A pagan witch who works as a carer has told how she wears a veil to 'shield herself from bitter patients.'
Sophia Griffiths says she doesn't want their 'negative auras' to rub off on her and her family.
The 33-year-old from Shrewsbury, Shropshire, first started sporting a veil as part of her religion when she was working in the community at the height of the coronavirus pandemic
She found the elderly people she cared for often took their frustration out on her and was keen to ensure she didn't absorb their negative energy.
The carer sympathised with the patients, some of whom had Parkinson's, dementia or were bedbound, and found it helped her work without taking on the stresses of the day.
The domiciliary carer hopes by sharing her practice that it might help others who work in similarly stressful healthcare settings.
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The mum even veils while doing live TikTok streams to protect herself from negative energy in cyberspace.
Sophia said: "For me, veiling is protecting my crown chakra so I'm not picking up other people's energies.
"I don't want to bring that home with me to my family. I work in elderly care and people can range from having Parkinson's to dementia.
"We've got people who are paraplegic who can't move much at all or people who are bedbound.
"Some of these people's eyesight is that bad they can't watch telly, they're deaf, some have severe arthritis in their hands and they're obviously bitter about the situation they're in.
"Some people don't see their families - we can be the only people we see. If they're frustrated or upset it's expressed to us because they're not seeing anyone else.
"It's the same as if you're annoyed at the doctor and only get through to the receptionist, some people take it out on the receptionist.
"They don't mean anything by it - it's nothing personal against us. It's just we're the only people they've seen, which I completely understand because I'd probably be the same in their situation.
"I'd go mad if I couldn't read, or watch the telly, or do something to occupy my day - which I think most people would.
"I either wear a bandana on my head or just a little scarf. At work, I wear darker clothes because my uniform's dark and it goes with it. I wouldn't go wearing a bright pink one.
"It still looks part of the uniform and it still looks smart."
Mum-of-two Sophia has worked in care for more than a decade, including in care homes during the pandemic, says her experience with patients has been 'the same' everywhere.
Sophia said: "It's no different whether you're going in somebody's house or you're working in a care home, as to the energies you can pick up.
"I don't want people to think I was talking about clients in a negative way.
"Everybody has an energy, an aura. If you're in a bad mood or upset or angry, your aura is different to if you're happy or sad.
"Sometimes, especially if you're projecting how you feel, it can be projected onto other people.
"If you go home and you're stressed and you take it out on your spouse or partner, they begin to feel upset and stressed. It's the same sort of thing.
"It's something we're taught as part of our beliefs. You don't hear about it very much within the pagan community.
"There's not a huge amount of us that do it, not everybody does it. Some people only do it when doing energy work or spell work to protect themselves, some people only do it if they're going out to big events.
"The only time I don't do it is when I'm at home. If I'm filming or going on TikTok Live, I do.
"It's a barrier between my energy and theirs, it's a physical barrier. Especially with energy work, it's easier to protect yourself if there's a physical barrier there as well as your mental barrier.
"It helps me to go home having not taken on the stresses of the day."
Sophia moved jobs just as she decided to veil full-time as she admits she might have faced questions from former colleagues.
Now, she wears the veil for religious reasons and admits others who work in care believe it is a good idea.
Sophia said: "Nobody has ever commented on my veil at work. I've had a couple ask why I'm wearing it and I say it's part of my belief, just as Muslim women wear hijabs.
"I changed from working in a care home to working in the community when I decided to start veiling full time.
"I had started doing it during the height of the pandemic partly to protect my hair from the plastic visors and partly to protect my energy.
"My new employers were more open-minded as well. Where I was previously, I had been there many years and I would get a lot of questions if I had started doing it there.
"As I was working by myself a lot more I felt I needed to protect my energy better.
"Some people who worked in care or in a hospital setting have said that it's a good idea and they hadn't thought of it before. They wondered if it'd help them.
"I don't think people realise the pressure we're under, especially over the last couple of years, and how much stress and strain we have in our jobs.
"If that could help one person, then so be it. I'd prefer to get that out there, have loads of abuse and help one person."
