Psychic Vampire Signs and Symptoms

So, now that we’ve established what psychic vampires are and why it happens, let’s move on to the crucial part: how do you know if you’re being psychically vampirized? Well, based on my own personal experience and research, I have determined that there are a number of signs and symptoms that someone being fed upon might experience, from mental to physical to interpersonal, and I share them with you below.

Keep in mind that while this list is extensive, you will not necessarily experience all or even most of them; the combination will be different for every individual. Likewise, the severity of the symptoms will vary, based on how acutely someone is feeding on you, or on the number of different people feeding on you. Please keep in mind that for all of these symptoms, the most telling sign that they may be symptoms of psychic vampirism is if the onset is markedly sudden, like they just showed up out of nowhere, or if they are unexplained. After all, all of these symptoms, taken individually, could easily have perfectly logical causes, from a medical condition to a mental health diagnosis to simply side effects of a medication. So, it goes without saying that before you jump to the conclusion that you are in fact being psychically vampirized, nothing in this blog is intended to replace traditional medical, therapeutic, or psychiatric counsel. If one or more of these symptoms is causing major issues for you, please seek advice and treatment from a medical or mental health practitioner before you consider anything else.

You will notice some overlap here with symptoms of psychic attack, another form of psychic interference. This is not surprising, because both throw our energy bodies and thus our brains and physical bodies out of whack - not to mention, you can often be psychically attacked and and psychically vampirized at the same time, even by a single person.

That said, here we go…

Mental and Energetic Symptoms of a Psychic Vampire

Persistent fatigue

Is your house a perpetual mess? Can you barely keep up with your work or your kids? Do you often feel like you want nothing more than to just lie down and rest, but even if you manage to nap, you don't feel any more rested? This is probably the most common symptom of being psychically vampirized - after all, your energy is being stolen. You may feel constantly depleted, even with adequate sleep, and it may be increasingly difficult to get motivated, whether for work or the routine demands of daily life.

Waking up feeling drained

Do you ever get a full night’s sleep, only to wake up feeling even more tired and depressed than before, or even an inexplicable sense of dread upon awakening? If this happens to you frequently, this could be a sign of ongoing psychic vampirism.

Depression

Of course, there can be a million reasons to experience depression, but if the onset seems somewhat sudden and can’t be correlated to what’s going on in your life, know that this is one of the most common symptoms of psychic vampirism. Your light is dimmed, and thus you just can’t feel good about anything. Rumination seems to be your constant companion.

Loss of interest

This has been a HUGE one for me, and of course, it’s part of depression. Remember all those things you used to enjoy - hobbies, cooking, music, time in nature, socializing with friends, making love? Are you feeling like you have lost all interest in everything that once mattered to you? A psychic vampire can suck the passion right out of you. You may have a persistent feeling like, “What do I do with myself?” and nothing seems appealing. Keep an eye out for whether anyone close to you is concurrently exploring a bunch of new interests and suddenly doing much better in their life; there may be an energy transfer happening.

Difficulty focusing

Are you having a harder and harder time staying focused on work or the other things that demand your attention - things you used to do with ease? Do you feel like you’re in a fog, or even a state of confusion? Does it sometimes seem to come on with no warning, from one moment to the next, like a veil descending? If so, consider that your energy is possibly being compromised. When I experience intense vampiric activity, I find that I have to take a break from work every fifteen minutes.

Low self-worth

Are you feeling bad about yourself, like, ALL the time? Are you questioning yourself in ways you never have before? Consider that when our light is dimmed - or drained, as may be the case here - it is easy to lose faith in ourselves.

Poor self-care

Do basic things like taking a shower or brushing your teeth now feel exhausting to you, or make you think, “Why bother?” This is a product of multiple psychic vampirism symptoms at work: fatigue, depression, and low self-worth.

Changes in appearance

It goes without saying that poor self-care means you won’t be looking your best, but this goes beyond that. When you look in the mirror, do you find yourself looking worn out, haggard, almost like you’ve aged overnight? When someone feeds on our life force, our bodies take a hit, and it shows.

Anxiety

This symptom may seem less intuitive, but it is essentially a side effect of the other symptoms. When you're feeling perpetually depleted to the point that you're struggling to function, along with some of the more physical symptoms we'll cover next, and you don't know why, there can be a pervasive sense of not being in control, or that something is wrong, creating anxiety. Likewise, you may find yourself not wanting to leave your house, because you're intuitively trying to protect yourself and seeking a sense of safety.

Physical Symptoms of a Psychic Vampire

Please note that physical symptoms tend to come on suddenly and are often a symptom of an acute "attack" of psychic vampirism - as in, someone is suddenly increasing their drain on you, or is trying to attach to you.

Headaches

I do not experience this personally, because I blessedly never get headaches in any context, but this symptom turns up commonly in my research. And it makes sense - someone is literally draining your energy, and thus messing with your head and body. My understanding is that it is commonly felt in the areas of the crown chakra or third eye chakra.

Dizziness

This can range from a mild sense of disorientation to full-on vertigo, but if it comes on suddenly, with no explanation - especially if it’s accompanied by other symptoms, like confusion or fatigue - this is a common sign that someone is acutely feeding on you, by which I mean they have suddenly increased their drain on you.

A feeling of heaviness

You may feel as if a physical weight is pressing down on you - I used to describe it to my partner as feeling like someone was "sitting on me." You may even feel trapped in your own body. This can make it very difficult to get motivated or get exercise; even walking up a flight of stairs can feel overwhelming.

Vision changes

This can often accompany dizziness or other symptoms of acute vampirism. You might notice a strange pressure or tension around your eyes, accompanied by difficulty focusing or even a subtle darkening of your vision.

A feeling of suction

This is a symptom of a very acute psychic vampirism attack: you feel a strange sucking sensation somewhere in your body. For me, it was between my shoulder blades, and it was strong enough that I had to press my back against the wall in an attempt to find relief.

The sudden urge to vomit

Again, this is a symptom of someone suddenly increasing their drain on you - an acute attack of vampirism. You’re just minding your business, and suddenly you’re coughing, gagging, or even dry heaving, if not straight out vomiting. This doesn’t feel like true nausea; it’s more like you’ve been hit in the gut with a sensation so strong that your body doesn’t know how to process it.

Feeling like you might pass out

This has only happened to me once. I was sitting in a waiting room full of other people, when I started to feel dizzy and lightheaded. Then I was overwhelmed with the need to lie down, feeling like I might collapse. By the time I realized what was happening, my ears were ringing, and I could barely walk out of the waiting room. The sensations resolved immediately after I exited the space, and I had to go lie down in the back of my car to recover. I firmly believe that someone in that crowded waiting room was a voracious psychic vampire.

Intense craving for substances

If you partake in any substances, legal or otherwise, such as alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, or even certain psych meds - typically those that work immediately, like stimulants or benzodiazepines - do you ever suddenly feel an overwhelming craving to take something, even when nothing is triggering you? This can be true for addicts or casual users alike, and in can quickly result in full-blown addiction. I’m talking, you’re in the middle of a project, doing your thing - and then BAM! You feel off, and you need a drink RIGHT NOW! Believe it or not, this can be a common defense mechanism for dealing with psychic vampirism. Different substances offer different benefits, whether calming the mind, giving you a boost, or helping you detach. In fact, according to a shaman I worked with, people often drink alcohol to “dim their light” artificially - literally to make it less attractive to psychic vampires. And I can attest to the fact that at least one person who used to feed on me would back off the more I drank, internally telling me that she didn't want my drunk energy. But there is a major tradeoff - you may get temporary relief, but substances tend to weaken your energy field, ultimately making you even more susceptible to psychic vampirism.

Interpersonal Symptoms of a Psychic Vampire

Now we get into some of the more interpersonal symptoms - those focused on the person who may be psychically vampirizing you.

Covering your stomach

Do you ever find yourself instinctively drawn to cover your stomach when you’re in someone’s presence? A common target for an energy vampire is the solar plexus chakra, located just above the navel, because that is the seat of our personal power. If you find this happening, you may be sensing intuitively that this person is trying to attach to you, or is already siphoning energy from you.

Obsessively thinking about someone

This is a big one. Is there someone you just can’t seem to stop thinking about lately - not a crush, but more like a negative obsession? When this first happened to me, I felt like I was losing my mind - I was thinking about this person maybe a hundred times a day, seemingly for no reason whatsoever. You might even feel like they are somehow present with you, like even when you’re alone, you can’t get away from them.

Recurring dreams about someone

If you have recurring dreams about a certain person, especially if they’re not pleasant, this can be a sign that they are feeding on you. It could even be someone from your past who is still attached to you. In my case, I’ve sometimes had these dreams turn disturbingly violent, where I am physically trying to harm the person (and I am not a violent person). I believe this is a subconscious attempt to defend myself and set a boundary, and is based on my unconscious anger over what they’re doing to me.

Disturbing dreams

Sometimes psychic attack dreams are more symbolic. For instance, after I started being fed upon by a particularly voracious vampire "friend," I started seeing tentacles in my dreams all the time. I’ve also frequently had symbolic dreams about violated boundaries, where I physically can’t get someone out of my space - like all the locks are broken, or maybe they come in through the window, and they steal things, or hack into your devices, disrespecting your privacy, or disrespect your space or property, and they refuse to leave no matter what you say or do. This is an unconscious symbolic representation of your psychic boundaries being violated.

Hearing someone’s voice

I commonly see this symptom listed in my research on psychic vampirism. If you feel like someone is somehow talking to you in your mind, or like you can hear their thoughts towards you, there’s a good chance that there’s a psychic attachment present. I can’t speak to how common this is for others, as this is a given for me in many cases, but I do know that sometimes it can be as benign as hearing a their voice ask, “Can I have some of your energy?” Word to the wise: do not engage! I have learned the hard way that dialoguing with these voices only gives them more access to you and your energy - you may even find that they deliberately try to trigger you into responding. Your best bet is to ignore them; put on some music or a podcast if you need to.

Desire to avoid someone

Again, sudden is the key here. There are plenty of valid reasons to avoid someone, but what if that desire seems sudden, or even irrational? Maybe there’s a friend, partner, family member, or coworker that you just find yourself increasingly wanting to avoid, even if nothing unusual has happened between you. In this case, consider that you may be intuitively sensing that they’re vampirizing you - especially if you’re experiencing other symptoms. Cutting contact, where possible, is one of the most commonly touted measures for defending yourself from psychic interference of all kinds, which we discuss in more detail in my post about psychic protection.

So, by this point, you may be considering that you could be a victim of psychic vampirism - and you may even have a pretty solid idea of who is on the receiving end of your energy. Now, the million-dollar question: how can you protect yourself, both from ongoing vampirism and from picking up new attachments in the future? This is a complex topic unto itself that requires a deep dive to fully unpack, and there is no one-size-fits-all answer, so we explore this in my psychic protection posts, where I share what is recommended in research and by the spiritual practitioners I have worked with, as well as my own personal experiences about what has worked best for me.

Thank you so much for reading, and I would love to hear about your personal experiences or any questions you may have in the comments. May you be blessed with all the energy and light you need to shine your brightest!