How to Decrease Your Stress from Other People

Avoiding Negative Impact from Other People

Do you ever find yourself in a situation where the stress from others around you increases the amount of stress you are carrying yourself?  Many people have interactions with certain friends, family members or co-workers where they find themselves exhausted and drained physically and emotionally. These persons can sometimes unknowingly be using you to de-stress themselves by loading their negative energy on you, while draining your positive energy!  

We all like to be the friend/family member that listens and supports those going through a hard time, having a rough day, or just needing a shoulder to lean on. But how can we be that support and prevent ourselves from becoming depleted, and impacted by this? I am going to identify the warning signs that this is happening, and then describe techniques that can help you to prevent and protect yourself from absorbing this negativity and stress. 

Ways to Identify Energy Vampires

Energy Vampire? What does that mean? An Energy Vampire is someone who (most of the time unknowingly) depletes your good/positive energy by loading their negative and overbearing energy and attitudes on you. This of course relieves them of their own negative stress and charges their energy with the positive energy you carried. Signs that this may be happening to you is when you interact with this person they leave you feeling exhausted and drained. If this is occurring to you over a chronic period, it can begin to have a serious impact on your health and wellness, both physically and emotionally. So it is important to be aware of this situation and find ways to protect and prevent this kind of energy drain.

Signs you may be having that can indicate you have been exposed to an Energy Vampire: 

• After an interaction with an Energy Vampire, you feel exhausted, drained, and negative
• The Energy Vampire is someone who is always focused on themselves, what's not working for them, and rarely if ever offers you the same support to discuss what's going on with you.
• Interactions leave you feeling tension in your head/neck, you feel like you need a nap.
• In chronic Energy Vampire relationships you could have depression and lack of self-confidence or self-worth.
• Leaving an interaction feeling angry or resentful for having had spent time with that person.

Physical Symptoms you may experience as a result of chronic exposure to Energy Vampires:

• Chronic Fatigue
• Depression
• Tension Headaches
• Decreased appetite
• Increased appetite
• Insomnia
• Racing thoughts
• Feeling of Overwhelm
• Decreased ability to focus
• Generalized aches and pain
• Decreased empathy
• Hopelessness

Many of these and many other symptoms may eventually surface as other chronic disorders and syndromes that are difficult to diagnosis and treat with Traditional Medicine. If feel you have ongoing illnesses that are difficult for you and your doctor to treat, you may consider the possibility that an Energy Vampire may be someone very close to you. If this is the case there are things you can do to help.

Preventing Energy Drain

Regular use of the following tools can prevent Energy Drain from chronic interactions with an Energy Vampire.

• Being well rested. Getting enough sleep is essential to avoid having your guard down.
• Being present. When you are present you cannot be ambushed by the Energy Vampire as easily, you will be alert to what is going on around you.
• Remaining emotionally disconnected from any kind of specific outcome for the person involved. By remaining objective to the situation, you can keep your emotions at a distance and avoid being dragged into a heated altercation.
• Keeping your muscles relaxed. By not tensing yourself up, you are not fatiguing your body with the negative charge from the other person.
• Maintaining good hydration. Water can absorb and filter negative energy and emotions.
• Breathing exercises can be done on a regular basis or in the moment of stress to help calm and center yourself. Practice by taking slow deep breaths in over a count of 4-6, holding the breath in for a count of 2-4, then exhaling the breath over another count of 4-6, then waiting a count of 2-4 before starting the cycle over again. 
•  A regular Meditation practice can help relieve stress, and maintain your ability to remain calm, present and objective during stressful situations. Spending as little as 5-10 minutes a day in a quiet place where you can sit up straight comfortably with your eyes closed can help reverse chronic stress and release negative emotions. Meditation practice can have many other health benefits as well.

Creating Boundaries

Once you have identified situations and people that tend to drain you, its best to establish boundaries for yourself to protect you from these interactions. At times, just being aware and changing how you interact with people or situations may be all that is needed. There may be people or places that cause you so much exhaustion that verbalizing new boundaries or cutting off the interactions all together may be required. 

Recovering from an Interaction with an Energy Vampire

There are tools you can learn to implement to help you recover from an unexpected interaction that drains you. Many of the above preventive tools can also help with recovery. In addition the following may also be very effective:

• Maintaining distance or time away from the person draining you. Taking time away can help you recover by giving you the opportunity to process the interaction, and look at it from a different point of view.
• Journal or reflecting on the situation can help you get rid of negative feelings and emotions you may have.
• Spending time in nature. Going for a walk outside, surrounding yourself with trees, birds, and water will help to ground and re-energize you. 
• Taking a clearing Bath. Using 1 pound of Epsom salt, and 1 pound of baking soda mixed in warm water and soaking for 20 minutes will drain any negative energy and recharge you. 

Dealing with the negative draining energy of others can be a constant battle. But once you have recognized the signs and symptoms, learned how to prevent your energy loss, and how to recover your energy after an interaction having Energy Vampires in your life will no longer be so stressful. Taking action, and rebuilding your own positive energy routinely is the best protection you can have.

I truly hope that this information is helpful. Please share with me any tools you may have used to recover or deal with Energy Vampires you have had in your life!

Be Well, Be Strong & Be Happy!

🙏

Tina

Redwood Whole Health Coaching