Hi Tracy! Regular and easily provoked anger MEANS unhappiness. It wont hurt because your validation doesnt come from their opinions about you. Finish the discussion. For example last night in bed he was in the middle and I had a tiny bit of room on the edge and I asked him to scoot over a little. We really can learn to focus our attention on what is being said while ignoring how it is being said. He comes home all pissed off and is like here are the keys in an angry way and Im like whats wrong? And he says this is why I dont ask for anything and didnt talk to me for almost a day. There are those who think and believe in ways that keeps them lonely, angry and depressed. True, they can go deep into their pasts and uncover events or situations that have created the emotional sensitivity in the first place. Im the director of a firm of headhunters in the UK specialising in placing professionals in the scientific and medical fields worldwide. I just get so angry, scared and overwhelmed. In one of your responses, you mentioned how some people use this as emotional bullying, and wow, that is exactly right, even if the person isnt doing it on purpose. 2: She thought her bf would only take it as her stepping out on him, with you. Its funny and shows three different family dynamics. Thank you for sharing. I look forward to it. And certainly, any given opinion or set of opinions are not the whole of who you are. And whats the nature of that minority? Our body chemistry releases some very nasty stuff when we are angry. I know a few people with Aspergers syndrome. My current, and usually wonderful, husband of 12 years, a retired Marine, is dealing with lots of physical pain hes had four surgeries since we married and is scheduled for two more. He said he greatly respected me and that he would try. And have an awesome weekend, Dave. In summary, if your partner's too defensive, make sure you're not being too critical. The group splinters into smaller factions, then subdivides further, then as everyone goes off to different schools, build new relationships with people outside the group, get-togethers become rarer and rarer until they barely speak. He has a long break in the middle of the day where he often comes home but sometimes stays up by work. Prison, by the way, is filled with people who refuse to comport to society. It is the tactic of a controlling possibly abusive person. See yourself as more than your behavior. Use Contact Me to send me an email. We actually broke up for a few hours after he said something really rude and I just blew my top! During Eater/Spring break, I didnt pass by her house, so never saw her. In other words, people with thin skin certainly would be offended by racial slurs and the like. I am easily offended because anything rude, negative or critical someone says to me transports me instantly back to my childhood. This week's Tune Up Tip is called "Got Ego," but it really could be called "How Offend-able Are You." How often do you find yourself saying things like, "I can't believe this person said that to me," "That person owes me an apology," or "I'm so pissed that they thought [or said] that." But whatever you do, just remember to have fun. I get really angry and sometimes pick up a fight with them. We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it. ~ Abraham Lincoln. My article was about learning not to be hypersensitive if hypersensitivity is robbing you of happiness. But we do all want that in our lives, dont we. That is not hyper-sensitivity. One of the fascinating things about the human brain is its gullibility. - The White Asian Guy's Blog, Finding Inner Peace on World Inner Peace Day: Three Lessons from The Untethered Soul The Pixie Dust, https://thepixiedust.com/2018/03/21/finding-inner-peace-on-world-inner-peace-day-three-lessons-from-the-untethered-soul, Mottos that Inspire Greatness: The Power of Personal Mottos, Part III, 15 Signs You May be an Emotional Bully and what to do about it. My boyfriend gets very offended over things and I have no idea why. Me too, Sunny. You may need to repeat it dispassionately several times, but interrupt him to interject that statement and let me know what happens. Many people are easily offended because they cant emotionally differentiate between their thoughts and their inner sense of self. Thank you so much for adding it! Even the grandparents. They get angry others cant see that it hurts and dont seem willing to change their behavior to protect the cut from getting poked again. Theres a lot of good research on the topic, though. It was never intended to cover all aspect of all ancillary issues related to the topic. Then if you add the assumption that buried below the surface of a cranky delivery, there was a benevolent motive, then life can go on just as sunny and cheery as if no criticism was ever delivered in the first place. Stop engaging in it, if that ever becomes a temptation. should we just subscribe to the dont be so sensitive attitude when muslims get offended when non-muslims want to make jokes about terrorism in front of them? Thank you so much for sharing such important insights with us, adding to the conversation. The Psychology Behind People Who Are Always Offended When I say this is everything I needed!!! Stuff like that. The dissonance is remarkablehow something I said can be so misconstrued that it has no resemblance whatsoever to my intent and I am left perplexed. Hes not one to call me to check in when he travels so I feel distant and sometimes lonely when hes away. . As for being one-dimensional, I dont believe anyone is. Change who you are in order to find love, success and joy. publisher:'12345' I have a great supporting partner, and dont want to distract from our happy family life. But it doesnt necessarily make them right either. I have a lot of hate in my heart for man as I been hurt so much. He would try to demotivate me from doing s. So stay with it and have fun int he process. When they're offended, more people than you might imagine "act out." Whether straightforwardly or passive-aggressively, they're motivated to retaliate against their (supposed) assailant. and our You are not emotionally attached to your position. This means that our reactions to what we consider offensive should be the focus of change. The problem isnt that they get offended by the offensive things, but that they ALSO get offended by the inoffensive things. I think the former is empowering and happiness-inspiring. , [] tips on handling too much sensitivity, go to: http://meanttobehappy.com/10-ways-you-too-can-stop-being-so-easily-offended/. If that is all you are talking about, your points would hardly warrant all the time and effort you put into your article. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. when fat people dont want to be ridiculed because of their weight? Answer (1 of 19): He was probably raised by someone who either criticized him constantly or ignored him for most of the time. Great stuff! For a person who is seriously overweight to be hurt by someone calling them all kinds of fat slurs is nothing related to what Im talking about. I was raised with conditional love with a father that expected perfection and nothing I ever did was enough. For those who are easily offended (the title of this article, by the way), it would be impossible for them to feel their true feelings and work through them when everything under Gods sun offends them. Interesting and indeed very true! So often we jump to conclusions, assume an ill intent, create meaning to a word that then hurts and offends. 3 Reply. Its kinda funny how we tend to attribute to ourselves the highest and most noble of motives and the worst in others. So accept yourself deep inside. Depends on whats said, Larry. It is really frustrating sometimes when we have a thought and judgement about a situation we were in and not being able to drawn out the right conclusion because of the agenda or our negative thinking patterns. Many people have grown up getting angry easily. when we make helpful suggestions to others or comments that suggest that there is something wrong with their beingness, we are really communicating: you would be better if you were more like me. rather than asking people to be more like you, or to forget all the other emotions god purposefully gave them (as god does not make mistakes regardless of what we as humans may feel on a personal level) why not ask those who are offensive to become more conscious about the things they say to people? Thanks for this food for thought. But if we hang on to the offense and let it fester inside, thats when it does the most harm to our happiness. But thats not the only way to get past the hyper-sensitivity. Then I came upon Kens blog by accident tonight when googling the problem (because of still being upset about it) and I had a bit of an epiphany after reading this article. I think more relationships are damaged by selfishness than any other single character flaw. Thank you for reading, Thank you. I love this statement: What people do or say is mostly not about us. A telling point I thought was when you (Ken) said that the examples you wanted to explore were the unintentional and insignificant instances of offensive language/behavior. as a nurse, i have witnessed many people harming themselves for reasons that i could not understand or even wanting to kill themselves (or others) for reasons that i (who had already outgrown being deeply hurt by such things) perceived as minor at best. I try to be understanding of him, but he has become a grumpy old man and verbally lashes out at me whenever I offer to help him, suggest something fun to do, whatever. I did make some really good friends, but after leaving high school and leaving college, I felt like I was the only one making any effort to keep in contact. Thanks for your input and kind words, my friend! hi Ken i appreciate the response. Part of accepting others imperfections is also learning to forgive them their past mistakes (so the current problem isnt blown out of proportion as an extension of a previous problem unresolved) and create a sort of Forgiveness Default Setting in your heart that you automatically go to when confronted with offensive language or behavior. To me, if it is true that sometimes it is not (or not only) that we are too sensitive, sometimes we are indeed verbally attacked, then we have to come up with a new specific strategy to deal with that (can you picture an abuser justifying him/herself saying, oh, but is your fault, youre just too sensitive! Of course, it doesnt have to be that way, but usually seems to be. I am talking about the people always are actively searching for things to find offensive. And there very well may be a place for that kind of traditional therapy. To change how we feel about a situation, we would first have to change what we think about it. Imagine a world where we could just feel free to be ourselves. Im definitely working on just taking things for what they are and not taking things so personally. You and I may have no problem with it. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. If so, your hypersensitivity is robbing you of happiness. Do your panties get in a wad over teasing or when someone doesnt do dishes the way you do []. Maybe they found me really annoying. I know this is kind of sad to think of oneself, but actually after reading your blog for the first time the other day, I decided to just spin it for myself. I need to warn you, you could be wind up really fast, but i think the overload of jokes about the subject makes you put it perspective much faster. Great article! Also, that quote from Abraham Lincoln is very powerful! This is a great article, thank you. Most of our sense of self stems from childhood, from parents who did too much of one thing or too little of another. Thus, it will offend her that I even suggested she read this haha. Thats why I avoid to feel offended and your 10 points are great reminders to keep achieving that. How has taking offense easily shaped you? I have struggled with hyper sensitivity my whole life. But some values are better than others (valuing revenge is not as worthy as valuing forgiveness, for instance). Or he just grunts a blunt reply. And dismissiveness is rude on any planet. We can reshape our lives and recast ourselves and reinterpret pasts and develop new ways of looking at ourselves, evaluating who we are, and falling madly in love with the person inside. Otherwise if I cannot change to the circumstances (by speaking out) how can I expect others to (understand). I know I didnt use a mean tone of voice and I rarely tell him what to do because he gets really defensive like this. . Im in Germany right now with themincluding Kim and Vy who you knowand I think this is the most time Ive spent with them haha. I dont know how to handle her without hurting her feelings. My mum, says I take things too seriously. -1 Reply [deleted] 3 yr. ago Your husband blows up at you constantly, insults you, and you are afraid of his outbursts and want to stay quiet in an attempt to quell him. Great comment, Liz. This self image is built up by huge collection of past memories. Doesnt matter if youre rude or verbally abusive, or depressed or hateful or vengeful or ignorant or cowardly or a cheat or liar or snotty or offensive or unhappy. Also look for some meme websites about your sensitivity. If someone is seriously overweight and riddled with lifestyle-induced health problems, guess what again! He sucks it up and still works and travels even in pain. The sarcasm was in the tone, not the message. I wonder how many people feel the way you do. It depends on who youre talking about. sounds like a great way to get people to start repressing what they are truly feeling and push them further along the road to drug use, alcoholism, or suicide (the things that people do when they get sick of pretending that they are not offended, rather than taking some time to acknowledge their true feelings and explore why they are there as a means of moving through them). If someone else is easily offended by things, we have to make sure were not getting easily offended at their offense, or we all end up in the same emotionally rocky boat, frantically paddling and getting nowhere.