Here's how to spot energy vampires

... and avoid them like the plague

We all have that one friend right, the eeyore of the gang? The one who you might happily skip along to meet up with, and you find yourself slumping home after a few hours of listening to them complain about their job/partner/house/politics. Most likely they won’t have asked you how you are, or even listened properly when you venture to talk about your life after listening to them drone on about theirs.

They’re even harder to contend with at work, because at least longterm friends might have earned the right to be a downer for a while. But when freelance friends or colleagues start doing it? It’s time to change things.

It’s normal to want to vent to other freelancers, and having a community around you means having people to lean on. But I’m talking about those freelancers who are literally never happy about anything, and who spend their talking leeching every bit of energy from you.

Basically, an energy vampire. Meaning someone who gains energy by draining yours.

I used to think I had to be a good freelance pal and listen to the endless barrage of negativity, until I realised that I didn’t! No amount of complaining would ease their soul, because no sooner was one issue resolved then another one would crop up. No amount of trying to help find solutions would fix things either, because there would also be a counterpoint.

My motto now? Steer clear of these soul-suckers before you leave them as a dry husk of a human, with just enough juice to crawl under a blanket depressed. Life is tough enough, isn’t it, without subjecting ourselves to endless pessimism?

So here’s how you can spot those energy vampires and run away before you lose the will to live: