How To Protect Yourself From Absorbing Other People’s Negative Energy

Photography by Ira Zhuyka Dzhul

Bad mood and pessimism are "contagious." How to learn to resist it? Emotions, especially  fear, anger, disappointment, shock, are all energies. And you can always “catch” this negative energy from other people, without even realizing it.

We are all "emotional sponges", but the degree of “getting wet” is different for everyone. Some can freely swim in the crowd and the mass of negativity, without feeling much discomfort. And for some, this disorder can end in suicide.

Empathy is what we are talking about.
Some people “infect” you with their panic attacks, and can ruin your life with their energy, but you have never seriously thought about it.

From an energy point of view, negative emotions can have the following results:

• You can feel someone else's pain.
• "General" problems become your own.

In these cases, empathy, especially in combination with not knowing what to do, can cause severe depression.

Stop absorbing other people's emotions. Here are the instructions.

1. Determine how much your empathy affects you
Here are some common signs that you are empathic.

• “People call you“ hypersensitive ”or“ overly sensitive. ” They do not know that this is not a compliment or a decision.
• You feel the fear, anxiety and stress transmitted by other people. You literally physically feel it.

This ability in itself is not bad, but you must minimize the impact on yourself especially from people who you don’t like or who you don’t know. Try to communicate only with friends, colleagues and family members

• You quickly get tired in the crowd.

A few hours at the party, and in your heart you feel exhausted, miserable and tired.
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• Noises, odors and the need to constantly chat seriously affect your nerves. To recharge your batteries, you must be in a state of complete rest.

• You are constantly thinking about what you are experiencing.

You are trying to comprehend any experience, to analyze all the situations out there. Your feelings are easily hurt, and you try to avoid conflict.

• You are a “generous” speaker and a good listener.
• You are constantly being bothered to drive somewhere or transport something for someone.
• Intimacy can sometimes frighten you so much that you will feel attacks of suffocation and loss of yourself.

2. Look for a source of anxiety
Ask yourself what you feel — your emotions or other people's emotions? Where did these emotions come from? Fear and anger are almost never born in the minds of empaths, but empaths are their good carriers. Try to determine where or where the generator of your anxiety is located. Perhaps the television news are creating your anxiety. 

• You just watched a comedy at the cinema and are in a great mood. Suddenly you meet with one of your friends or family members - and all this mood evaporates. Has this happened to you? Could it happen?
• You feel the same when you go to a shopping center or to a concert. Are crowded places overwhelming to you? Perhaps all this is because you absorb the negative emotions of other people in the crowd.

3. Avoid the source of anxiety. At all costs
Try to talk with people who are unpleasant for you from a farther distance than usual. Stand back, stay away. This trick really works.

​Do not be afraid to hurt someone. If you are in the subway do not hesitate to transfer to another place if somebody unpleasant is near you. If sad people are sitting nearby, just get up and step back.

4. In any incomprehensible situation - concentrate on breathing
Breathing is what connects your brain with your essence. Concentrate for a few minutes on breathing. Inhale calm and exhale negativity. This will help you realize where you are in time and space, clear your head from fear and other heavy emotions.

Imagine the negative as a gray fog rising from your body. And while breathing in, imagine a ray of golden light hitting you. This is simple practice can give quick results.

5. Use a mental "shield"
You can use this convenient form of protection invented long before us. Each time you are in a society of heavy and unpleasant people, imagine in your mind a white envelope hanging in the air. The color, in principle, can be any - as long as you feel that it gives you strength. Think of this envelope as a shield that reflects all the negativity and discomfort. Allow yourself to take from the environment only positive.

6. Manage emotional overload
Learn to recognize people sucking energy from others. Avoid them. In a crowd of strangers, take places far from these people. Avoid dealing with “emotional vampires.”

And also, if possible, eat properly. Carbohydrates and high quality fats can help you pack up and calm down.

Make sure that you are not dependent on other people. Make sure you can easily get home at any time. This will give you confidence.

You will also need your place in the house - the one in which you are allowed to be alone. It can be a separate room, a reading corner or a table with a computer.

7. Look for positive people and positive situations
Call a friend whom you enjoy spending time with. Go to the bar with a colleague who is interested in discussing the same topics as you. Absorb their positive energy and self-confidence.

Hope is contagious too. And it can cheer us up.

Be more compassionate not only towards others, but also towards yourself. Stay alert, but avoid stressful situations.

8. Get out into the nature - even in solitude
You should have favorite places where you feed on positive energy. Better if they are in nature. Know where you need to stop by for an hour or two to rest and recharge your batteries. Let it be a promenade, a park, a forest in the country or a lake.

Visit landscapes of lush forests, waterfalls, wild beaches at home and on the monitor’s “desktop”.

You can also try walking in a forest. Feel its fog, its dew, its smells.

Practice yoga or other breathing techniques. You must have some kind of emotional center where you can run away to a safe haven during a storm.

Do you have your own experience of confrontation with other people's negative energy ? Share them with us in the comments.