Feeling extra stressed? You may be picking up on stress and negativity that isn’t your own. Learn how to avoid absorbing all that worry.

Emotions are contagious, especially negative ones like stress. So, the more you can do to deflect stress coming from people around you, the better able you’ll be to preserve your own mental health. These seven tips help you create distance from others’ emotional stress.

Look around and survey your susceptibility. Some people are naturally more sensitive to others’ emotions. Empathic personalities are most vulnerable. You may be an “empath” if you feel others’ emotions as your own, become exhausted in large crowds and need to be alone to recharge. If you fit the description of an empath, you need to be particularly vigilant to protect yourself from other people’s emotional stress.

Become familiar with your baseline. When you are alone, tune into your emotions and how you feel. By getting to know your own feelings and paying attention to patterns, you’ll be better able to notice a shift in your emotional state when someone else walks into the room. If you become agitated or anxious, chances are that you’re picking up some of the other person’s stress.

Look at the source. Ask yourself: Whose stress am I feeling? Is it my own or someone else’s? If it is indeed another person’s, remember that his or her stress is not a life-or-death issue for you, so what you are feeling is essentially a false alarm. Remember, distancing yourself emotionally doesn’t make you less caring; it makes you a better caregiver to your friend or loved one.

Separate yourself from stress. There is a difference between feeling for a person who is going through a stressful event and feeling like them. Putting yourself in the other person’s shoes will cause you to carry too much of the burden, stressing your own mental and physical health and disabling you from being supportive.

Don’t mirror negativity. When faced with negative emotions, it’s easy to pick up on them and start to think and act negatively yourself. To deflect stress and negativity, fight back with positive comments and body language. These can be things you say quietly to yourself or out loud. If it’s appropriate, use humor or change the subject. Avoid feeding into emotions you do not want to feel.

Make a stress shield. In the presence of someone who exudes stress, try visualizing a physical shield around yourself. It can look like armor or an envelope of white light—whatever you want to use to create a mental barrier between you and the person who is stressed. Shielding is a technique that can help protect your feelings and preserve a positive outlook amid a hailstorm of negativity and stress.

Go to your happy place. As part of your mindfulness practice, find activities that make you feel calm and more resistant to absorbing other people’s stress. These can be things you practice on a regular basis to create an overall sense of calmness, such as yoga, meditation or tai chi, or it can be things you do in the moment to calm down, such as breathing deeply or taking a walk.