Or to let the energy flow through without it triggering us or us getting attached to it.

Keeping it out takes a lot of energy and prevents lessons from being learned or practice releasing attachments.

Underneath our personality is our essence - a beam of highly refined energy/light that goes from the root chakra to the crown chakra. This cannot be touched. When I have drawn on it, it has increased my confidence and raised my self-esteem, helped me not get attached to others' negativity or to temporally remove it in a column of light outside my auric field for examination at another time.

Another direct method is with verbal boundary setting such as: "I'm going through a sensitive period right now and I need your help. Okay? Please don't talk to me about this matter, right now. It's me, not you. Thanks." something like that. I've used it before and it works.