FAQ
QUESTION: How can I defend myself against psychic attack?
ANSWER: Parapsychologists get a lot of calls from people who believe they are under psychic attack. Let's look first at the possibilities that you have to consider when sorting these things out, then talk about what they might be able to do in these situations.
People aren't going to want to hear this but the commonest reason why people feel they are under attack is because of mental illness or a temporary psychosis due to drug usage or (particularly in the case of alcohol) drug withdrawal.
The second most common reason for believing that you are under psychic attack is because an individual is experiencing a psychic opening and doesn't understand the faces they may be seeing hovering around them, or sounds that they may be hearing, are just those of normal spirits. Even some channelers may become distressed and feel like they have been hit by an electric shock if a spirit that is of too high an energy to be compatible with them innocently tries to connect in order to communicate. In both these cases there is no harm intended by the spirits. The problem is created innocently.
Lastly, we come to the case where people truly ARE under psychic attack. I cannot emphasize enough how rare this is. Granted there are cases of people who fall into groups that engage in psychic power struggles, but they aren't common. Sometimes there is just a general ill-wishing by another person, but other times individuals may resort to ritual magic, an unscrupulous psychic, or have the background and talent to form the attack themselves. Regardless, feeling yourself under attack is not pleasant if you are sensitive to it.
So, what do you do? First of all, understand that if you are psychic you may be much more sensitive than the average person to drugs, whether legal or illegal. If you have a diagnosed medical or mental illness, PLEASE keep taking your medications unless otherwise directed by your physician. If you feel you are being overdosed, talk to your doctor about the possibility of tapering it down or trying a different medicine. Some psychotropic drugs, particularly in the SSRI antidepressant category, can cause as much or more problems if suddenly discontinued as if taken as directed. When it comes to illegal drug use, people with psychic sensitivity should stay away from them, pure and simple. Amphetamines, taken by many as diet pills or to stay awake, are particularly nasty at triggering paranoid schizophrenia. What's worse, it can take five years after a person has stopped using drugs before their brain returns to normal. So, stopping for a week is not likely to make the delusions disappear.
In cases of a true psychic opening, what often works best is reassurance and education. Understand that these spirits are probably just curious and have no desire to harm you. They can sometimes sense that you are aware of them, which makes them come closer. Nor are you going crazy just because you hear them or see them. As a parapsychologist, I like to consider what the spirits are telling you. If they seem nice, are encouraging you in good ways, provide helpful information, then great. They might even be your spirit guide in that case! But regardless, there would be no harm in letting them stick around. But if they are negative or hostile, it's definitely time to move them on. You have a number of options here. You can ignore them. You can ask them to leave. You can ask your guides to get rid of them for you. Of course, you can also send any stray spirits directly to the light. Also, one thing that I always talk about with people who are just opening up in how to shield (which we'll talk about more in a moment).
The best defense for a true psychic attack is, ironically, to be a skeptic. No true disbeliever of psi has ever been successfully attacked. In their minds, they don't even permit the possibility. What this tells us, is that to a certain extent, you have to buy into the psychic attack for it to work. This is a problem because of lot of people who are just developing as psychics DO spend a lot of time dwelling on their impressions and sensations and may even be actively looking for attack and seeing it, even if it isn't really there. The more you focus on negative stuff (whether real or imagined) the more you feed into the problem and make the situation more scary. This can be a tough cycle to break. There are different ways to approach this. Some people perform rituals or ask other psychics for aid to feel safer. This primarily works is by making you feel invulnerable. If you feel invulnerable, then you are (at least to psychic attacks - not to knives or guns). In other words, all you really have to do is to stop buying into the situation. I always recommend shielding as a general principle.
Every person with any psychic sensitivity at all should learn how to shield themselves -- not so much from attack as from unwanted information. There are many ways to shield yourself. The important things are that it surround you completely in all dimensions -- above, below, in front, in back, and on both sides -- and be a natural or comfortable barrier for you to maintain. Most people use imagery for this (although you could create a sound barrier if you wished). It doesn't really matter what you imagine for your shield as long as it completely encases you. Don't leave any holes. If you want a "window" or "door" you can think of it as something that lets you see out but doesn't let anything in. Your shield itself could be a concrete bunker, a sturdy castle, a sphere of white light, a mirror that surrounds you, or anything else that appeals to you. It is important to set the intention as you create your shield that this will surround you completely 24 hours a day, awake or asleep, seven days a week. Furthermore, it should be effortless. Anything you want to block out (like negative thoughts from others) can not only bounce harmlessly off the shield, but be designated to power it and make it even stronger without any effort on your part. If you need help creating a shield, you can try listening to my mp3 visualization for creating a Mirror Shield, which will basically walk you through the process. The nice thing about a mirror shield is that it is easy for people to think of it as self-maintaining. Shielding should never take any of your energy or take effort. Just let it do its thing. Anything negative can be reflected back to the person who sent it or to some Universal ground.
Finally, if you feel you are under psychic attack it's not a bad idea to talk to a professional psychologist, psychiatrist, or therapist to deal with the stress that feeling this way puts you under. It's not nice feeling like others would want to harm you. Such things are difficult for anyone to deal with. It's good to have help.
Resources - There are lots of books out on psychic self-defense. One of my favorites is probably Dion Fortune's book by that title--Psychic Self-Defense. Although an old book, it's still a good one, which covers all the basics. You may also find it helpful to look at the page on house cleansing , which lets you shift the energy around you (often useful after you've already shielded).