We've all felt it... that drained, overwhelmed or irritated feeling that you have after an interaction with someone. The interaction can be an innocent one with no confrontation but you walk away with less inspiration, ambition and/or invigoration for your day than you had prior to it. Sometimes this interaction remains in your mind long after, clouding up space for more positive thoughts and feelings and you just can't put your finger on why! You may think, why do I feel like the wind was swept from my sails or just plain "Ugh".
Answer is, you've come into contact with an Energy Vampire! In no way will I claim that I've coined this term, I actually don't think "vampire" is necessarily the right word to use. Many times, the person draining your energy doesn't even consciously know they are doing it (vampires on the other hand, certainly do (or so is my understanding of such mythical creatures)). Likely, we've all been an Energy Vampire at one point or another, some people have learned to be such as a form of survival, some may just like the feeling it gives them. I do believe however, that it's energy that's being taken and in my line of work and my personal life experience, living well emotionally, spiritually and physically, all require energy and the balance of it.
I was introduced to the concept of Energy Vampires while a student at massage therapy school however I have certainly experienced it throughout my life and in more recent years have seen the impact of this phenomenon on the drains of my own energy as an unaware person. I can only speak for myself but my educated guess is that I'm not the only person whose overall wellness has been impacted negatively by being unaware and largely unprepared by the impact of such people. Therefore, I'm bringing Energy Vampires to the forefront on my blog posting today!
The "energy" phenomenon requires in large part a sense of self-awareness. I encourage you to stop and think of those interactions with friends, co-workers, family members, colleagues, clients, customers, etc., that have drained your energy in this way. Are these people regular energy sappers and what role do you play in the interaction? Is there something about you that attracts you to these Energy Vampires? How, when and why do you allow that energy to be drained from you...was it because you were physically or emotionally tired, stressed, etc? Are you an Energy Vampire and why?
As a massage therapist I've had to ask these questions to myself and it's been quite freeing. Just having the awareness of the "Energy Vampire" phenomenon and determining my role and participation in this energy exchange, I've found a more consistent level of balance as a whole. Don't get me wrong, there are still times I'm unprepared and it knocks me off my game. However, I'm thankful to see it for what it is which makes recovery much quicker!
Wishing you all the wellness and balance that you deserve!
-Laurie
PS: I had a hard time ending this post because I felt there was so much more that could be brought to light. One thing that I felt was missing and wanted to be sure to share was the respect of energy balance by massage therapists. In the setting that we work, we have the opportunity for energy exchange on many levels and we take very seriously our role in that. That includes being Energy Vampires ourselves (because really, who wants a massage therapist that makes them feel worse than when they came in? )
We practice clearing our own negative energy to avoid the client feeling it and we prepare to allow for whatever energy the client brings. We've experienced the power of healing through massage ourselves (physically, emotionally and spiritually) and we want our clients to walk out with a better balance of energy than when they came in!! Pretty powerful and amazing stuff!
