So you’re not the type to fully rage out on other people. That’s great… but that doesn’t mean you’re not taking your emotions out on people in more subtle ways. And here’s the thing. Mental health experts say quieter ways of taking your stress out on others can be just as damaging as going agro. Here are some to watch out for.
● You shut down and self-isolate. The silent treatment is toxic AF. When you avoid talking about your feelings to people, your loved ones tend to get worried and wonder if they did something wrong. When you won’t let them in to help you, you make them feel helpless and frustrated and your relationship will suffer because of it.
● You turn into a problem-solving bot. When you’re oversaturated with stress, you may turn into a ‘problem-solving robot’ that spits out solutions to their problems instead of hearing them out. Psychologist Nora Gerardi says “if we don’t have the capacity to support others emotionally, the relationship can become strained and the person in our life might see us as unsupportive or feel like we don’t get it.”
● You say yes to helping someone, then act resentful about it. You may not have blown up on the person that asked for help when you were having a bad day, but you might as well have. According to Psychologist Carla Marie Manly, when you secretly hate helping someone “long-term damage results due to an upwelling in feelings of stress, resentment and overwhelm.” The moral of the story is, when you’re stressed, it’s better to say you can’t help them than to rage in silence. Check out more ways you’re taking your stress out on people, that isn’t anger, HERE.
HT: HuffPost