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Everything is energy. And as energetic beings, we are all sensitive to the energy of the world around us. But those who are highly sensitive are unaware of how much they are being impacted. You are responsible for your own energy. And you are responsible for managing that energy and practicing good energy hygiene daily. But often there are energy bad habits that you pick up along the way that may be draining your energy…and you may not know it. Here are some of the most common energy bad habits that deplete sensitive people quickly.
Top Energy Bad Habits
1. Too much time on social media
When you are an energy sponge, it is easy to get overwhelmed. Spending a lot of time on social media is setting you up to get drained! Think about how many people spend time complaining, sharing articles on draining topics (religion, politics, news), and trolling others.
If you spend hours of time each day wading through that energy it WILL impact you. And you may not even know it. You can prevent too much overwhelm by limiting the time you spend on social media. You can also unfriend, unfollow or mute those energy vampires who are the worst offenders. Doing that can make the time you spend on social media a little less draining. If you are an empath or highly sensitive person, it is even more important to spend less time on social media!
2. Not being present in the moment
How much time do you spend replaying stressful things from your past or worrying about what might happen in the future? It’s more common than you might think! Most people spend far more time living in the past or creating “what if” scenarios about their future than they do just being with themselves in the present moment.
But true freedom can be found when we begin to spend more time being present in the moment. That is what we must do to check in with our bodies, manage energy, and connect with our own inner guidance. And yet most of us rarely do that.
Staying trapped in negative energy from the past isn’t healthy. Neither is creating a negative, fear-filled future in our imagination. And yet so many humans do just that throughout their day… every day. Practice spending time being in the moment throughout your day. Whether that is through meditation or mindfulness isn’t important. Just taking that time to be with yourself can start to transform your energy.
3. Not getting enough sleep
How many times have you wound up binge-watching your newest favorite show, or stayed up later than you know you should so you can finish a project? We’ve all been there at one time or another. But it can become a bad energy habit. Every person needs plenty of high-quality sleep. But if you’re an empath or HSP, you typically need more sleep than the average person. And a sleep deficit can hit us harder than someone who is not energy sensitive.
It is important to make sleep a priority, especially if you’re sensitive! But everyone needs good sleep! Getting adequate sleep allows our exhausted nervous system time to recover. When we are sleep-deprived, we don’t have the recovery time we need. It can quickly throw us into a state of burnout!
Turn off your television, put your phone away, and give yourself permission to finish that project tomorrow. And go and get the sleep your body desperately needs!
4. Taking things personally
As an empath or highly sensitive person, it is in our nature to feel things very deeply. We also process a lot more information than those who are not sensitive to energy. We notice subtle things that others don’t see. As a result, there is a tendency to take things personally…even things that may seem small to others.
We can detect a slight change in the tone of a friend and immediately begin worrying that they might be angry or that we’ve done something wrong to upset them. And it is easy to fall into a pattern of overthinking, which depletes our energy and creates more stress than necessary. This can definitely become a bad energy habit, especially if you continue to let your thoughts run amok.
It’s time to get off of the hamster wheel of endless negative thoughts! They aren’t helping you. There are a couple of things for you to remember and do when this happens…
- Remember that it isn’t always about you. If someone else is upset, it may be about something not even connected to you.
- You do not have to have a knee-jerk reaction. Start recognizing this pattern in yourself. It will help you begin to counteract it so that you can respond and NOT react!
- Give the person a chance to share what is going on. They may have had something upsetting happen at work. Or they may have had someone else do or say something upsetting. You can bring up this subject by saying “I’ve noticed that you are upset/angry/frustrated right now…” That opens the door for them to share what is going on without you automatically taking on the blame.
- Journaling is a great way to release everything that you are feeling when you begin to have a reaction. You can go back and read what you wrote which can help you notice unhealthy patterns, so you can begin releasing them.
Awareness of this pattern is key to beginning to change it! It takes a little work, but when you’re able to catch it, it reduces your stress a lot!
5. Eating too many processed foods
We are sensitive…to everything! And that includes the food we eat. Highly processed foods are often energetically dead foods. They have been so highly processed that the high-energy nutrients in them have been stripped away during processing. These foods often contain chemical additives, flavorings, and preservatives that we may be sensitive to without knowing it. I find not only for myself but for other sensitives that a diet of whole, fresh, real foods just feels better for my body. Whole, real foods are those that haven’t been highly processed and are in their natural state.
I know how hard it is to completely avoid all processed foods. It just isn’t realistic. But eating a diet that is 80-90% real foods is doable! It allows you to have something to eat that isn’t as vibrationally high on occasion. When you do make the switch to eating better, you will find that meals are surprisingly satisfying too. Eating foods that are vibrationally better for you feel better and are definitely satisfying to eat!
6. Being a people pleaser
Empaths hate conflict! And we also don’t want other people to be upset, frustrated, or angry at us, because we have to feel it too. It leads us to apologize for things we didn’t do and say yes far too often. Being in people-pleaser mode drains energy quickly because it doesn’t allow you to be who you really are. It creates resistance because you aren’t able to easily allow yourself to be in the flow. You are forcing yourself to do things you don’t want to do and be someone you aren’t. And that is exhausting! This is one of the most draining energy bad habits. And a lot of empaths don’t even recognize they are doing this! Are you people-pleasing?
7. Taking on other people’s negative energy to “help” them
Those of us who are sensitive often want to help other people! We want them to feel good and to be successful. Many sensitives are drawn to healing professions. Others regularly allow the people in their lives to “vent” to them and dump energy on them. It is easy to allow this and feel as if you are obligated to do this for others in order to help them. I’ve known many empaths who are exhausted and chronically ill from taking on so much heavy, dense energy from others.
This is a mindset that needs to be changed….now! You are not here to be an energy dumping ground for others in your life! You are not helping them by allowing them to just dump energy on you so that they can feel better. It is actually enabling them to not deal with their own energetic crap!
What do you do when a friend or family member starts to vent to you? You have every right to set a boundary with them if you are already depleted. It isn’t always the most comfortable thing to do, but you can say “I would love to be able to listen to you right now, but I am just feeling overwhelmed right now”. If you are in a good place energetically and choose to listen, be sure to do some energy clearing after they leave. You do not need to continue carrying that dense, heavy energy around with you!
If I’m feeling like I need to share something frustrating or upsetting (which rarely happens now), I always ask my sensitive friends and family members if it is okay to share. I know how easily energy can infect others and most times I will process my own emotional energy first. Then if I share, it doesn’t have the same impact on the energy fields of others.
Being aware of your own energy bad habits can help you begin to overcome them. Awareness is the key to making lasting changes!
