Is Other People’s Energy Draining You?
- Rebekah King
- Oct 27
- 3 min read
I used to work with someone whose energy could be felt the moment you walked into the room. You didn’t even have to see their face to know what kind of day it was going to be.
Some mornings, I’d take a deep breath in the car before walking through the door, almost bracing myself. Because no matter how grounded I was when I left home, I knew the atmosphere in that office would shift within seconds.
And that’s the thing about energy… it’s contagious.
Most of us know what it feels like to be around someone who lights up a room. But we also know what it feels like to have the air sucked out of it. The difference isn’t always in what’s said, it’s in what’s felt.
The science behind “energy”
Now, before you roll your eyes and think this all sounds a bit “woo-woo,” hear me out. We are, quite literally, energetic beings. Every thought, emotion, and physiological process in the body involves the movement of energy - electrical impulses through neurons, electromagnetic fields around the heart, chemical energy released with every breath.
So when we say someone’s “energy” affects us, it’s not a metaphor. It’s biology. As Dr. Candace Pert wrote in Molecules of Emotion, our bodies are “a walking, talking, feeling electrical field.” We transmit emotion through our chemistry, and we pick it up from others the same way.
The problem is that most people don’t realise how much of other people’s energy they’re carrying.
When you take on what’s not yours
You might notice it after certain conversations or environments. Maybe you feel heavy, tired, or unusually anxious, even when nothing “bad” has happened. That’s often a sign you’ve absorbed energy that doesn’t belong to you.
This is something I spoke about recently with my friend Irene McGrath, founder of Free Your Spirit and a Reiki Master who specialises in energy wellness. Irene has a gift for making the unseen feel practical and down to earth. She explained that when we don’t protect our own energy, we can end up carrying the emotional residue of others - their stress, fear, frustration, even grief.
And it shows up physically. Stomach tension. A tight chest. Headaches. A sense of emotional exhaustion that coffee won’t fix.
How to protect your energy (without closing your heart)
Protecting your energy doesn’t mean avoiding people or building walls. It’s about creating healthy energetic boundaries, so you can stay open and compassionate without being depleted.
Here are three ways to start:
Set your energy in the morning.
Before you reach for your phone, take 30 seconds to visualise yourself surrounded by a calm, protective bubble of light. Choose a colour that feels uplifting - yellow for joy, green for balance, blue for calm.
This simple intention tells your brain what kind of energy you’re willing to carry into the day.
Notice how you feel around people.
Your body is incredibly intuitive. If your shoulders tighten, your breath shortens, or you feel drained after certain interactions, that’s valuable information. Awareness is the first step toward protection.
Release what’s not yours.
At the end of the day, imagine brushing off or washing away the energy you’ve picked up, like rinsing dust from your skin. This helps reset your nervous system so you can return to your own emotional baseline.
As Irene said during our chat, “You can still be kind, loving, and empathetic, but you don’t have to take on someone else’s stuff.”
That awareness alone can change how you move through the world.
Energy hygiene is emotional hygiene
Just like we shower or brush our teeth, we need regular energy hygiene. The more you clear out what isn’t yours, the more space you create for clarity, calm, and genuine connection.
Because when your energy is strong and grounded, you show up differently… at work, at home, in every conversation.
And maybe the next time you walk into a room, you’ll be the one who shifts the energy - for the better.
🎧 Listen to Episode 36 of The Brain Changers Podcast with Irene McGrath here:👉 moonbeammonday.com.au/podcast
If you’d love to experience Irene’s work firsthand, she’s offering a discount for first-time clients via our Preferred Partners page on the Moonbeam Monday website
Comments