It seems that at this time you need to work on strengthening your abilities, and learning ways to overcome your limitations, and some of your stress management skills.
I am a psychic medium, have been since I was a toddler, and also suffer PTSD and chronic depression because of some events in my life. (You don’t get to over 50 without at least a few of those.) Anyway, meditation, at least 20 minutes a day helps with my psycho-emotional issues, and strengthens my connection to the spirit world.
As for the empath, carry a grounding stone with you and wear citrine to overcome negative energy. Also, work on your shields. Do a mental dome of mirrors around you when you are in uncomfortable places, or do a mini shield (an invisible Roman-like shield) that you can pop up – hold your hand like you have a pen in your fist and you’re going to press the button on top to pop the pen out. In this case, you push the button and pop up your shield between you and who ever is overwhelming you with their stuff. I taught this to my husband (wide open empath) so that he could survive working in retail, he has a grounding stone in his pocket as well.
It sounds like it would be best for you to wait and work on your abilities, learning to turn them on and off; shielding; and gaining the confidence to work around strangers and different places. You can always get to know several paranormal groups in your area and see about working with them when you can and taking time off when you need it. I have seen many ghost hunters that have 2 or 3 psychic mediums that they work with to keep them from becoming overwhelmed and burned out. This way your dream job doesn’t become a nightmare.
I hope this helps,
Raine at SLCghosts.com