An Introduction to Energy Vampires

Energy Vampires–An Introduction

Posted on April 2, 2011 by Tracy Seekins

This is really the first of many writings I plan to do on this subject but I felt that I really needed to get something written as a sort of introduction to the subject because I see some of my online friends dealing with this phenomena every day.

Have you ever been feeling wonderful, like you were on top of the world, and then walked into a room or a store and felt like someone just dropped you to your knees? Some people, by their very presence, can seem to drain or “suck” the energy right out of a room along with the people in the room.

I don’t know when my first experience with energy vampires actually was because as a young person I never really thought much about it. Although thinking back now I guess I can remember at least one person in my teen years who clearly was doing this. However I do have many memorable experiences with such people and will try to share them throughout my writings about “Energy Vampires”.

First I want to state that MOST, not all, people who fall into this category are quite unaware that they are doing it. MOST energy vampires do what they do because they do not understand how to get energy in other ways.

So let us first define the food, or ENERGY, that we speak of. Each of us has a personal energy field around us and within us. Some people might recognize this as the “light” of a person. Others might call it a person’s “spirit”. No matter what you call it there is an unmistakable energy to each of us.

There is also the energy of the world itself and of the universe and of the higher power. Now not everyone believes in a higher power and I understand that but I’m including it because many do and the energy is accessible regardless of belief.

Most people are not taught how to access outside energies or how to replenish our own energy field in that sense. However often we are taught that prayer and meditation are important parts of life. We are taught to go to church and gather together with people of like minds. We are taught to read inspirational books. We are taught to go out and play in nature. As we get older we simply stop doing many of these things.

All of this begins to give you a picture of energy and how it works. So let us move into how and why energy vampires do what they do.

Energy vampires have forgotten how to replenish their own energy. Somewhere along the line in their life they learned that they could get the energy they needed by being mean or cruel. They learned that being sick got them needed attention and therefore energy. They learned that bullying got attention and therefore energy. They learned that being angry all the time got them energy. They didn’t learn this consciously but somewhere in the subconscious, which is the most difficult to unlearn and to recognize in oneself.

There are many kinds of energy vampires and many people have written other articles naming the kinds different things that worked for them. One such article can be found >>>Here. Dr. Bruce Goldberg does a wonderful job naming out certain kinds of Energy Vampires. I didn’t read the whole thing yet because I didn’t want it to find it’s way into my own writing but I know that he set out several types.

Myself I’m going to attempt to name some out here with stories to describe them as best I can.

     The first type I want to address is the “Poor Me” vampire.

The “Poor Me” vampire is the type who always has something wrong in their life. There is ALWAYS a drama going on. It’s not made up for them either, it’s very very real. The Poor Me can range from simply having constant drama to being sick all the time. Hypochondriacs are often, not always, of this type of vampire. Sometime in their life they learned that if they ALWAYS needed help, they would always GET help and therefore get attention and energy.

The poor me is relatively harmless but can be very draining. They are easily recognized because there is really almost never a time when things are just good for them. There is always something happening in their life that is terrible and has left them needing a shoulder.

I once had a friend who seemed to pick up every symptom that anyone around her had. If ANYONE was talking about an illness they were experiencing or had experienced, suddenly this friend also had that symptom but much worse. She would often even begin displaying the outward signs of the illness that 5 minutes before she was not.

What I’m talking about here is a (100%) healthy  person who suddenly starts coughing a lung up because another friend has bronchitis or similar type of behavior.

In this way she would turn the energy toward herself by getting sympathy from those who had previously experienced it.

This vampire feeds off the energy of sympathy.

The second type is the “Drama Queen” vampire

The “Drama Queen” vampire is the type who constantly creates and encourages drama between people he or she interacts with. This type of vampire will often be the one telling you what this one or that one said yesterday. This vampire will tell lies and stories in order to increase the drama.

The Drama Queen is not harmless. They can cause severe problems between other friends within the same circle. They can cause problems on social networks or at the office. Never is this person the negative or nasty one. Everything they say is said with fake love and the utmost concern for YOU. They just want you to know what so-and-so is saying/doing. Most times anything that is said is exaggerated in order to illicit the biggest reaction from you.

I once had a friend who talked behind everyone’s backs but I didn’t recognize what she was doing because she always did it “to let me know” what was “really” going on. She acted like she cared so much about me and wanted the best for me. Over time the continuous stream of drama drained me to a point where I actually became very physically ill. I began to realize that something in this relationship was not healthy for me and I stepped away from it. A few weeks later I was gaining weight, having fewer headaches and my color was returning. It was only then that I recognized this very covert vampire type.

This type of vampire feeds off your anxiety.

The third type is the “Rescue Me” vampire

This type of vampire is the type who is constantly in trouble. There is always something in their life they cannot handle by themselves. This type of vampire is often calling for a loan or a ride, not just now and then but all the time.

The Rescue me is relatively harmless, except maybe to your wallet or your patience. They are easily recognized because they always NEED something that is some form of help and it’s always desperately needed.

I had this friend once who borrowed money at least once a week, of course I never got paid back, and the reason was always something I couldn’t resist like the kids needed food or she needed gas to go to the doctor. She also would call desperately needing advice on everything. I once spent a weekend alone with her and when I returned home I was exhausted from the constant drain.

This type of vampire feeds off your kindness.

The fourth type is the “Troll” vampire

First let me say that some might also call this the “bully” vampire, but I’m calling it the “troll” because this one often comes out to play online. The Troll vampire is the one who wants to argue ALL the time. They would disagree with you if you said the sky was blue. They always have to have the last word. They seem to cause discord wherever they go.

I once met this man at the supermarket. I was in line and smiling, as I usually am. He was behind me and caught a glimpse of me smiling. He grumbled something and I turned to look at him. He growled “What are you smiling for?”. To which I replied, “I don’t know, I’m just happy I guess.” and giggled. His response was “You shouldn’t smile so much, people will wonder what you are up to.” I laughed but he was serious. My smile was bothersome to him and he wanted to make me uncomfortable so I would stop. This was a troll.

I’ve met many people online who say the most outrageous things to try to get some sort of reactionary discussion started or they say it in mid discussion in order to turn the energy in their direction.

They are VERY easy to recognize and, if you know how to diffuse them, basically harmless. They feed off negative energy so they create as much of it as possible. The trick is to recognize them and then simply ignore them. Don’t respond. If you don’t feed the trolls, they eventually move on. Of course more likely is they find new victims or they learn new tricks to get their energy.

This type of vampire feeds off your “reactions” or negative energy.

The fifth type is the “Quiet Angry” Vampire

The quiet angry vampire will not be experienced by most people in any kind of recognizable way. These people are the ones who when you walk into a store or a room you suddenly feel ill just because they are there, but you probably don’t know why. These people are silent and seethe negativity out into their environment.

You might recognize this vampire as the person you know who doesn’t seem to be happy unless everyone around them is miserable. They just seem constantly unhappy or grumpy. They might say they have no use for people at all, yet they always seem to be around.

I once went into a spiritual store and suddenly began to feel very ill. I thought, at first, I was simply having issues caused by my own chronic illness. As I was there longer I got more and more sick to my stomach and a terrible headache. I took what I had already gathered and went to pay. At the cash register I was almost doubled over in pain. Upon leaving the store it began to lift and by the time my friend had driven a mile I was all better. I told her what had happened and she apologized for not warning me about the energy of the owner.

Of course most people wouldn’t have reacted as extremely as I did, unless they too were an empath. Most people would have felt upset for no reason or maybe suddenly very tired. Others might have gotten a bit of a headache.

These types of vampires are unpleasant but are only really harmful to people who are intensely empathic. As you can see from my story above, an empath can feel them in the extreme and if not properly protected can get very ill.

This type of vampire feeds off sadness and bad feelings.

I’m sure there are many types I have not touched on here. Do a Google search on energy vampires and you will undoubtedly find many more, as this has become a very talked about phenomena. I hope this helps to introduce you to the concept and hopefully will help you recognize energy vampires who might be draining you. In an article I will write sometime soon, I will discuss other ways to replenish your own energy so that you do not become an unconscious energy vampire yourself.

Namaste