Emotional Predator

I was having a wonderful conversation with a very good friend this past week and the term Emotional Predator came up. I had not heard this term before so I asked her what it was. She replied that, "it is someone who preys on others, who are emotionally weak."

Of course this did not quite answer my question and I had to know more. "Well," she said, "people who have had traumatic lives or carry some kind of emotional pain can be considered easy targets for this kind of predator. "

"It is just as you see it on the "Animal Channel" where the predator stalks its prey for some type of personal purpose. They look for the weakest in the people who are around them that are suffering or hurt and they charm their victims into believing that they can meet their needs."

"All of us who have children tell our kids to not talk to stranger or go with someone who has a puppy. But who tells the adults to do the same when a emotional predator is at large? "

"Words in our vocabulary such as Con Artist, Liar, or Deceiver are only a few names that describe this predator. This type of personality preys on the sympathy and the emotional needs of their prey. They are looking for ways to manipulate their victim so that the outcome benefits themselves. The only problem is that the victim believes that they are being loved or helped to find out later that they were being used."

"Sometimes this type of relationship can cause detriment not only to the victim themselves but also it can reach out beyond to others who are influenced by their relationships with the victim. For example, a parent dating a predator will have an effect with the relationship they have with their children, a boss influenced by a co-worker who is a predator or the other way around will effect the work place and the people around. A person in power who takes advantage of their position miss using people as volunteers will hurt all those who are related to the volunteers etc........"

"The point, Ana, that I am making is that you need to be aware of the relationships in your life that are influencing you and your family. If someone is trying to separate the bonds that you have with others or manipulate you to do something you don't want to do, then you are probable in contact with an emotional predator."

I thought about what she had said and knew that I had met a few emotional predators in my life and had just escaped one recently. I realized that we do need to make sure that we are making healthy choices and following our intuition. When we feel something is wrong, something probably is wrong. God gave us that gut feeling not to annoy us but to tell us something.

Even if you don't care about yourself, please think about all the lives that you touch.

Ana