The following is an excerpt from the "Combating Emotional Vampires" on-line course. If you would like to enroll in the course, click here.
Relationships are always an energy exchange. To stay feeling our best, we must ask ourselves: Who gives us energy? Who saps it? It's important to be surrounded by supportive, heart-centered people who make us feel safe and secure. It's equally important to pinpoint the emotional vampires, who, whether they intend to or not, leech our energy.
To protect your sensitivity, it's imperative to name and combat these emotional vampires. They're everywhere: coworkers, neighbors, family, and friends. In Energy Psychiatry I've treated a revolving door of patients who've been hard-hit by drainers--truly a mental health epidemic that conventional medicine doesn't see. I'm horrified by how many of these "emotionally walking wounded" (ordinarily perceptive, intelligent individuals) have become resigned to chronic anxiety or depression. Why the blind spot? Most of us haven't been educated about draining people or how to emancipate ourselves from their clutches, requisite social skills for everyone desiring freedom. Emotional draining is a touchy subject. We don't know how to tactfully address our needs without alienating others. The result: We get tongue-tied, or destructively passive. We ignore the SOS from our gut that screams, "Beware!" Or, quaking in our boots, we're so afraid of the faux pas of appearing "impolite" that w! e become martyrs in lieu of being respectfully assertive. We don't speak out because we don't want to be seen as "difficult" or uncaring.
Vampires do more than drain our physical energy. The super-malignant ones can make you believe you're an unworthy, unlovable wretch who doesn't deserve better. The subtler species inflict damage that's more of a slow burn. Smaller digs here and there can make you feel bad about yourself such as, "Dear, I see you've put on a few pounds" or "It's not lady-like to interrupt." In a flash, they've zapped you by prodding areas of shaky self-worth. This is my credo for vampires: Their antics are unacceptable; you must develop a successful plan for coping with them. I deeply believe in the merciful message of The Lord's Prayer to "forgive people their trespasses," but I'm also a proponent of preventing the unconscious or mean-spirited from trespassing against us. Taking a stand against draining people is a form of self-care and canny communication that you must practice to give your freedom legs.
What turns someone into an emotional vampire? First, a psychological reason: children often reflexively mimic their parents' most unflattering traits. A self-absorbed father can turn you into a self-absorbed son. Early modeling has impact. Studies of Holocaust survivors reveal that many became abusive parents themselves. The second explanation involves subtle energy. I've observed that childhood trauma--mistreatment, loss, parental alcoholism, illness--can weaken a person's energy field. This energy leakage may condition those with such early wounds to draw on the vitality of others to compensate; it's not something most are aware of. Nevertheless, the effects can be extreme. Visualize an octopus-like tendril extending from their energy field and glomming onto yours. Your intuition may register this as sadness, anger, fatigue, or a cloying, squirrelly feeling. The degree of mood change or physical reaction may vary. A vampire's effects can stun like a sonic blast or make you! slowly wilt. But it's the rare drainer that sets out to purposely enervate you. The majority act unconsciously, oblivious to being an emotional drain.
Let me tell you the secret of how a vampire operates so you can outsmart one. A vampire goes in for the kill by stirring up your emotions. Pushing your buttons throws you off center, which renders you easier to drain. Of all the emotional types, empaths are often the most devastated. However, certain emotional states increase everyone's vulnerability. I myself am most susceptible to emotional vampires when I feel desperate, tired, or disempowered.
Here are some others:
Low self-esteem Depression A victim mentality Fear of asserting yourself Addiction to people-pleasing
When encountering emotional vampires, see what you can learn too. It's your choice. You can simply feel tortured, resentful, and impotent. Or, as I try to do, ask yourself, "How can this interchange help me grow?" Every nanosecond of life, good, bad, or indifferent, is a chance to become emotionally freer, enlarge the heart. If we're to have any hope of breaking war-mongering patterns, we must each play a part. As freedom fighters, strive to view vampires as opportunities to enlist your highest self and not be a sucker for negativity. Then you'll leave smelling like a rose, even with Major-League Draculas.
Exercise 1: Determine If You Have an Emotional Vampire in Your Life
Anyone who has ever shared an office, car pool, or attended a family dinner with a vampire can attest to experiencing some common emotional side effects. Even after a brief contact, you feel worse; they feel better. To find out if you've been bled, watch for these signs.
Your eyelids get heavy--you're ready for a nap You feel put down or like the rug was pulled out from under you Your mood takes a nose-dive You have a yen to binge on carbs or comfort food You feel sniped at, slimed, or agitated
In addition, sometimes intuitive flashes and dreams can raise a red flag. Pay attention. For instance, following a dinner I attended where the guests had something negative to say about everything, I dreamed I was bombarded by a storm of leeches. Similarly, after a critical friend skewered one of my patients, she felt as if she'd fallen to the bottom of a well. Another patient dreamed that a pigeon pooped on her head--splat, there it was: her reaction to a nasty altercation with her apartment's superintendent. Whether you're awake or asleep, notice telling imagery that conveys emotion. This will help you identify a vampire.
Take an inventory of the people in your life who are potential drainers. Below is a chart outlining the signs of being sapped by an emotional vampire. List all your key family members, friends and co-workers in the left hand column and check off if any of them have an adverse affect on you when in their company or on the phone. Experiencing even one of these effects indicates that person is a drainer on the prowl.
-Your eyelids get heavy -You feel put down -Mood takes a nose-dive -Want to binge on carbs or comfort food -You feel sniped at, slimed or agitated -Have intuitive flashes or dreams
Exercise 2: Take Time To Be With A Positive Person
Plan at least one complete afternoon with people who give off positive energy and avoid the drainers. Notice how this beneficially affects your physical and emotional well-being.
Are you carrying excess pounds or do you feel tired all the time? Do you have skin troubles and embarrassing or painful digestive issues that are stopping you from loving your body and living your life to the full? If you don't have sustained energy and health, you simply can't give your best to your life - to having loving relationships, creative pursuits and work or a purpose that fulfills you. You can't even give to yourself! This course gives you the guidance, education, tools and delicious food and lifestyle suggestions that will get you results. Not only will you learn how to detoxify over the next 28 days so you feel and look better than ever, you will also learn how to set up ongoing lifestyle habits that support your body to stay healthy and well long term.
No comments:
Post a Comment