How to Stop Absorbing Negative Energy: 4 Tools Every Empath Needs

Have you ever walked into a room and instantly felt the tension or negative energy in the air before anyone has even said or done anything?

Whether we’re conscious of it or not, we’re constantly influenced by the energy around us.

One of the things I had to learn the hard way is how important it is to have strategies to protect my energy - so I don’t absorb the stress or negative energy from people around me.

As an empath, I’m very sensitive to the energy and emotions of other people (and animals and the world). It’s easy for me to empathize with someone because I can feel in my own body how I imagine they feel.

And as a recovering people-pleaser, I felt a responsibility to always fix it. When someone in my family was upset, I tried to be the peacemaker—appearing calm and grounded on the outside, but absorbing their stress or negative energy on the inside.

I wanted to prevent that discomfort not just for the other person, but so I didn’t have to feel that heaviness, stress, or those uncomfortable emotions. If someone around me wasn’t totally cheerful or calm, that felt threatening to my nervous system.

Most of us go into vet med because we feel deeply. We’re sensitive to the energies of the people and animals around us. We invest a huge amount of time and money to have the skills to alleviate suffering.

And yet, a huge part of our job is being around people and animals who are stressed and sometimes suffering. And there are many scenarios where we can’t prevent or fix that.

If you aren’t intentional about noticing when you’re absorbing stress or negative energy from the people, animals, or world around you—and releasing it—it will quickly accumulate and weigh you down.

That’s when your body starts shifting into survival mode in an effort to protect you:

• Flight: You try to flee the discomfort by staying busy. You think if you just see more patients, do more things, be perfect, or learn more, you can avoid the stress or negative energy.

• Fight: You try escaping the discomfort by blaming and judging others (or yourself). If only people or animals wouldn’t make bad decisions or would be more responsible, then you wouldn’t have to feel these uncomfortable emotions.

• Fawn: You feel responsible for how everyone feels, so you do or say whatever you think will keep others happy—even if it means sacrificing your own needs and authenticity. You’re so focused on others that you start to lose connection to who you are and what you need. You’re constantly running on empty and wearing a mask.

• Freeze/Shut down: Feeling anything starts to feel threatening, so your body develops a callous over compassion. You may dread going to work, feel low energy or motivation, or experience burnout, hopelessness, or depression (your nervous system’s way of trying to avoid anything that might feel threatening).

All of those patterns are really valuable information. They’re signs that it’s time to be extra intentional about protecting your energy—and noticing when you’re absorbing stress or negativity—so you can release it instead of carrying it around until you get stuck in freeze or shut down.

Here are 4 simple strategies for protecting your energy:

1. Faster EFT

This is such a powerful tool for releasing stress or negative energy. It’s a way of letting your nervous system know, “It’s okay. We’re safe now.” You can do this throughout the day: right when you wake up, during bathroom breaks, in your car before or after work, or anytime you want to reset.

2. Go for a walk.

Walks are a great way to decrease stress and reconnect with yourself. At the end of a hard day, I’ll go for a walk, turn on a song I find grounding (I love Sol Rising), and notice any stress or negative energy I’ve picked up. I’ll imagine shedding or releasing it in whatever way feels right. By the end of the walk, I feel lighter and more at peace.

3. Wash it away.

Any time you wash your hands, imagine washing away the stress or energy that doesn’t belong to you. You can do this in the shower too at the end of a long day.

4. Create a protective circle around you.

If you know you’ll be around someone who tends to drain your energy, imagine a protective circle or bubble around you to prevent you from absorbing their energy or from them draining yours.

What color feels protective to you? Is there anything else you want in that protective space with you? Something comforting? Sparkles? You get to choose. (I walk you through it in this short video.)

Recently, I’ve also started my mornings setting this intention I learned during my Level 1 Reiki certification:

“I place a circle of divine love and protection around me, my body, and this space. In this circle, I place the white light of peace, the blue light of healing, the red light of energy, the golden light of wisdom, and the pink light of love. I direct that in this circle, no one or nothing can enter that is not for my highest and best self.”

You can start this by speaking to God, Father Sky, Mother Earth, or just start it as I wrote it above. It can be spiritual, religious, or simply energetic. What matters most is the intention. It’s a simple but powerful practice that brings me peace and comfort at the start of my day and any time I need it.

Can you relate to absorbing the energy of those around you? With all that's happening in our world right now, this is more important than ever. Which of these strategies will you try this week?

In your corner,