sensitive? No. Does this dampen your ability to sense? Yes and No. Do you need to fully sense the splinters of wood, the extreme heat of a stove pot, the freezing cold, the harsh chemical you are using to remove paint? NO! You select a barrier because it protects you from a danger while allowing you do use your hands.
Unlike the metaphorical glove you can remain fully aware without needing to fully engage with everything. The metaphorical glove called for here is setting appropriate boundaries. It is probably unnatural to most empaths but you can develop control and skill sensing with boundaries. You can safely experience varying degrees of relationships ranging from deeply intimate, to casual, to passing strangers, to unknowns who pass by who you never consciously become aware of. You do not have to live vulnerable to the whim of every energy you encounter.
More than likely you will slip up and let your guard down from time to time. Like flexing a muscle and building that muscle, fluidity is an integral component. You can break a bone as a consequence of bracing against a force. As time goes on you will get better at it.
What form does the boundary take? Others have mentioned some traits. Part of it is a state of mind, a knowing you are protected. Being centered/grounded is essential. Do things that lead you to feel good on multiple levels. Cultivate a flourishing YOU (i.e. set attainable/realistic goals and enjoy attaining them then raise the bar, get adequate rest, eat a healthy diet, nurture healthy interaction with people, think of everything as a spoke of a wheel and develop the shorter spokes so your wheel rolls smoothly.....and work all of them to grow the wheel, nurture your physical/emotional/intellectual/psychological/spiritual body, etc.). Predatory energies prey upon the weak and vulnerable so be the Captain instead of the deckhand of your own ship.
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