There are people in the world who steal your emotional energy. These people may be a life partner, family member, work colleague, friend, or neighbor.

Sometimes called ‘energy vampires,’ they feed on your willingness to listen to and care for them. This tends to leave you exhausted and overwhelmed. These experiences can be very intense.

Energy vampires don’t take responsibility for their actions. They blame others for their behavior.

There’s a lot of drama dealing with these folks. Often they seem to thrive on it. There’s a tendency for them to become overly emotional.

An energy vampire does not like to be outdone. They prefer not to share the spotlight. This is one part of their narcissistic behaviors.

In seeking emotional support to boost their self-esteem, an energy vampire will act like a martyr to bring attention and sympathy onto themselves.

They use shame as a weapon against empathetic people. In conjunction with that, they can use coercion as a means to get someone to do things that the other person prefers not to do.

Energy vampires criticize, bully, and intimidate. Does any of this sound like anyone you know?

Here is a list of some things you can do:

Establish boundaries
Adjust your expectations
Don’t give them any leeway
Guard you emotional parameters

Above all, it’s vital to protect yourself. Your health, emotional and physical, are of utmost importance.

It isn’t your job to put up with or defend the energy-sapping behavior of an energy vampire!