Have you ever had a conversation with a friend who was, say, overly happy or sad, only to realize after that you’ve caught their emotions?

Some people believe that moods can be contagious. While it’s common to be influenced by the mood of a person you’ve interacted with, there are folks who believe that places and inanimate objects may (accidentally or not) influence a person’s emotions as well.

When Your ‘Emotions’ Aren’t Yours

Psychic and tarot authority Robert Rubin of Mysterium Philippines explains: “People have the tendency to follow emotions and not quite questioning why,” he says. “Sometimes areas that have spirits connected to them have the habit of triggering emotions in people and people just dumbly follow it. ‘I’m depressed.’ ‘Why are you depressed?’ ‘I don’t know.’ ‘It’s not yours!’”

He cites an example: “I’ve had a case where someone just had a big contract signing, made a lot of money, entered a room and five minutes later said that he wanted to kill himself. I said, ‘Dude, stop. You just got this contract. Why do you want to kill yourself?’ ‘I don’t know.’ ‘Then it’s not yours.’ Something is triggering this in you in this room and lo and behold, there was something.”

Fortunately, we don’t have to be slaves to emotions, whether they’re ours or otherwise. Rubin has a matter-of-fact way with dealing with them. “You’re feeling fine, and you enter a room and all of sudden you’re feeling depressed or angry or something like that, repeat to yourself, ‘not my circus, not my monkeys,’” he says.

Of course, the first step is recognizing that they’re not your emotions in the first place.

Clearing Your Space

If you think that you live or work in a place that taps negative emotions, don’t fret! There are ways to get rid of them. “I always tell people that energy flows where the wind goes. If there’s clear ventilation in the area, it’s a lot easier to get the negative energy out. If need be, have a routine of lighting sage, ringing a singing bowl and also be very careful who you permit into your working space,” Rubin says. “Remember the rule of the vampire: if you allow a depressive into your office and they leave and you’re feeling depressed, guess what, they basically took the equivalent of an astral crap in your office. You gotta clean it out. You can’t just leave it alone and hope it’ll go away on its own.”

It also helps to be aware of the kind of people you’re interacting with. We can’t avoid meeting negative people, but we can equip ourselves enough so that we aren’t accidentally infected by their toxicity. “Be mindful. In my own personal case, know when to deal with certain people. Like when you have a toxic officemate, don’t bring them into your cubicle. Don’t invite them into your house because you don’t know what energy they’re bringing with them,” Rubin says. “In the early days of Mysterium, I used to hold lessons in my house. I was getting really, really, really bad results because of that because I didn’t know what these people were bringing with them. Since we opened the center, I don’t invite anyone to my house unless you’re a real dear friend. It’s the same thing.”

The Three C’s for Dealing with the Psychically Toxic

Caffeine. “(Coffee) increases the beta waves in your mind. It makes you less sensitive to the psychic impressions of the people around you. Do not deal with these people when you’re hungry, when you’re weak, when you’re sleepy, you’re going to just absorb,” Rubin says.

Clear Ventilation. “Make it a point as well to have clear ventilation. In my own personal practice, if I don’t have to meet you in a closed space, I won’t. If I can meet you for coffee at Starbucks, fine, let it be Starbucks’ problem. They probably hire somebody like me to clear their stuff for them. But to be in a small office and invite this person in, unless I really have to, I wouldn’t do it,” Ruin says.

Cleanse. “If you do need to deal with someone that has negative energy and you now that they’re going to bring crap, you’ve got to be very adamant with your cleansing techniques afterwards. You’ve got to ring your chime, you’ve got to light your sage, you’ve got to drink your coffee, you can’t be sensitive to what they’re bringing in,” Rubin says.

“If you can get rock salt, especially if you feel very violated, right after dealing with them, knowing that their energy is very wicked, I would wash myself with rock salt and olive oil and let it remove the impressions of people around you. What I like to do is I get olive oil, I mix it with rock salt, I place it over my body, I just let it sit for a minute and then I slowly remove it while visualizing all negativities, everything that’s not helping me coming off.

“The olive oil actually helps it absorb into the skin better and it makes it a little less rough. At the same time olive oil has been used in magical rites and anointing for hundreds of years. If you notice that when the priest anoints you, they’re actually using olive oil-based compound. I’d actually say extra virgin olive oil would be your best bet. It’s got a lot of collective energy behind it.”

There’s actually a fourth C, and that’s consent. “It only begins with consent,” Rubin says. “As long as you don’t give permission, these things will have a harder time attaching to you but the minute you invite them into your house, your office—sometimes a handshake is consent—that’s when you’re accepting these things.”