My brilliant friend Dr. Judith Orloff, who is both an psychiatrist and a gifted intuitive, combines traditional Western medical knowledge with energy medicine and intuitive healing. Her latest book, Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself From Negative Emotions And Transform Your Life, offers the best of both to help you free yourself from the emotional prisons we have a tendency to inhabit. The post is the first in a series based on Dr. Orloff’s book that aim to help you harness your feminine power by unshackling you from the emotional chains that drag you down. So get ready to rock, girlfriends!

Have you ever been around an emotional vampire? You know what I’m talking about -- they suck the energy right out of you and leave you feeling like Dracula just drank a gallon of your life force. While being in the presence of some people leaves you feeling optimistic, energetic, inspired, and connected, being around emotional vampires leaves you depressed, anxious, depleted, and drained.

You know what I’m talking about. You can probably list the people you know who make you feel this way. I know I can. It tires me out just thinking about the kinds of interactions that sap me when I’m with people like this.

How Energy Vampires Operate

Dr. Orloff says, “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.” You’ll be more susceptible to the influence of vampires if you are:

Want to learn how to protect yourself from getting sucked dry? Here are some tips from Dr. Orloff’s book.

1) Determine If You’re Being Sapped By An Emotional Vampire

A quick and dirty way to tell if you’re around an emotional vampire is to assess how you both feel when the interaction between you is complete. You’ll know if someone is an emotional vampire because, when all is said and done, you’ll feel worse; they’ll feel better.

Some common side effects:

2) Dos & Don’ts For Dealing With Emotional Vampires

When you find yourself in the presence of a vampire, you’ll need some garlic to ward off the heeby-jeebies that can accompany such an interaction.

Do you have emotional vampires in your life? Or are you one? How do you respond to people who suck you dry? Tell us your stories!

If you’d like to read more about identifying and dealing with emotional vampires, read Judith’s fabulous book. And stay tuned for more posts about Emotional Freedom! Part 2 of the series will discuss the different types of emotional vampires and how you can identify them -- and protect yourself!

Warding off vampires,

Lissa

Lissa Rankin, MD: Founder of OwningPink.com, Pink Medicine Woman coach, motivational speaker, and author of What’s Up Down There? Questions You’d Only Ask Your Gynecologist If She Was Your Best Friend and Encaustic Art: The Complete Guide To Creating Fine Art With Wax.