Informative

Energy vampires and how to stay away from them

Few people find the silver lining in the darkest clouds, but few others are the ones who have a unique ability to look for the darkest lining, even in a rainbow. These people are called energy vampires, who intentionally or unintentionally drain your emotional energy.

They could be anyone. They could be your closest friends, co-workers, family members, or neighbours. They have a unique ability to zap your emotional energy. No matter what you say, they always have a dark, gloomy, negative reply.

Being friendly, you always keep an open mind and try to care about others by listening to them. These energy vampires take disadvantage of it, leaving you exhausted and dry. In this blog, we are taking a closer look at these energy vampires, how to identify them and how to stay away from them.  

 

How to spot the energy vampires?

Zero accountability.

Energy vampires often refuse to take accountability for the bad results. They will always come forward to take credit for something they have very little or none to do with, but when it’s time to take the blame, they will be found nowhere. They are experts in pinning problems and faults on someone else in almost every situation. When the time comes to admit their mistakes, they will give you thousands of excuses and will even try to prove you responsible for the errors they have committed.

Lack of empathy.

Energy vampires simply love to bring everyone down by oversharing their problems with the world. But god forbid someone does the same with them. When someone approaches an energy vampire to share their concern, instead of providing a good, sympathetic ear to them, these energy vampires begin a competition. A competition, proving their problems are way more severe than yours. They diminish your problems and play up their own, draining whatever energy you might have left in you.

Self-absorbed.

These creatures are at their peak of narcissism, lacking the ability to be genuinely happy for someone else. Even if they hear good news about others, they start to think about how they can benefit from it. They live to compete with others in a very unhealthy manner, and they absolutely hate to share the spotlight with others. That is why energy vampires are one of the worst team players.

Drama queen.

Energy vampires absolutely adore drama. They always find themselves in the eye of a catastrophic hurricane, moving from one target to another with their emotional and over-dramatic behaviour. When they come to bite your ear, they expect you to fix this drama by pulling you into it. And after complete exhaustion, when you pacify that drama, they prepare for the next drama, finding a new target.

Pushing your limits of goodness.
Compassionate, good listeners, emotional, or sensitive people are the main prey for the energy vampires. Even the slightest shade of sympathy, and they will cling on to you like a real blood-sucking vampire. During social occasions, they cling to you, monopolising your time and sucking your energy. As a nice person, you feel obligated to give them a shoulder to cry on, and they take advantage of your good nature.

Playing martyr.

Even though energy vampires do not take responsibility for their failures, when they have to do it, they often act like a martyr. They will give you a constant reminder that they have taken a fall for you, and you should be eternally grateful to them for being a scapegoat. They constantly seek emotional support, always blaming others, often pretending to be an innocent lamb lost in the hostile jungle.   

Keeping distance from the energy vampires

What is your body telling you?

When you spend enough time with an energy vampire, your body starts to signalling. You often feel fatigued and drained, pain in the back, neck, or joints. You begin to show behavioural changes like irritation, hot temper, lack of patience, intolerance, etc. Consider your body is telling you to remove yourself from that place.

It’s in your hand.
Energy vampires suck your energy only if you allow them to do so. Remember that you have the power to feel better, and you are the one in control. You have the ability to maintain a safe distance from them. Whether to continue the relationship with such people, walk away, give in to their narcissism, or get sucked into their vortex of pity and complaining is in your hand.

Being precise and upfront.
Being straightforward in a nonconfrontational way is the best way to deal with someone who drains your energy regularly. If someone is doing that to you, confront them, but only when you are calm, calculative, and in control of your emotions. Prepare a few talking points, practice beforehand if you must, and then confront these energy vampires so that you can effectively make them understand what they are doing to your mental and physical health without offending them.   

Disconnect yourself.
Being a nice, receptive, and open-minded person should not be taken advantage of. If you feel someone is taking advantage of your decency, it fits well within your rights to take a break from such a relationship. Notice how it feels to be at a distance from such energy vampires. Even after having a break for some time, if you don’t see a change in their behaviour, feel free to break such a damaging relationship.

Set up social boundaries.
If you are a compassionate being, you often give too much of your energy away to these energy vampires. Remember, it is not your duty to make someone feel good by sacrificing your own peace of mind. For better or for worse, you cannot change people. In such cases, do not feel guilty about setting boundaries for such people. An effective way of ditching such energy vampires is to avoid them with the boundaries you set for yourself. Learn to say no to these people.

Control the conversation.
Every group, whether social, professional or family, has one such person who can be identified as an energy vampire. If avoiding them is impossible, the least you can do is steer the conversation to light-hearted topics. When the discussion becomes stressful, negative, or dark, you can change the focus of the discussion. Not to mention, while interacting with energy vampires, having two-three people around you lowers their focus of attention toward you. Whenever you feel like getting stuck in such an energy-draining conversation, include a couple of people more to share the load.

Remember, much of your energy gets released from responding to such people. If you are stuck in the situation, just listen and don’t talk. If you cannot avoid responsibility, ask open questions like how and why to get some positive output from the draining conversation.    

Spirituality.
Let’s face it. Despite all of the above solutions, you cannot be on your guard 24X7 cause it’s emotionally and mentally tiring. Sooner or later, these people will catch you off guard and dampen your spirit. So what to do in such cases?

Spiritual practices like meditation, mantra chanting, chakra balancing, wearing crystals, and performing Puja ceremonies will help restore your body’s depleted energy levels. Meditation helps you keep grounded and creates a protective shield around you to not get disturbed by these external agitators.

Chakra balancing is the form of energy healing that channelizes the energy into seven chakras. It helps you focus on your thoughts and behavioural patterns, on the present, and take decisive actions to bring out the change. Regular practice of chakra balancing will recharge your internal strength, making you feel positive, helpful, and optimistic yet again.

Crystals like alum and tourmaline can help to protect your energy. Tourmaline is a red-black gemstone with spiritual powers to repel negativity. It plays a vital role in protecting your aura. It enhances positive thinking, reducing geopathic stress and strengthening your immune system. Alum has the power to ward off the evil eye, and it absorbs the negative, dark energy lurking around you. Both of these crystals come in handy while shielding yourself from the energy vampires.     

All of us have been there. At some point in our life, we have been pessimistic, dark, and gloomy. Energy vampires often don’t have the slightest idea what they have been imposing on the people. They are not necessarily the bad people but the people stuck in situations with no idea how to get out of them. So, the blog is not for alienating such people but to help them from a safe distance, keeping our sanity, positivity, and energy intact. We hope you have gained some new insight into how to identify and deal with energy vampires.

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