Empathic Consciousness

Okay, so in my recent quest for knowledge, I'm learning how much I am unskilled as an Empath. I don't have much trouble receiving the information and gaining more information. My problem is I can't turn it off! However, I'm starting to become more aware of how to stop my wild energy display once and for all and focus on me.
To be honest, trying to rein in my tendencies has been bitter sweet. I feel as though I'm denying others something, or that I am turning off something I hold in great value. But I also have to accept the fact that the only way I can really continue helping others, is to give myself a break. The techniques I'm learning do not involve building barriers, which I never felt worked, but becoming more aware of myself.
In fact, I had a real "ah ha" moment just the other day, and it's really only been three days since I started. I was talking to someone, and I realized that I was completely in their aura. I wasn't in myself at all. I became aware and then tried to "sit" inside myself. There was instant relief and comfort being in front of the person. Yet, my immediate problem was that I found it difficult to maintain and also hold a conversation.
Still, I think this was some sort of accomplishment, and I've been trying it out with other people throughout the day. It's kind of funny, trying to stay conscious of myself, (like most non-empaths do without any training) and talking is a bit like patting my head and rubbing my stomach. (I'm not very good at that either). Add thinking, walking, or expression to that and I'm just overloaded.
It might sound silly, but I am just so used to offering up all my energy to everyone I meet that it's hard to withhold that and really be present in myself. Plus, pulling back makes me feel blind. It's strange, but it's almost like I've relied on feeling what the other person is feeling as a way to gauge the conversation. So pulling my aura back, feels like I have no way of understanding and reading the person. It's kind of scary...
I realize that this is all part of the training. I'm certainly going to stick with it. I am already starting to feel better. Every time I pull back into myself, I also am saved from experiencing every pain, fear, anxiety of the other person. Which means I feel like I can actually speak my mind, giving me more confidence.
Yes it feels a bit like stepping into a new world where I don't quite speak the language, but I'm not giving up! I can already tell it's just a matter of time before I'm multi-tasking in my own aura with ease.