Confusion and the young vampire

Confusion is often a passenger on the journey a real vampire takes upon themselves once awakened. This emotion though is completely natural as confusion occurs during any form of change that affects one's life. Make no mistake, an awakening is a major change in vampires life. With that being said there are several pitfalls that occur in the early years following a vampires awakening.
One of the first is giving into denial. Awakenings are a chaotic event in a persons life time. But by living in denial a young vampire creates two problems. The first is placing themselves behind the eight ball so to speak. It can and often does and results in the heightening lethargy, and frequent illnesses. These have and are continuing attempts of the subconscious to influence what it has already deduced. And that is your body is craving something that the conscious mind is denying. The second thing it is creating is fear! This fear manifests itself in how we act and behave around others, for fear of being branded with any number of labels. Chief of which is mentally unstable. When employing denial when dealing with this major event in ones life, it is this writers opinion that more harm than good takes place.
Denial, should be replaced with excitement. This is difficult though when dealing with a “glass is half full” mentality. To combat denial, gradual exposure to the new life that is about to be lived is a good way to show that a lot of preconceived notions of vampires are simply untrue. Examples of feeding is a good way to counter denial. Show the newly awakened how they were unconsciously feeding, even before they awakened (most do this). Explaining that only through accepting who and what they've become can they learn to control their hungers. Trust is another tool to use. When trust is established a newly awakened is more inclined to ask what they see as embarrassing questions. Fear can be replaced by trust as well. When a newly awakened has gained trust and faith in what they are being told by elder vampires, then it is easier to accept it for what it is. This is the equivalent to facing ones fears and discovering that they were more worry than fear, and worry is easily explained away.
Another stumbling block in the evolution of the vampire's soul is lack of knowledge in how to obtain and feed from another's energy. This is largely an overall on line and off line vampire community issue to tackle. Through mentoring and available resources the necessary information needed can be found. There are several on line resource and social sites that deal primarily with the vampire community. It is often on these sites that information concerning real vampirism as well as a mentor to explain it are found. Once the basics such as shielding (psychic vampires) and proper safety techniques (sanguine vampire) are obtained then feeding can be adequately taught as to the type of vampire that has awakened. With elemental vampires feeding starts with which forms of energy are more easily obtainable than others. Information covering things such as wind and storm energy as well as how to harness it can be obtained through resources and mentoring. For Eros (sexual) vampires tantra means are often employed to gain the needed prana. The stumbling block on this is a variable. Not all vampires are cut from the same cloth so there is good reason to assume that a good bit of those who awaken still have a rather puritan view in regards to sex. It is this puritan view that often will leave a Eros vampire half full. It is the energy created by arousal that sustains us. After all that is when the energy is at its strongest, once intercourse is commenced then the act of relinquishing energy occurs, that defeats the purpose of feeding altogether.
Still another pitfall is ego! Man's as well as real vampires egos have been their ruin in more ways than not. A rare but not uncommon mentality of the newly awakened is what is known as feeling “ten feet tall and bullet proof.” This particular feeling is dangerous on a number of levels. One being braggart claims that often are not backed up. This causes mistrust of the vampire within their own kind. Still another danger is the belief that there are abilities present that simply are not. And yet another danger of ego are boastful statements regarding not only the new vampire but the overall community in general. This can lead to members of the community being outed against their will or before they were ready to reveal themselves. Those few things are but a sampling of the trials and tribulations experienced by those who've only recently awakened. Even though our awakenings are different from one vampire to another, we all still pretty much face the same pitfalls.
If I could offer any pearls of wisdom from my twenty-five plus years of being awakened, it would be as a wise man once said “patience is a virtue”. Simply relax, stop being afraid and embrace yourself and that means all of you. It's important to remember that just because you have awakened, it doesn't change who you are as a person. Real vampires are for the most part what they are due to a lack of energy. They are who they are by choice. Take it easy and allow the information to seep into your knowledge base. You don't need to know everything at once. View this new aspect of your life as a part of you and not fear that it will change you. Finally, remember that confusion is a natural reaction to the first few months to the first few years of a vampires existence. So don't get rattled. In the end it all works out as long as you avoid the pitfalls. If you can do that then the confusion will take care of itself. After all, even real vampires need peace of mind.