People Who Drain You

Those little pricks, they manage to find the worst in everything – always finding the downside. They're all around us: People who suck all the positive energy out of us to fuel their relentless hunger for negativity, leaving us drained, exhausted, and unhappy.

Sometimes known as “energy vampires,” negative people can wreak havoc on your life if you don't have effective strategies to deal with them.

Energy vampires are often personality-disordered people who tend to be:

• Intrusive, showing poor boundaries.

• Overly dramatic, making mountains out of molehills.

• Overly critical, finding fault with just about everyone and everything in their lives.

• Chronic complainers, rarely finding anything to their liking or satisfaction.

• Argumentative, having trouble agreeing with others, even on things that seem insignificant or inconsequential.

• Relentlessly demanding and persistent, being unable to take no for an answer.

• Constantly negative, always seeing the glass half empty.

• Unable to accept responsibility, blaming everyone but themselves for their actions and problems.

The negative nature of energy vampires is not always readily apparent when you first meet them. At first, their quirkiness may intrigue you, their gossip and stories may leave you wanting to hear more, their dramatic flair may entertain you, or their hard-luck stories may suck you in. Soon, however, you begin to realize something is wrong. Don't ignore those feelings. Pay close attention to your instincts. Don't get pulled in limiting your contact with them.

There is no reason to allow their problems to become yours. In the times we live in, energy, especially the positive kind, is a precious commodity. It's not something you should willingly give up to those who would steal it. Instead, keep a positive attitude and surround yourself with positive people who leave you feeling upbeat and energized. In the words of Helen Keller, "Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow."

filled with expert advice on how to avoid burnout and maintain a healthy work/life balance