So yeah, I'm emotional. I don't always behave or make decisions emotionally, but I have a very hard time ignoring my emotions, or anyone else's for that matter. And that makes it hard to not feel responsible for someone else's bad mood. Not so much responsible in that it's my fault, but responsible because I'm now feeling the same way they are, and I can't stop feeling that way until I get them to stop feeling that way.
It blows, because people who are in bad moods are in no mood to put up with me trying to prod them out of their mood. Which brings me to a related issue, which is that I can't stand when people are angry with me - and I can always, always tell when they are.
I am unfortunately cursed with being able to read the emotional state of other people within seconds (in person, not online - calm down). It has it's uses, certainly - but for the most part, it's a giant pain in the ass.
The other part of my empathy flaw is that I will feel empathy for fictional characters in fictional situations. I know, retarded. Some part of my brain tells me that even though this person and situation isn't real, these things happen to people all the time and right now someone, somewhere, is going through an equivalent situation - and I start to feel really terrible for them and I have to cry. But then I start to feel unbelieveably lame for being affected by something that isn't happening to me, and isn't even happening - really - in front of me. And now I feel bad about two things.
So, I spend a lot of energy trying to ignore and stuff down my emotions as well as everyone else's.
1 comment:
You're certainly not alone with this, being posted 3 years ago it's hard to know if you've progressed at all with handling everything.
There's a few simple things to keep in mind. First, there is no reason to think these feelings are lame. They're a remarkable characteristic of any person and certainly place you in a much higher bracket of valued people.
Second, if it's ever overwhelming it's good practice to have a few things that help you centre yourself. Like a phrase, or a thought that gives you peace. I don't use one in particular, but I have heaps I can draw on at any given moment... kind of happens randomly for me though.
Lastly, this same quality is useful for social situations. If you learn to handle it well, it can be a lot easier to meet new people and relate to them.
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