That's a great article, BB. It's so true that when a person is around who focuses on the negative and talks about negative things all the time that it drains the energy from the space.
A good solution, in addition to taking strong active steps now (not next week or next month) to get free of them, is to focus on the positive. We have so many blessings in life. To dwell only on the things that are wrong makes us lose sight of all we have that so many others desperately dream of having. Food. Shelter.