hi again bashue,
i am happy for you that you  have encountered a empathic being,
some appear in your life from time to time, others fades like clouds in a sunny sky,
only to appear later again.
i wish to give you a friendly peace of advice though. in order to guide you.
never attempt to make an  empath out of some one who cannot be.
what this means is that, if you encounter a empathic being. no that their gifts are hard coded, it is not any thing they can change,
the best you can do is to cherish what you found, be happy you found it,
draw from it what you can.
and smile.
because you've been one of  the lucky ones whom some empathic being  gave freely of their  energy to you to make you feel good.
as for them being hurt, of for sure they can,
they can get broken for sure, they can suffer from being used up, from having no more energy,
when that happens,
they'll really suffer, and they can have symptoms, ranging from any thing to including the following, but not limited to.
1. moodiness,
they often will feel moody,
very very moody for unknown reasons,
they'll often feel very icks and bad, not knowing why, but what they do not realize is that its others feelings they are feeling, that is stuck in their fur, so to speak,
let me use a comparison,
pretend just for examples sake, that their ability to sense things, read people, and generally cast about their energy, is like a fine very clean groomed thick fur.
now imagine, this fur, like a soft fur coat, it is soft to the touch, very fluffy and very clean, it even glows a little, and is quite  colorful.
and very nice to look at,

now if you had to wear this cote, eventually as you walk around, outside and in the city,  it will start to accumulate dust and grime, and grit, from out side,
it will slowly over time begin to feel dusty, dirty, and become dull, with  dirt.,
hec, if it had pockets and you carried stuff around, it would feel heavy  as well.

now, pretend for this example that a empath has this sort of orra,
they have a warm soft fur about them, that every ones attracted to, they cleanse every one around them, they make every one feel warm and good.
they spend patience, time, energy and kindness to wards every one.

but, if they themselves are not looked after, not cleansed, not taken care of, their ability will suffer,
they'll become hurting, suffering, wishing for that very same cleansing, but in this harsh world,
the tables are turned on them, because there's  no one that can do this, so they think,

they'll begin to  suffer. they'll not read as effectively, they'll have to expend more energy to work harder to feel accurate, to understand what they feeling.
and soon, they'll brake down.
the weaker ones, will with draw, their  energy's burned out.
and very bad things can happen.
others may try to fix it, and yet the more talented ones. belongs to groups. whom they are fortunate to have people to watch over them, they guard each other, are very close, and can help and cleanse each other.
to cleanse them, to guide and keep them healthy.
but sadly it is a very private matter, and many empathic beings will never tell u about the state they in, you see, if they even think you do not understand the, or if they not sure, they'll not open up. and if you try to push to hard to get close, they'll draw away.
the best you can do, if you want to help such people, is to just be their, and l look at the small things, perhaps they'll eventually pick up on that you honestly wish to help.
they sometimes in there own little world, and when it comes to healing themselves, they are not able to do this,
they good to heal others, but not them selves.
they suffer alone. and often its a very sad state of affairs.
next,
there is even others who, uses training techneecs, to draw energy from various sources to aid them.
they have private meditation options they use.
and last their,  is still those that knows nothing of this.
they are untrained, they are stuck and it is a very difficult place from them to be in.
i wish to also make you aware of the following,
do not confuse compassion, with empathy.
it is very much okay for you to feel very strongly about something, perhaps you feel very sympathetic towards some one, or maybe something, or you feel very much sympathetic towards a cause, or something you believe in.
that is not to be confused with empathy.
empaths cannot be made, they are born.
what this means is that, perhaps some of them energy's remains locked up. guys especially are macho about this, :d :d.
i mean by that, that, there is a stigma that men are not allowed to show emotion. they not allowed to cry, or show they are touched by things.
you guys know what i am talking about here?
you get those ridget folks, that has to always be the rock, and never fall.
well let me tell you. there's nothing wrong with showing what you feel.

many of those rocks, are the ones that may have the empathic gift, but they cant quite go showing it to every one now can they.
any how.
i hope these general tips and advice shall guide you.
feel free to ask if there's any thing you not clear about.
ah and one more thing.
bear in mind that some empathic people are very very private,
any thing you tell them, you should absolutely not, shair  with any one.
often if they tell you, keep this between us, no matter how small the thing is,
be aware that, if you ever brake that, and they find out? your entire trust you build up with them, is gone out the window. and will never be able to be restored.
unless you very very lucky, and do some praying,
please remember that I have over simplified many concepts in this post.
and have really just summarized a lot of things here.
some of them may or may not apply to all empathic beings,
some may even selectively apply.
there is way more. but to keep lengthy posts down. I've given the bare minimum