What comes to mind when you think of an emotional vampire? Folklore and myth are mostly responsible for what we know about vampires. They’re frightful nocturnal creatures clad in Victorian-era formal wear, if not in red and black velvet cloaks, possessing protruding fangs and a single-minded determination to suck the blood and life out of mortals. Needless to say, nobody would dream of encountering a real-life vampire in their lives.

An emotional vampire, on the other hand, is a colloquial term used to label toxic people. It was Dr. Albert Bernstein, Ph.D., who originally coined the term, referring to people who drain others dry, sucking the positive energy out of those they encounter by their extremely negative demeanor. Emotional vampires come in different forms and maladaptive behaviors. Continue reading →

Self-care is any activity done deliberately to enhance a person’s own wellbeing. A closer look at self-care practices shows us that these don’t need to be very complicated. Self-care practices can be simple, but too often, such practicality also makes them so easy to overlook.

We all need self-care. If you’re an empath, the need for self-care may be greater than it is for most people. Not only is an empath highly sensitive, but the tendency to effortlessly absorb energies, especially negative ones, from your environment could cause you to feel run down and overloaded. Living as an empath means that a person doesn’t have the same emotional filters that most people have. Empaths take everything inside, acting like emotional sponges.

In order for empaths to avoid feeling drained all the time, they need to understand and accept their unique gifts and needs compared to most people. Regular self-care ranks as one of the most important needs that they need to address regularly. Continue reading →