mind-body minute
Embrace Healthier
Relationships
Gain strength and better health by learning how to handle “toxic”
friends and avoid being one yourself. BY NANCY MILLER

What are emotional types,
and which type attracts
emotional vampires?
Your emotional type filters the
way you see the world. You can
be “the intellectual,” “the rock,”
“the gusher” or “the empath.”
The empath is most likely to
attract emotional vampires
because they are open and sen-
sitive, and take on the negative
emotions of others. The skill of
boundary-setting is essential for
the empath in order to protect
their beautiful gift of sensitivity.
The gusher is the most likely to
become an emotional vampire.
The plus side of gushers is that
they are emotionally articulate
and do not hold feelings in. The
downside is that they can become
drama queens who share feel-
ings so excessively that friends
feel burned-out.

You probably have many friends who are supportive, but are there certain people who drain you, and suck the optimism and serenity right out of you? What if you could learn to reprogram your own physical and mental responses to these “emotional vampires,” and gain the freedom to combat them before they deflate your mood or deplete your brain chemistry? “When you identify your own emotional type and take an honest inventory of people in your life, you are on your way to emotional freedom,” says Judith Orloff, M.D., psychiatrist and author of

Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself from Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life (Harmony Books, 2009). Here, Orloff talks about emotional types, and how to gain freedom from emotional vampires.

quick tip

If you have a friend who has a “poor me” attitude, tell them, “I love you, but I can only listen for a few minutes unless you would like to talk about solutions.”

How do we gain freedom
from emotional vampires?
Stay close to people who are
emotional nurturers and lift
your mood. Avoid people who
reinforce fear or negativity.
View difficult emotions as a
way to grow stronger, brighter
and more light-bearing, not
simply as causes of pain or
annoyance. Use fear as an
opportunity to learn courage,
and anger as an opportunity
to learn compassion.
[Ed. Note: For more information,
visit DrJudithOrloff.com.]

CLICK To read “Seven Rules for Com- TO IT

passionate Communications,” see this article at GreatHealthMag.com.

Crying allows for an emotional release in your body. It cleans and lubricates your eyes, reduces stress
hormones, contains anti-microbial substances and makes you feel better instantly by dissipating
stress. Never apologize for crying—it is good for your health.