Welcome viewers, leave a like if you’ve enjoyed this post, and leave a comment if you’d like to provide your thoughts on this post. I am because we are, that’s Ubuntu. As always, peace and keep it real.
- Social Vampires are those people who suck the energy out of us when we hang out together”. (Beingwell life coach Grace McMahon).
Social vampires tend to be selfish when communicating. They’re usually emotionally, physically, and socially draining. In other words, they cannot wait for the opportunity during a conversation to talk about themselves. Not to mention, they usually derail the conversation into tangents of unrelated anecdotes. Put simply, they’re too pompous and this can cause conflicts that could lead to the potential end of a relationship if communication is one-sided. More importantly, this can cause individuals in any kind of relationship to drift apart. However, this doesn’t mean that there can’t be an opportunity for a reconciliation process. Many people give their partners, friends, and even employees a second chance to rectify their misbehavior. Then again, they can run the risk of giving too many chances which can cause the social vampire to take advantage of their forgiveness. With experience, a social vampire’s negativity can make someone more aware of how they should counteract a social vampire’s misconduct.
To make matters worse, it can be challenging to find ways to manage our emotions when engaging with social vampires. In other words, there is some ambivalence about where we should turn to find solutions. The reason is, with every passing hour it becomes arduous to interact with social vampires and once our social capacity to communicate begins to deplete, then we might begin to withdraw from our peers. Equally important, even close friends need time to recharge their “social capacity” but I believe it can replenish faster than if you were to interact with people you’re not close with because of shared history.
“Not all social vampires are aware of how their behavior is being received, so it’s not necessarily malicious or ill-intended”. – Grace McMahon
Even though close friends have an established rapport, that friendship is not impervious to a social vampire emerging and potentially causing friction. Furthermore, things can become detrimental when a close friend or acquaintance becomes a social vampire and does not respect your boundaries when you’re not available for them. Moreover, let’s suppose that we don’t address this problem immediately. In that case, it can lead to a constant energy drain to the point where we don’t want to contribute to the conversation because we’re left feeling dejected.
Artwork credited to r/vtm on Reddit.
So, how can we nullify the overwhelming effects of social vampirism?
Well, there isn’t one answer to combating social vampirism because it’s all circumstantial. What would work for me when dealing with a social vampire might not work for someone else, but an objective benchmark is setting boundaries so we can protect ourselves. However, some might feel reluctant to initially set boundaries because of the fear of upsetting another person. With this in mind, social vampires are not above reproach but you can give them a false sense of confidence if boundaries are not set. Ultimately, since you’re familiar with each other, there can be an “acceptance period” where you might tolerate their behavior until the situation gets drastic. By setting boundaries, we can ensure protection for our mental health before the situation becomes dire.
Artwork credited to r/vtm on Reddit.
It’s important to understand the impact social vampires can have on our mental health if it’s not confronted with a proper strategy, diligence, and vigilance. Not to mention, due to frustration, you might express yourself in a way that a friend or significant other might find aggressive. From my perspective, I would say be patient with yourself so you can figure out the best way to communicate what’s bothering you calmly. All in all, by doing this successfully I believe it will empower us to maintain our relationships and hopefully bring clarity to how we can mitigate any problems that may arise.
Works Cited
Dray, Kayleigh. “The Rise of the Social Vampire, and How to Handle the One in Your Life.” Pocket, 28 Sept. 2021, getpocket.com/explore/item/psychology-the-rise-of-the-social-vampire-and-how-to-handle-the-one-in-your-life?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us.
Real Free - Flowing Words 