--Energy Vampires and How to Remove Their Power--

An Energy Vampire is somebody who - whether consciously or unconsciously - sucks the life out of you just by "interacting" with you. I put interacting in quotes, because most times an Energy Vampire talks at you, not with you. Dr. Judith Orloff has gone so far as to break out the six types of Energy Vampires summarized here:

1. The Sob Sister - oh woe is me...
2. The Drama Queen - everything is a production
3. The Constant Talker - silence is intolerable to them
4. The Fixer Upper - you are expected to fix what is wrong with them
5. The Blamer - everyone else is to blame for their woes
6. The Jugular Fiend - everything is beyond their or your capabilities

How many people can you identify in which of the above categories? Do you feel drained after interacting with these people?

What to do about these negative people? While Dr. Orloff advocates "visualizing white light protecting you and insulating you from the negative person" there must be some more, errr, down-to-earth solutions, too. Here are a few:

1. Avoid these people - there is nothing wrong with spending time with just yourself, or (God forbid) POSITIVE friends. Just stop taking the Energy Vampire's phone calls. Smile, nod, and keep walking if you see them in person. Have a "I've gotta run" phrase ready if they try to engage you in person.

2. Limit contact - if you cannot avoid them completely, prefix any interaction with "I've only got a minute" and then cut them off after that minute. This approach can still leave you drained, and if you are sensitive, you might even feel worse because you feel like you have cut the person off (you have! and it is your right!).

3. Take a vacation from them - give yourself X amount of days to "recharge" and just avoid all contact completely for a set amount of time, for the sake of recharging your energy, sanity, and patience.

4. Use non-verbal communication - when interacting with them, only look into one of their eyes. Keep your body turned sideways towards them (so they are facing either your left or right shoulder). Cross your arms and imagine yourself as a "closed circuit." Heck, if you also want to imagine a white light protecting you, it can't hurt! Maybe for a bit of lightheartedness, imagine a roll of duct tape winding around and around their mouth...

There is nothing wrong with you looking out for your own well-being! If every time a certain person walked up to you and slapped you in the face, would you put up with that? Why then would you put up with someone energetically harming you?

There is a point when your attempts to help someone crosses the line to where the other person is just feeling off of your good will. This is evil and extremely self-absorbed on their part. Cut 'em loose! The only power an Energy Vampire has is the power you give them. Stop giving it to them!