Who says that vampires don’t exist? Where people go wrong is that they assume that a vampire equals Count Dracula. Or even worse, they think Edward Cullen!

Real life ‘vampire’ is a person who can end up parasitically feeding off your life energy. These are people who end up leaving you feeling drained. Every person has an aura of energy around them.

You can think of this energy in spiritual terms as a subtle aura that defines the subconscious existence of your being. You can also literally think of this as your mental and emotional energy. Are there people in your life who make you feel extremely tired after spending time with them? People you have to expend your own energy to deal with constantly? That is what a real vampire would seem to be.

That’s why we’ve compiled a list of 11 signs that might forewarn you to realize that the people around you might not be as good for you as you think.

1. If someone is talking at you instead of to you. Ask yourself if you’re just a sounding board for the other person or just filler for them to express their own views. This person will make you feel drained even if you spend a little bit of time with them.
2. If you have to silence yourself and put on a pretend personality to fit into a group, you can be sure they’ll bleed you of your energy. Just think of the energy you will spend in maintaining the persona to fit in.
3. If being with them evokes a constant sense of guilt as if you’re letting them down and not being the person that they want you to be.
4. Sometimes you’re aware that you’re being manipulated. Some people will try and use you as their personal doormat. Don’t become the company ‘yes-man’ and understand that they’re greedily feeding off you.
5. Having sexual intimacy with this person is not making you happy. In fact the sex is not ‘making love’. It can feel like you’re doing this for them as a favor or them sleeping with you is a favor they’re doing for you.
6. You would like to leave the relationship but it’s inexplicably difficult. Energy sucking vampires can be great at keeping their hapless victims stuck to them. Unfortunately this is the sad reality of most abusive domestic relationships. It becomes very difficult for the victim to leave their abuser.
7. You get involved in the inane dramas of their life regardless of whether you want to or not. This will be hugely taxing on your energy.
8. Narcissism in the person you’re with is one of the main reasons why you feel so worn out all the time. Narcissistic personalities are famous energy drainers and takers. They intimidate, physically or emotionally abuse, belittle, confuse and generally create all varieties of crazy.
9. Get yourself away from the cult of celebrities. You’ll end up wasting a lot of energy on an entity that is external to you and get little for it in return. Your energy is worth a lot more when you use it to strike a healthy balance between the external and internal worlds. Too many people have been sacrificed on the altar of celebrity status.
10. Someone important in your life is saying they can’t live without you, they wouldn’t know how to live without you, and the famous one “If you loved me you would ____”.
11. Check yourself for any chronic infections such as candida and fungal growth. They’re clearly energy sappers. Chronic fatigue is the first sign that it is time for you make some changes in your life and the people you accommodate in it.