Psychic Vampires

[starrykitten]

Hi all--

I don't know much about psychic vampires, but I feel like I've been vamped today. I've been feeling ok this week, mostly pretty good. I've been stressed about not having enough money, but that's the worst of it. I am prone to serious bouts of depression, but I hadn't been going through one recently.

Today I woke up and for no discernible reason, I felt utterly exhausted, empty, and dried out. I can't imagine writing or doing anything that would make me feel better. It's like a big depression from nowhere, but I'm suddenly so far in it that I can't figure my way out. The suddenness of it makes me wonder about being vamped. I've also been realizing all the ways in which a supposed friend has been trying to take opportunities and things away from me, and I had to be around her a lot last night. I feel drained after seeing her sometimes so I'm wondering if somehow she's to blame for this.

So what do I need to know about psi vamps? Is it necessarily intentional? Does this sound like a typical psi vamp experiene, or is it just plain old blues?

Thanks!
-sk

[Lorrie]

It could be many things. Because you are worrying about money, and that can in itself knock off your energy balance. I would suggest doing some chakra balancing, but I have found that this doesn't do much good as long as the financial worry has still got ahold of you! Worrying and stress will sap you faster than anything that I know of. It causes all kinds of other problems also! Take one problem at a time and try to come to some sort of acceptance of it all to try to get your mind off of the worrying. Once you can clear your mind up a bit then you can try to balance it all out! It is easier said than done. Another thing that I tend to recommend to people is to take your routine and turn it unpside down, and backwards. Do everything in your routine a different way. It makes your mind feel more in control of your situation and this will help, odd as it may sound! Worrying makes your mind feel like it is out of control and that causes alot of problems too. If nothing else, it tends to make you laugh and laughter really can have a huge affect on your mind!

[starrykitten]

Thanks for your tips, Lorrie!

I am feeling some better now, thankfully.

I did still do some research on psychic vampirism and it seems like the person I'm thinking of fits what I'm read. I talked to a lady who I trust who owns a magickal supply store and she agreed that it sounds like while this may not be the major cause of my troubles, this is still a problem that needs to be addressed.

She gave me some advice about cleansing baths and healing things to try.

The question I'm left with is this: is it unethical to bind a psychic vampire? I follow the Rede and the threefold law, and I'm going to do lots of protection stuff on myself. If I bind someone who is causing me harm , is that just an extenstion of protection, or is it violating her free will by squealching her desires to feed off me? I know that her need to feed off others is symbolic of her own issues, not mine. And I know it's hers to work through, but I still don't want her issues crossing my path, which they have been. We're in the same graduate program and share a lot of friends, so I can't really escape her.

[~Elise~]

There is a whole class in the Circle of Teaching on Magical Self Defense. Go read through the archives of the class... you'll find some good tips, if I do say so myself.

Elise