OK, I'm not usually one of the types of people who get some sort of smug, self-assured satisfaction from mocking the beliefs of others, especially in a public forum. However, I may have to make an exception to this, at least this one time. I was reading over the various feeds and such that I have on my Google Homepage, and I found this article posted on WikiHow. The article is entitled (I shit you not): "How to Deal with Psychic Vampires".

When I first saw this I thought it must be some sort of Halloween spoof or hoax; however upon reading the article I come away with the distinct belief that this person is actually serious about this. And while I commend the author (I believe the primary and originating author is Flickety) for their genuine desire to help others, I am still compelled to point out that this article is complete and utter bullshit.

The article begins by explaining the definition of a Psychic Vampire:

Psychic vampires (psi-vampires) are said to be people who drain "life force" or will from a susceptible person. There are different definitions for a psychic vampire, and for what constitutes your "life force". In this article, it is assumed that a psychic vampire refers to the persons in your life who seem to be all take and no give, who drain your energies through relentless demands and taking advantage of you, leaving you feeling vulnerable, exhausted, and run down. It should also be recognized that not all of those who could be viewed as psychic vampires are necessarily bad; it may be that you've a lot to learn about not letting people take advantage of you so easily or that friends of yours who drain you haven't learned to control their overly energetic nature. In this article, you'll get a good start at learning to deal with psychic vampires.

I'm sorry, but I am forced to draw a logic weapon, known as Occam's Razor, whose sharp blade can easily fillet this new age cow. When you encounter someone who "seem to be all take and no give, who drain your energies through relentless demands and taking advantage of you, leaving you feeling vulnerable, exhausted, and run down", is it more likely that you're just dealing with a narcissistic, self-centered asshole, or some magical creature who "drain 'life force' or will from a susceptible person"? Using Occam's Razor, which explanation is the simplest and most believable?

I truly find it hard to believe that there are people out there who actually buy into this new age, magical claptrap. I also really dislike people who make a conscious effort to try to suck others into their delusions by giving them mystical and supernatural explanations for things that are otherwise utterly mundane at best, or hurtful and destructive at worst.

What I really find funny is that, for the most part, the explanation and suggestions of ways to combat a "Psychic Vampire" are actually pretty much the same things you would do to deal with people who are self-centered. And normally I would just dismiss this and not feel compelled to comment, but I believe that the author does have the potential to do harm to others by offering solutions like, "Find help from someone skilled in dealing with psychic vampires. There are healing arts practitioners who claim to be skilled at helping others to deal with psi-vampires effectively." Preying upon people who are susceptible to new age scams is pretty infuriating, because I am quite sure that "someone skilled in dealing with psychic vampires" is the type of charlatan that won't come cheap.

OK, I've gotten that off my chest now. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this as well.