Knowing how to recognize an Energy Vampire

and how self-reflection can keep them away.

Every year you hear it. People are talking about cleaning up their baggage. Exercising, eating a more balanced diet, ridding themselves of toxic people. I am guilty of the same. I say these things a lot.

You may have certain family members who are so toxic you can literally feel your chest tighten as you walk into a room they occupy. Negativity oozing out of their pores. Every attempt you make to turn the conversation in a more positive direction is countered with an equal, if not greater, attempt to stay steady on the road of negativity.

You feel drained

By the end of a 15 minute conversation all energy has Bern zapped, and family dinner hasn’t even begun. You look for a reason to get up and start a conversation with anyone else in the room. Even your toxic cousin would be a relief to where you currently stand.

This is family. Everyone has a member of their family like this, and it is hard to walk away. You love these people. Your aunty may be toxic, but she also stood by your side while you laid sick in bed for two weeks in the sixth grade with pneumonia.

Knowing your boundaries

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting you keep toxic people in your life because you feel obligated too.

I am all for walking away from anyone who is negatively affecting your personal environment.

You are incharge of your personal space. No one else should be able to come into your personal bubble without permission.

I call these people Energy Vampires. I heard this once years ago on Coast to Coast am with George Noory, and it resonated.

Energy Vampires

Energy Vampires are those individuals whom you feel suck the life force right out of you. Feeding off your energy to support their unhealthy and emotionally immature lifestyle.

These individuals usually have a sense that they are the center of the world. They don’t understand or tolerate any opinion different from their own. Often their lack of empathy is so obvious to all around that it’s easier to just go along with them. Agreeing to disagree is not an option. Energy Vampires will not rest until you agree that their way is right. They will suck up everything they can get from those around them. Yet they believe giving anything away will deprive them of energy.

Energy does not flow freely when a Vampire is in the room. It is sucked inside them and dies.

You are more sensitive to energy than you probably realize. I encourage you to be open to this idea of energy. Mostly because whether you believe in it or not, it is playing a role in your life. Our society moves so fast these days that we can feel our energy drained just doing the normal daily routine.

This is why self-reflection is so important.

Get curious about your own reactions to situations. Understand your emotional capacity. This will help you be aware when you are in the presence of an energy vampire.

Personally I recommend a daily practice in self-reflection. You cannot control what happens outside, but you can tap into yourself and get comfortable from within.

Hiking, yoga, meditation, cycling, cooking, reading, walking, running, puzzles….You find a daily practice That works for you to add into your routine. Adding a self-reflection practice into your day will help you get in tune with your own emotional energy. And will help you to develop into a more emotionally stable human.

Protect your space.

Getting and keeping your environment healthy is so important to how you move through life. It will help your relationships be stronger. Your work ethic will improve because your energy is inline with your thoughts. You will find more harmony all around you. And things like your toxic Aunt will be easier to side step.

If you find yourself in a place in life right now that is not healthy. If you are dealing with depression, self doubt, low self-esteem, or any low energy vibrations, you are more susceptible to vampire attacks. If your inner voice is constantly running in a negative circle, then you might actually be more attracted to the energy vampires around you.

Energy Vampires are smelling you out.

Energy Vampires can smell good company by their low self-esteem. You may get a headache every single time to talk to that one coworker, but it’s someone to complain with. Your employers are idiots after all, and your coworker understands. But why this headache again? Must just be a new thing you’ve developed working in this awful place. It couldn’t possibly be you. Could it?

How they trap you.

We become friends with energy vampires because there is something so attractive about them. They are bold. Clearly they appear to have a high opinion of themselves, and confidence is attractive. Circling closer and closer into your world, they give you a boost of low energy understanding in an otherwise drab environment.

They seem innocent enough at first. You may even feel like you’ve found a new friend. But after awhile you will start to feel trapped. Slowly they begin to uncover your weak spots. Using your own personal ethics and values against you. If it’s not inline with their own agenda you might be caught up in their tangled web. Energy vampires know how to avoid responsibility. Leaving you feeling like you did something wrong.

So why do we keep these people in our lives?

Is it family obligation? Maybe because they sit next to you at the office? Habit? We all have our reasons for keeping these people in our lives. As you start to practice your daily self-reflection, you can begin to untangle the web. Looking inward to go outward.

What is the motivation for keeping this person in your life? What purpose do they serve? Understanding yourself, and getting in touch with your own motivations in life, will help you see the need these people play. Then you can actively choose what needs to be done and where your motivation lies.

Create a protective bubble around you.

When I was 18 I read a book called Clan of the Cave Bear. It’s about a clan of neanderthals who are bound together through many long standing beliefs and traditions. The main character, Ayla, is an outsider who pushed their taboos. There is a moment where she is banished, and the clan literally cannot see her anymore. A hand movement wiggling the fingers from the head down places a veil over the banished.

Whenever I encounter an energy vampire vying for a way in, this is what I do. I refuse to let them take my energy from me. I protect myself by placing an unseen vail around me. They cannot break the vail once it is set. Only I can choose to let them in or not.

This little trick has served me well.

You are in control of your environment when you decide to be incontrol of your thoughts, reactions, and beliefs about your situation.

Energy vampires will always be waiting in the wings. If you decide to keep one in your life, you know you are doing it on your terms. Leaving them just out of reach of breaking the sil you have encased around you.

Having your energy drained just because it’s the easy route will cost you in the long run. Never keep these vampires close because of fear. You are doing no one a service by putting up with this toxic behavior. You set the boundaries for you.

We live in a world full of energy. By taking control of your own thoughts you enter the highway to ride the energy you choose. Separating yourself from the energy you don’t choose. It is a choice after all. Align yourself to the great energy of your soul and you will find the energy vampires lurk somewhere else, away from you.