Tired of Defending My Work: A Story About Projection, Public Shame, and Psychic Fatigue

There’s a special kind of exhaustion that comes from constantly having to explain who you are and why what you do has value. It’s not the exhaustion of working too much or caring too deeply—it’s the weariness of having to prove your integrity over and over again, just because your work doesn’t fit into someone else’s definition of “real.”

That’s the kind of fatigue I felt recently after a comment thread spiraled into a full-blown accusation against me. Apparently, being a psychic medium and astrologer also makes me fair game for public slander.

The fight started on a post written by someone I knew but not well—a writer and teacher whose words usually carried insight. This time, he used his platform to casually dismiss people who believe in astrology and psychic work. He framed it as “not living in reality” and implied that people who find comfort or direction in spiritual work are somehow strange and cannot understand how people would find that fun or even take it seriously (gasp!)

I didn’t come in hot. I messaged him privately. I told him I was disappointed. Not because he disagreed with me—but because I believe words matter, especially when you have an audience. And his words were dismissive of something that gives a lot of people hope, guidance, and healing. I reminded him: You never know what someone is holding onto to keep themselves afloat.

No answer at this point. But then, instead of a dialogue on the post, I got ambushed.

A woman—angry, loud, and vicious—came at me in the comments. She called me a fraud. A criminal. A scammer. She didn’t ask questions. She didn’t leave room for nuance. She decided who I was and carved it into digital stone.

And honestly? I wasn’t shocked. I was tired.

Tired of this dance. Tired of having to defend my work in the face of strangers with keyboards and trauma they haven’t healed. Tired of social media, where people project their pain without pause and assume the worst, especially when the topic is something spiritual.

But somewhere in the middle of that storm, I paused. Because what I felt from her—psychically and intuitively—was deeper than her words.

She wasn’t just mad. She was hurt. When I looked at her profile, I saw she was widowed. I don’t know the details of her loss, but I could feel the rawness underneath her rage. I don’t know who scammed her, or how deeply she and her family were affected, but it was clear to me that she’d been burned by someone who claimed to do this kind of work.

And that’s when the anger faded. Not because what she said was okay—it wasn’t. But because I recognized the wound under the weapon.

People who lash out that hard aren’t just skeptical. They’re grieving. They’re furious that their trust was taken. And while I don’t accept being used as someone’s emotional punching bag, I can see what’s underneath it.

Here’s the thing though: I’m not that person.

I don’t con people. I don’t manipulate grief. I don’t promise what I can’t deliver. I’ve spent my life helping people find peace, not stealing it from them.

And even if I know that to my core, that doesn’t make these interactions less draining. Social media has become a place where nuance dies and projection reigns. I’m not hurt—I’m just done letting this be the dominant energy in my life.

So here’s what I’ve learned:

• People will always have opinions—loud ones.

• Most of those opinions are rooted in their own pain, not your truth.

• Empathy doesn’t mean tolerating abuse.

• And peace is something we choose, not something we wait for.

I’ll keep doing this work because it matters. Because it helps. Because it brings people back to themselves. But I’ll also keep choosing spaces—like my website, my community, and my in-person work—where I don’t have to brace for attack every time I speak from the soul.

If you’ve ever felt exhausted from defending your joy, your beliefs, or your work: I see you. And you don’t have to keep explaining yourself to people who’ve already decided they don’t want to understand. There are people who love and embrace EXACTLY who you are. You’re special and you’re amazing for all that you are.

You deserve spaces that honor your spirit. I’m building more of those. Join me there.