Skip to main content

Dealing with Difficult People

You know the type. The person who always has to be right. The co-worker who constantly takes your good ideas and claims them as her own. The parent who refuses to allow you to grow up, even though you're in your 40's with a family of your own. The "friend" who is always judging you and who never has a nice word to say - about anyone!


Difficult people… we all have at least one in our lives. And if you only have one, consider yourself blessed!


So how do you deal with difficult people without stooping to their level? How do you prevent them from stressing you out to the point where you become seriously ill? How do you permanently un-install all those buttons that the "button-pusher" installed?



First, understand that you needn't take the words/actions of the difficult person personally. They have nothing to do with you and everything to do with them. Most of the time, difficult people are insecure, lonely and unhappy people who try to bring others into their web of misery. Don't fall prey! Stay above the fray to maintain your sanity and composure.



Here are a few suggestions for dealing with difficult people:
    • Breathe deeply and don't react. Just because the bait's out there it doesn't mean you have to bite it. You can easily swim away. Above all, stay calm. 



    • Difficult people love to get a reaction from others. It fuels their feelings of power. When you fail to react and practice restraint prior to responding, it helps to diffuse a potentially volatile situation. 



    • Do not allow anyone to steamroll you. Be assertive. Set boundaries. Know when it's time to walk away. 



    • Do not try to change the other person. You can't. All you can change is your reaction to the other person's behavior. Respond, don't react. 



    • Sometimes it's best to take a time out. To decompress. To come up for air. To think before you respond. It's okay to do that. Don't think of it as surrendering - think of it as a temporary retreat to consider your next move. 


    • Know when to walk away from a relationship, a family member, or even a job. You owe it to yourself to take care of you, especially if a relationship has become abusive.
Unless you're a hermit or an extreme loner, you will always have at least one difficult person in your life. When they fail to get the reaction they are seeking from you, they will move on to their next victim. Oh… and make sure that you're cultivating plenty of healthy and mutually respectful and beneficial relationships in your life – the kind that really matter!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What’s Bringing on Your Back Pain?

Struggling to find the source of your back pain? Schedule a visit with our practice. Many people with sudden, acute back pain think, “But gosh, I didn’t even do anything!” What many folks don’t know, or understand, is that it’s not always a case of what you did five minutes ago, or what you did yesterday, or even what you did last week that’s causing the current problem; it’s more a case of “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” no pun intended! Discovering the Cause Sometimes it’s chronic stress that wreaks havoc on your nervous system and finally causes your back to “go out” or a “pain in your neck” because of the strain of carrying the weight of all that stress on your back and neck. Let’s use an everyday example to demonstrate. You go to the local eatery and put your purchase on your bank debit card. All of a sudden, bells and whistles go off because you didn’t have enough money in your account to cover that charge. It’s not this charge that “broke the bank,” it’s all t...

Why choose chiropractic?

If things aren't moving the way they are supposed to, it will have a negative impact on your ability to function. That's why most people find routine chiropractic care to be very beneficial. Physical or psychological stress, accidents or bad positions can affect the musculoskeletal system. They can cause pain or local deterioration of nerve function, and affect vital organs and respiratory, circulatory and nervous systems.​Chiropractic focuses on correcting the cause of your problem, not just on suppressing your symptoms. Ultimately, the goal of receiving chiropractic adjustment should be to restore the body to its natural state of optimal health.

Does Scoliosis Automatically Mean Surgery?

Does Scoliosis Automatically Mean Surgery? A routine school exam reveals your child has scoliosis. Naturally you're concerned.  Children aged 10-15 are the largest group affected by scoliosis. Scoliosis is a sideways curvature of the spine. About 80% of scoliosis cases are idiopathic. Which means the cause isn't known. Idiopathic scoliosis may have hereditary factors. Scoliosis afflicts around 2 to 3 percent of the population. Children aged 10 to 15 are the largest age group. And it seems girls are more affected than boys. While common in this age and gender group, a growing number of adults have scoliosis. This often stems from trauma to the spine followed by years of neglect. Congenital scoliosis occurs before birth. These deformities are often from partially-formed vertebrae. Or vertebrae that are fused together. Among children, "wait and see" is often the first-line of traditional treatment. If the scoliosis has progressed beyond a 45° – 50°...