The Types of Life Leeches - People who Suck You Dry

People Who Suck…You Dry:
Life Leeches, Energy Vampires and Toxic People
Dr. John Schinnerer
DrJohn@GuideToSelf.com
Guide To Self Radio
http://www.guidetoself.com/

Life leeches and energy Life Leeches – people who suck…the energy right out of you!  There are more than a dozen types of Life Leeches.     None of the Life Leech labels are necessarily a life sentence. So you want to keep the door open because the possibility exists in many cases that the Life Leech can change for the better. Remember the human brain has the ability to make new pathways and grow new brain cells throughout our lifespan. This means that every day is a new opportunity to recreate who you are and how you treat other people.
So focus on what you can control – your actions, your feelings, your thoughts. Foster forgiveness and compassion. Take good care of yourself. And treat everyone around you with respect and dignity.
So here are the types of Life Leeches to lookout for…

• There is the Whining Leech who always wants to complain but never looks for a solution.


• The Judgmental Leech who casts a judgmental finger at everyone but himself.


• The Drama Leech who is overwhelmed by life and treats even minor crises as major catastrophes.


• The Non-stop Talker who takes 6 hours to tell you that he is short on words.


• The Advice Junkie who complains and seeks out advice, yet never implements one potential solution.


• The Sprinting Leech who runs from any and all confrontation.


• The Oblivious Life Leech who is anyone who sucks energy from you without knowing it. This is an innocent type of Life Leech but one you need to be aware of in terms of your overall energy level. Any of you who have children know what I’m talking about here – kids can suck your energy from you in a matter of minutes with a good tantrum.


• The Two Types of Malicious Life Leeches…


• Antisocial Life Leech. This type is not antisocial in terms of disliking company. Rather they are antisocial in the sense that he has no regard for society’s rules, personal boundaries, values, or the feelings of others. He is distrustful of others and suspicious of coworkers. He has a pessimistic outlook and frequently takes statements out of context and twists other people’s words until they are unrecognizable.  A dangerous leech.


• The Empty Shell Life Leech feels things very deeply, lacks a sense of self, and sees people as all good or all bad. They fill themselves up with what you are doing, thinking or feeling. You don’t want to fall into the all bad category or this Life Leech will make your life miserable. A dangerous leech.


• The Volcanic Life Leech, one of the scariest Life Leeches due to their angry outbursts, you never know when they will explode and you don’t know exactly where you stand with them. They are expert at hiding their feelings. And when they blow, there is often a fear that they may become physically violent. The volcano is always filled with inner fury. They keep a long list of the injustices done to them. They never forget a slight.


• The Emotional Ice Cube, They show no emotion. The ice cube has no emotional awareness. They do not know how they are perceived by other people. They are totally numb. You may get the feeling as if you want to take them by the arms and shake them.


• The Self-Loving Life Leech, This Life Leech loves to talk with other people – about themselves. They usually talk a great deal – about themselves. Deep down, in their core, they are fearful, insecure and feel unworthy. Their goal is to impress you with their experience, knowledge, travels, accomplishments or skill.


• The Browbeating Bullying Leech.

I think everyone had their own personal bully growing up. Unfortunately, some bullies never grow up. They continue their bullying ways right into adulthood, using intimidation to get what they want.
The browbeating bully tends to use a loud voice and close physical quarters to scare you into giving them whatever it is they want. When you make a mistake, the bully leech will yell at you to correct it. When you call them on their mistake, the bully will yell at you and tell you that you make mistakes also. The bully loves to watch you sweat and fret.
How do you get out of that position?
Don’t buy into their game. You can give them back a taste of their own medicine by standing up to them and refusing to be intimidated. Using your deep breathing, remind yourself that you will not stand for bullying. Put your hands on your hips and in a loud and firm voice, tell them “Stop. You sound as if you are trying to get what you want by yelling at me. That may work with other people, but I don’t appreciate being yelled at as I was your four year old child.” This will typically cause them to respect you and back off the yelling game. Normally, just calling them on their game is enough to snap them out of their little drama.
There are specific ways to deal with each type of life leech. Stay tuned in to Guide To Self Radio to find out tips to deal with each type.
Dr. John Schinnerer
Guide To Self Radio