Energy drainers...

I say “energy drainers” in reference to the people in our lives that seem to have a perpetual dark cloud over their heads. They seem to have the magical ability to make good news bad. We tend to avoid these people, I did, I worked with a girl like that and everything was an excuse or some bad news, but sometimes we cannot escape them.

They are simply just negative people.

A recent study in neuroscience demonstrates how negative people affect us. “Being exposed to too much complaining can actually make you dumb. Research shows that exposure to 30 minutes or more of negativity – including viewing such material on TV – actually peels away neurons in the brain's hippocampus. That's the part of your brain you need for problem solving." (Minda Zetlin)\

So one of the main results to this is that our exposure to negative or critical people can basically turn our brain to mush.  This has the same effect even if you are passively listening to them.

I try to be a positive person and I tend to attract positive people. But there is always that one person, who has to be negative. I feel that a constant barrage of negativity van prove to be extremely harmful to others in the group and can make you feel negativity as well.

So the next time you are with such person, I would try to be positive, maybe they are having a bad day and they need cheering up. . You might come away a happier person because you have helped out someone else. . And you might even come away a bit smarter or, at the very least, not any dumber.