Dealing with Energy Vampires
I had a break down. It was Friday morning, anxiety bombarded in and completely unhinged me. I stood bent over the kitchen counter, with my hands burying my face as tears began pouring out.
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“I’m exhausted,” I cried.
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It didn’t matter how much self-care I did, how many healthy boundaries I set—I was never feeling fully recharged.
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As I gave an honest look at what was really weighing on me, it was brought to my attention that I needed time to examine a relationship and reassess.
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Relationships require boundaries, and sometimes boundaries aren’t enough. This relationship didn’t need more boundaries, it needed space. I needed breathing room.
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I was dealing with an energy vampire and their name is Instagram.
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Instagram plays a pretty big role in my business. It’s part of my job to be on here, to be connected and throughout quarantine it’s felt stupid hard to show up.
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Instagram is also notorious for amplifying icky emotions—one of those emotions is called hustle guilt; the guilt you feel when you’re not hustling. Let me tell you, that shit’s REAL and I was feeling it intensely—more than ever before.
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I only had the bandwidth for clients, friends, and myself—and trying to extend to Instagram was EXHAUSTING.
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So, I took a much needed break.
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And fuck. You know you made the right decision when you instantly feel liberated.
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After a few days off, hustle guilt disappeared and creativity reappeared. I was less distracted and more productive. I read aggressively, more than I normally do (📚🤓). It gave me the space I was desperately craving to work in a way that was free of pressure. I felt present, grounded, and deeply connected—to friends, myself, clients, and to my work.
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Initially, the break was supposed to be a weekend thing, but the separation felt so good, I continued to take more space.
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I’m back and I feel a million times better.
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Space is healthy. Space is necessary.
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I’d like to invite you to closely look at your relationships—with people, with apps, with habits, with narratives—and examine. Does this relationship fulfill me or exhaust me? Does it need boundaries or does it need space?
To doing what’s best for you.