Vampiros emocionais estão à nossa volta, mas por vezes é muito difícil darmo-nos conta deles. Eles podem facilmente fingir que são alguém diferente e, dessa forma, enganar-nos para conseguirem o que querem. Existem alguns vampiros emocionais diferentes, como os narcisistas, os que se fazem de vítimas, os controladores ou os que têm personalidades divididas.

Mas seja qual for a que conheceres, tens de aprender a proteger-te de tudo o que elas são capazes de fazer. Aqui estão algumas das coisas mais comuns que podes fazer para te protegeres das suas garras. Por isso, lê com atenção porque estas dicas podem salvar-te das lágrimas.

1. Ter uma elevada autoestima

When emotional vampires see that someone is quite weak, they will try to make their life miserable. If you tend to be a quiet and shy person who doesn’t talk too much and doesn’t have opinions about things, it is quite possible that this kind of an abuser will try to abuse you. So, whatever you do, keep your self-esteem high. Show him that you are good on your own and that you don’t need others to be happy. If you don’t feel it, it is okay, you just need something that will make them stay away, so pretend as much as you can.

2. Defina as suas regras

The most important thing when you are dealing with people like this is that you make your own rules and set your own limits. Don’t let someone fazer de ti um tolo and don’t let them treat you like shit. You need to ponha-se em primeiro lugar and if you do that, you will be protected from emotional and toxic vampires. They won’t drain your positive energy because you won’t let them do it. Once you set the rules, everybody who wants to be close to you will have to respect them. It’s as simple as that!

3. Don’t let them control you

When you let an emotional vampire control you once, you won’t be able to get away from his claws. So, whatever you do, don’t believe everything they say and don’t let them convince you of the things that you don’t want to believe. Also, don’t let them see that you are assertive but always be polite and tell them that you value their opinion but that you have your own as well. That will show them that you have the right attitude and that you are not so easy to handle. In this way, you can protect yourself from their negative energy because they will definitely do anything in their power to have things their own way.

4. Aconteça o que acontecer, mantenha a calma e a serenidade

Every emotional vampire would love to irritate you but if you show them that you can be calm to everything that they say, they will realize that you are hard to handle and they won’t abuse you. The catch with them is that they attack when they see that you are afraid but if you show them that you are stronger than that, they will just leave. When they see that you are being calm no matter what they say, they will try to tease you and make you feel uncomfortable. If that happens, just leave them and go back once they get back to normal. There is no need to fight with someone who would never say that they are wrong.

5. Say ‘No’

O problema é que um vampiro emocional vai aproveitar-se de si se vir que o pode fazer. Pedir-lhe-ão que faça grandes coisas por eles e nunca estarão lá para si. Esta é uma das formas de se apoderarem do seu lado positivo energia and leave you drained. That’s why you need to learn to say ‘No’. Whatever you do, don’t say ‘Yes’ to them if that will mean saying ‘No’ to yourself. You need to set some rules and stick to them if you want to protect yourself from people like that. You should especially be wary of emotional vampires in love relationships because it is much easier for them to get what they want because you already love them.

6. Sorrir para eles

The worst thing that you can do in their presence is smile, so that’s exactly what you should do. They won’t be able to stand that they didn’t transfer any negative energy to you and that their ‘spells’ don’t work on you. That will make them feel bad and they will try to find other ways to make you feel bad since they didn’t have any success the first time. So, whenever you see them, smile. Smile even if you don’t feel like smiling, just to make sure they stay away from you. I am sure that they won’t bother you with their presence because they already know that you are not one of those people they can take advantage of.

7. Manter-se afastado deles

The best thing that you can do for yourself is to stay away from people like this. No matter whether that person is your family member or your friend, you need to know that you can’t form a stable and healthy relationship with someone who can’t at least take the control of their own life. Don’t feel bad for letting someone go. If they wanted to stay in your life they would have done anything to earn their place there. Know that you are not guilty because your friendship or relationship falls apart or because you are not as close as you were before. That is just a defense mechanism and if you don’t defend yourself, nobody else will.