How to Avoid Energy Vampires and Protect Personal Energy?

Having healthy emotions requires you to have a clear understanding of where all the energy you spend every day goes. You meet different people throughout your life, and some of them make you feel better, while others steal all the energy from you. In case after meeting someone you feel totally exhausted, mentally tired, and drained physically, there is a specific psychological phenomenon that happens to you. 

It is always provoked by energy vampires: people who constantly absorb the emotional and physical energy of others in order to satisfy their inner insecurities and narcissistic nature. Knowing how this phenomenon works is the key way to restore your peace, emotions, and health. Read on to learn more about how an energy vampire acts and what you should do next.

Understanding the Energy Vampire

An energy vampire is a person who consciously or subconsciously drains the emotional energy of those around them. They rely on the energy, compassion, and patience of others to satisfy their own emotional needs, draining other people in the process. These people never analyze their internal problems but search for external validation and emotional fulfillment from those who are ready to listen.

Empathic, caring, and sensitive people are their typical targets. If you are the type of person who has always got a caring and sympathetic ear to talk, you possess the necessary qualities that they need most. Although your empathy is a great trait, the toxic personality types use it in the wrong way, trying to get the best out of you by taking your personal energy.

7 Typical Traits and Real-life Behaviors

In order to save yourself from further problems, you should understand how they behave. Energy vampires can be your relatives, spouse, friend, or even work colleague. The following are the main features and signs you should pay attention to:

1. Total Lack of Accountability

Energy vampires cannot take any responsibility for their deeds. In case there is any problem or dispute occurs, they find ways to put the blame on others but not on themselves. They never admit their own fault and leave you carrying the guilt for nothing. For instance, if there are any problems with work, they find a way to blame all of your coworkers, ignoring their inactivity.

Also Check: Black Aura Meaning: Why You Feel Emotionally Drained?

2. Diminishing Your Problem

If you feel that you lack emotional energy and need support, energy vampires make you feel even worse by diminishing your problem. Instead of supporting you, they change the topic in order to make you feel worse. For instance, if you say that you are too busy and tired, an energy vampire will say that even though your job is difficult, his or her situation is much more serious and requires your immediate attention.

3. Exploiting Your Good Nature

Sensitive and caring people cannot ignore other people's suffering. Therefore, they exploit your good nature and try to dominate your time at different events and meetings. As you feel too guilty about refusing to go to lunch with them or answer their evening calls, they constantly press you in order to waste your time but never give anything back.

4. Relying on Guilt Trips and Ultimatums

Shame and guilt are the perfect tools to control sensitive people. An energy vampire makes you feel guilty in order to make you do what they want. They use ultimatums in a manipulative way to make you feel guilty, saying that they will lose it if you do not care about them.

5. Fostering Codependent Relationships

Codependence happens if a relationship uses unhealthy cycles of manipulation and reassurance. Energy vampires use such kind of behavior, especially in romantic or family settings in order to maintain their control. They maintain the cycle of drama in motion to keep you firmly linked with their emotions and it is very hard for you to leave them.

6. Constant Criticism and Bullying

Underneath, energy vampires are actually very insecure. They rely on subtle criticism or even bullying in order to conceal their own insecurities and keep their victims feeling off guard and unstable. By putting you down and making you feel inferior, they protect themselves and make you believe that you always need to prove yourself in order to receive their approval.

7. Direct and Indirect Intimidation

Once the guilt and constant criticism fails to elicit the desired reaction from you, intimidation is used by some individuals. By creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, they can control the room. An intimidating person makes you feel an extremely strong emotional reaction which gives them more power and takes away your vitality.

Practical Approaches to Shield Your Personal Energy

You cannot do anything about the personalities of energy vampires, but you can control your reactions to them. These are the best approaches to shield yourself and stay emotionally balanced:

• Set Clear Boundaries: Make clear the list of those things which you won't tolerate anymore. Try to stay away from all long social gatherings where you are definitely going to become a target of someone's abuse.

• Change Your Expectations: Stop expecting any kind of mutual respect and accountability from those people who never gave you any before. Once they start complaining, give them just a couple of neutral answers instead of emotional involvement or active problem solving.

• Leave Them No Opportunities: Whenever they attempt to invade your life with frequent messages or visits, find some easy way to get out of it. Saying that you are really busy, tired or have other plans leaves no room for them to invade your plans.

• Control Your Emotional Resources: Energy vampires notice your non-verbal signs and facial expressions in order to see whether you are emotionally invested in your conversations. Keeping your answers short and your expressions neutral helps to save your energy.

• Stop Any Contact: If a person completely destroys your life and you have no way to keep it balanced, then getting rid of that person could be the right solution. It might seem drastic, but you should understand that taking care of your mental health is your main goal.
  

Conclusion

Getting back your personal energy implies that you should be able to notice those behaviors, set firm boundaries and be confident in doing so in your best interest. You don't have to take responsibility for the emotional maturity of others or sacrifice your peace to fulfill their needs. Practicing good self-care and avoiding constant drama, as well as establishing mutually supportive relationships will help you to shield yourself.

Ready to protect your energy? Book a healing session with AuraHeal experts and restore your inner balance.