Are Emotional Vampires Sapping Your Happiness?

Our lives can contain people we think we need who are actually bad for our psychological health and general well-being. These folks drain our emotional energy, and that’s why, in some corners, they’re known as emotional vampires.

What Is an Emotional Vampire?

Have you ever been at a social gathering where most people hope a specific person does not attend? Likely, that person was known for always sucking the life right out of the party or consuming all the emotional energy in the room. Such a person is a strong example of an emotional vampire.

An excellent blog piece on Psychology Today’s website can help you learn more about this type of person’s unfortunate traits.

Here is a summary of the emotional vampires who may enter our lives:

• Narcissists
• Perpetual victims
• Controllers
• Constant talkers
• Drama queens

Can Someone You Love Be an Emotional Vampire?

Most of us can easily find ourselves closely involved with emotional vampires. It’s quite common for relationships with significant others like these to drain our emotional and physical resources:

• Life partner
• Parent
• Sibling
• Best friend
• Boss

Realizing you’re in a relationship with someone who consistently saps your happiness is not a sign of a personal character flaw. It’s an opportunity to improve the quality of your life.

Is There Life After Emotional Vampires?

When you identify an emotional vampire in your life, you have options to make your life better:

• Ask them to commit to change.
• Limit your time with them.
• Disconnect them from your life.

Navigating beyond a life dominated by an emotional vampire can be a challenge, but the high potential for a happier life is worth the effort.

For help moving past harm caused by emotional vampires in your life, contact our team of empathetic, engaged behavioral specialists at our seven modern clinics around Milwaukee.