A moment of insight
posted: Feb 1, 08:20 PM
The Princess mentioned to me the other day that I tend to be very sensitive and defensive. Actually, she may have said I was over sensitive. Given I like to consider myself well adjusted and fairly balanced, this was difficult to hear.
I am all about personal growth, however, so I have been mulling this over. She also said something along the lines of I tended to react less than positively to other people’s moods. I guess this fits with the being overly sensitive.
So, this got me thinking. How is it I am described as patient, a strong communicator and clinical in my professional life and yet, am overly sensitive in my personal life? I know the answer is: it’s always easier to be objective and distanced (as in not personalizing “stuff”) when it’s not personal. When negative interactions happen at work I’ve learned to leave the stress, anxiety, whatever, at work. However, when something happens in my personal life it is truly personal and there is no where for it to be put but in my brain for processing.
The Princess made another very astute observation saying that in my personal life I am not as likely to see the other person’s perspective when they appear to have an attitude. Apparently, I tend to respond, I think understandably, in a hurt manner. Oh, and to make all of this worse…I know when I’m hurting I lose the ability to verbalize clearly what I need or want to say. I know I come off as cold.
She also said “You don’t always see that because you’ve taken something badly, your response adds to the situation”. Wow! She hasn’t even had a psych class yet!
Now, in case you get the idea she was being unkind at any point she wasn’t. She was most concerned about hurting my feelings. I believe she has a level of insight and an ability to observe others which is well beyond her age.
Gemini
P.S. The Princess really wants a name change. G.