Emotional Vampires Explained

Hello lovely,
I wanted to take a moment to talk about something very close to my heart: Energy vampires.

Have you heard the term before? It’s basically someone who ‘takes’ energy from you and leaves you feeling drained, confused, lost and wondering why.

All of us will have at some point encountered people like this, let’s face it there’s a lot of them around! But in my experience it can be so unbelievably challenging to side-step or handle these kinds of interactions. I’ve often felt either responsible for them and their emotional wellbeing or utterly victimised by them.
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So who is an emotional vampire?

• The Bullies
• The ‘poor me'
• Those who make us feel guilty
• The gossipers
• That that make you feel like it’s all your fault
• They talk at you and not to you
• They may never ask you how you are
• The emotional, verbal and psychological manipulators (my favourites!)

Many of these people, especially in the last category can and will catch you off-guard. They come across as out-going, friendly, charming, larger-than-life, very sharp and funny and often they’re also very successful.
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After spending time with them you’ll notice that you never leave their company feeling uplifted. In fact, you may come away feeling lower-than-low and like you've been slimed. Your logical brain will try and tell you you’re overreacting, but your heart is saying that you’re not. I don’t know about you but I’ve dated many guys like this and for a long time my logical brain won and my heart suffered.

It’s not just guys who are like that, there are women who do it too. Please don’t be fooled that this is a man vs woman issue. It’s not. This is a energy vampire vs empath issue, just like it’s the empaths that normally attract the narcissist. 

I’ve met so many people in my life who’ve fitted this profile, and I’ve let many of them suck my energy dry for far longer than I should’ve.

But what I realised is that we can help ourselves when dealing with these kinds of people and we don’t have to stay feeling like we’re their pray. 

Its important to make effort to ground yourself like a tree sinking its roots deeply into the earth to stay secure in a storm. Having these strong roots helps to keep us from being blown about in other people's winds. 

So what to do about it?

1 - Accept you are super sensitive to picking up other people’s feelings because you’re super empathetic, and that's ok. 
2 - Honour your feelings and choose who you hang out with and give your energy to. The choice is yours!
3 - Investigate. See where your feelings are coming from. How do you feel when a person drains you? How does it feel in your body; in your mind? How does the presence of this person affect you?
4 - Self - care. Shield, meditate, get enough sleep, say positive affirmations. 

I’m going to be creating workshops to help those of us who are Highly Sensitive have the tools to deal and thrive in these situations.

If you have any friends and family who also are empaths and/or Highly Sensitive then please pass this post on.

Don’t forget to check out my facebook page for upcoming events.
Lets start protecting our super powers and empower ourselves with the tools to thrive.
Much love
Dawn