I love having conversations with people, but sometimes I walk away feeling depleted. Emotionally drained, if you will. Then at other times, I leave conversations feeling uplifted, empowered, and re-energised. Why? It’s all down to an exchange of energy.
What is emotional energy?
Everything on earth has an energetic frequency, even humans. Whenever we make contact with others, we experience an exchange of energy. Whatever energy they put out, we mimic. This exchange happens at an unconscious level, and whilst we don’t notice the exchange, we do notice our reaction to it. So, if they’re releasing stress-filled energy, you take on that stress, which may involve a quickening of breath or an uncomfortable sensation in your tummy.
Why should you protect your emotional energy?
In short, constant energetic depletion is bad for your overall health. If you don’t protect your emotional energy, you’re going to experience burnout. Plus, when your energy bank is constantly running low, you’re subconsciously blocking more positive experiences stunting how happy you can feel each day.
We can’t – and shouldn’t – avoid being around other people all of the time, but we can take ownership of our reaction to the energy. Some simple energy protection practices will help set healthy boundaries between yourself and others. And for bonus points, the higher your energy rises, the more others will benefit too!
5 Essential practices to protect your emotional energy and raise your vibe:
#01 Create space, boundaries & limits
As I said previously, we can’t avoid being around people all of the time, but we can create – and maintain – boundaries and limits. Whether that’s limiting the amount of time we spend with certain people, generating an awareness of our triggers, or simply saying ‘no’ more often, all helps.
Remember, you can use the mute, restrict and unfollow buttons when online, and if you find saying no difficult, this post will help.
Top Tip: Create sacred me-time daily; time completely to yourself – whatever you can manage. Switching off and resting when you can is a great way to restore your energy.
#02 Tune into your thoughts & feelings
With an average of 6200 thoughts per day, it’s impossible to catch them all, but at random moments throughout your day, check in with yourself. What are your predominant thoughts and feelings at that moment? If they’re good and positive, excellent! But if they’re on the more negative side, it’s time to take action and gently challenge that thought.
Let me say clearly here: it’s not about forcing positive thoughts on yourself; it’s more about transferring negative energy into something healthier. Perhaps, try practising gratitude, listing all the things you feel grateful for, or you could try one of my five easy ways to instantly boost your mood anytime and anywhere. Additionally, positive affirmations are fantastic at helping to shift your mindset.
#03 Breathe
Conscious breathing will help protect your emotional energy and is easy to do. Take a few mindful breaths exhaling stress and inhaling calm wherever you are. If you can, try to exhale for slightly longer than you inhale; it can help to count. For example, breathe in for four counts and then exhale for five. I tend to do four repetitions and then up the exhale count by one each time until I’m exhaling for a count of eight.
So…
Inhale for 4, exhale for 5 x 4 repetitions
Inhale for 4, exhale for 6 x 4 repetitions
Inhale for 4, exhale for 7 x 4 repetitions
Inhale for 4, exhale for 8 x 4 repetitions
Please don’t worry if this is too much for you; just being conscious of your breathing is enough.
Good to Know: Meditation, breathwork, and even tending to houseplants can help to stabilise the nervous system. The more grounded you can be, the better you’ll be at protecting your energy.
#04 Surround yourself with positive people
After spending time with friends who tend to exude more positive energy, I feel amazing. As writer and coach Vex King says, “Surround yourself with people who are vibin’ higher than you. Be around people who are feeling better than you are. Energy is contagious.”
“Positive people can also provide empowering perspectives on our problems. Being in a positive state, they’re more likely to have an optimistic outlook on what you’re going through.”
#05 Kill it with kindness
But what if you work with someone or live with someone who tends to bring your energy down? Someone, you can’t avoid? Or someone you want to spend more time with but need them to shift their energy? That’s where kindness can help.
A simple compliment, words of encouragement, or an offer of help, can be all that’s needed to cause a shift and protect your emotional energy. And it never hurts to steer the conversation onto a more positive topic, particularly if it’s gossip – which is damaging to everyone.
Protect your emotional energy and help others protect theirs:
The state of your emotional energy shapes the world around you. It’s critical to protect it and rectify it, always. Don’t feel bad for seeing some people less, sticking to your boundaries, etc. By keeping your vibe high, you’re providing opportunities for others to vibe higher too.
Recommended: 5 Easy Ways to Feel Energised
Do you notice when your energy is affected by the energy of others? What do you do to help balance this? Do you have any top tips of your own to help protect your emotional energy? Whatever you’d like to say – or ask – please do, just leave me a comment in the box below. I’m happy to help and I always love to hear from you.
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