Stop Absorbing People’s Energy: Learn 9 ways to avoid energy vampires

Energy fields are all around us and each of us is guided by the invisible and unconscious configuration of these constantly moving patterns of energy. Energy influence can be best described as what it feels like to be contained within a glass box.

This person knows their destination and he/she/they can see it but is frustrated because they are unable to get there. 

The glass box in this analogy is the energy field that is hindering progress. This lack of awareness of the energy field prevents the person from getting to their destination because he/she/they are unable to figure out a suitable way to proceed through the energy field.

Emotions as energy

Emotion is the experience of energy proceeding through the body. Examples of this experience is felt as an awareness of tension in the shoulders in response to an unanticipated memory or situation happening or feeling calm down after some deep breathing. 

Energy, just like thoughts, are neutral, but when we apply positive and negative labels to it, emotions are involved and our interpretations of emotions give energy meaning. Knowing that emotions are energy suggests that because they are in motion and changing, they need to be released. Ignoring or suppressing emotional energy, particularly negative ones, results in low emotional self-awareness, stress, and burnout.

People often try to regulate their emotions when they believe that they are unhelpful, and in general for interpersonal relations in the moment they come up, this is a good thing. However, with regulation comes increased chances of suppression, which can lead to negative effects later on.  

What is an emotional sponge

Our natural ability to instinctively know and be aware of people’s emotions varies from individual to individual. Knowing that our own emotional energy is fluid and that of those around are as well means increased chances of energy exchange from moment to moment every day.

Those of us, who know ourselves to be empaths as highly sensitive people, are in tune with the energy of others.  We open ourselves up to absorbing the energy of others, no matter if it is positive or negative. The emotions of others impact our emotional energy.

As a result, we are known as “emotional sponges,” or a person who is acutely aware of others’ “vibes” or one who has an innate ability to psychologically identify with the emotions, thoughts or attitudes of others. Those around us with positive energy can help us maintain a healthy way of our own needs, true feelings and emotional and mental state.

However, it is the exact opposite for those around us with negative energy, who are also referred to as “energy vampires.”

People who identify themselves as emotional sponges are constantly navigating ever-evolving energy exchanges causing heightened stressors and multiple potential peaks and valleys in mood changes. The outcomes from this unwanted energy can cause physical discomfort and physical distress and emotional exhaustion quite easily.

Signs of an emotional sponge 

People known as physical empaths tend to have strong intuition and a deep, caring concern for others. As a result, we are fantastic listeners, especially with those experiencing difficulties. Others around us feel comforted by our presence. Also, as sensitive individuals, we can detect the state of other peoples’ emotions.

We can also be very sensitive because we take on the needs and problems of others easily. As a result, setting and staying accountable to boundaries is hard. We also are easily overwhelmed when in deep relationships with a partner.  

We also find it hard to navigate conflict because our feelings are more easily hurt. The occurrence of arguments increases our own distress because we are intensely dealing with our own feelings and reactions as well as those of others.

As a result of our sensitivity to the emotional energy of others, we need lots of rest in a quiet place. We find being in nature by ourselves very healing.

What are energy vampires 

Energy vampires, which are people who drain our emotional energy, much of the time are narcissists and toxic people. They love to hang around us because we are naturally caring for them and willing to listen. We feed their selfish need to feel worthy, usually at the expense of ourselves. More specifically, they:

• Are always involved in drama. Energy vampires thrive in drama and are consistently creating it. They live for it.  
• Have a problem with accountability. Energy vampires are crafty and rarely accept responsibility for their role in a conflict and are sneaky about placing blame on the other party. If the other party is one of us, we usually will take full responsibility for the outcomes.
• Love the spotlight and hate sharing it. Energy vampires thrive on the perception of winning and will often create conflict to create the opportunity to put others down to build themselves up to fulfill their need to win.
• Love to prioritize themselves and their problems. Energy vampires love to talk about themselves and their own problems at the diminishment of another person’s.
• Criticize others to feel good. Energy vampires because they are insecure criticize others to make them feel powerful.

Energy vampires are also always negative. They are no fun. They tend to be very sarcastic. 

People tend to want to be around fun, happy and positive people, and those of us who remain in negativity, constantly complain and consistently give off “life sucks” energy will not attract those who want to experience fun and happiness. We will attract those who are negative.  This is one of the biggest challenges for us.

How energy vampires impact emotional sponges 

Energy vampires put us in emotional overload and take advantage of our care for others and feelings of others. They demand a lot of our time, attention and energy and are a continuous drain on our energy, which can adversely impact our well-being because of the excess stress of being around them. Too much exposure to energy vampires can lead to chronic anxiety, depression and mental health issues.

To negate the impact of energy vampires, we have to learn to protect our own energy.  We are not responsible for energy vampires’ negative feelings, the pain they hold within their emotional center, and their unresolved issues. We are only responsible for our own feelings and our own emotional sense of safety.

9 life strategies to stop absorbing people’s energy

Emotional shielding techniques from energy vampires are more about changing our own emotional self-awareness, behavior and choices. Here are 10 recommendations.  

1. Avoid energy vampires. The best way to prevent multiple emotional ups and downs from energy vampires is to be more selective about your environment. Avoid energy vampires all together is good practice of this.  You have a choice in who you are around. If you don’t want to be around constantly negative or angry individuals or people who feel like they suck the life out of you, avoid them all together.  If you are unable to cut them out of your life, keep reading.
2. Be aware of your own emotional drain. Some days are just draining. Life works that way. On a daily basis, use your intuition to check in on your emotional energy. If you are mentally worn out from life, take a break and finvest in some self love by resting, getting in nature and/or deep breathing. If you have a planned engagement involving an energy vampire, consider rescheduling. Sometimes, it may be necessary to keep a commitment with an energy vampire. Rest up beforehand and learn how to put up an emotional guard during exchanges with energy vampires.
3. Establish healthy boundaries. Set limits to stave off people’s pain, energy levels, and the emotions of people. These boundaries are like a glass wall to establish a little distance between you and an individual’s negative emotions. This is one of the most powerful skills to learn for empaths. For example, if there is a family event with energy vampires attending that you are unable to avoid, setting a mini boundary, such as attending for 2 hours only. Establishing time limits enables you to prepare to deal with energy vampires but knowing that it is  only for a short amount of time.Bringing a friend to an event or checking in with a supportive person during the event are two great ways to help stay accountable to your mini boundaryAlso, limiting your exchanges with energy vampires at an event is a great strategy. Acknowledge their presence, chit-chat and then excuse yourself to use the restroom, get food or a drink are helpful ways exit out of a conversation.
4. Visualize an envelope of white light as an energy shield around you. Doing so creates a mental buffer to stressful people and individual’s negative moods and emotions. This is especially useful right before you expect to interact with an energy vampire and/or when an energy vampire is at an event and your interaction is expected to continue.  If you are feeling really drained, excuse yourself from the interaction.
5. Call out their behavior. Challenging energy vampires can be tricky, especially for us empaths because we don’t like conflict, much less like to create it. However, you can “care-front” their behaviors. For example, if someone is constantly complaining, you could say, “You know, I am feeling really drained, and I can’t handle any more complaining. Can we talk about something else?”  If they carry on and don’t honor your request, see #3 and #4.
6. Encourage them to prioritize their own resilience. Another way to handle individuals who suck the life from you is to advise them to work on themselves. You are not responsible for their well-being, they are. Make the suggestion and then, offer a generic statement for support, such as, “I am confident that you believe you are worth it to invest in yourself and that through exploration, you will find what works for you.
7. Practice self care. Ahead of engaging with energy vampires, go all in on your self care to prepare (here is a helpful checklist of a fantastic self-care routine). Rest, breathe, eat healthy, exercise, do a daily inventory of your own emotions through journaling. You are worthy to create a system of self-worth.
8. Seek positive energy. We know who in our lives we love to be around physically and virtually because they lift us up and have lots of positive energy. They are known as “energy boosters.” They are our spiritual mentors, our best friends, our favorite podcasters, our favorite musical artists, wise family members.
9. Ask for help. Seek out close friends, family mentors, spiritual advisers, and others who you view as your support network. Ask for assistance in helping to stay accountable to an energy vampire during an event where seeing them is unavoidable. Check in with them through text regularly.

Stop Absorbing People’s Energy – Conclusion

Emotions are energy, and start as neutral. It is only when we interpret a situation as good or bad is when our emotional energy can work for us or against us. Life involves engaging with multiple people per day who also bring their own emotional energy, and as emotional sponges, we know who are the energy boosters and the energy vampires.

Limiting and/or avoiding interactions is the best way to prevent absorbing their negative energy.

And, by employing these 9 skills from the “empath’s survival guide,” we can pursue emotional freedom through experimentation to uncover the best ways that work for us as a unique individuals worthy of a happy life filled with all of the 8 areas of health wealth. 

To send your self worth soaring, you will be interested in our self-worth system or our total mental health system for happiness and productivity.