I have someone in my life who siphons life out of me. Now don't get me wrong, I'm pretty much equal parts "glass half-empty" and "glass half-full" but for the most part, this person's glass is not only HALF empty, but it's completely empty and I'm not even quite sure a glass exists for them anymore.
Being around this person is an exercise in tongue-biting because of the constant nit-picking and negativity. Not to mention the fact that this person DOESN'T LISTEN TO WHAT YOU ARE SAYING, yet will be the first to interrupt you with questions regarding what you just said...questions that never would have arisen if they had LISTENED TO WHAT YOU JUST SAID. It's funny at first...within the first 5 minutes mainly. But after that it gets old. Really quickly. To the point where avoiding conversation with this person at all costs is the most pleasant way to get through the time spent with them.
On top of this, the world is out to get this person, didn't you know? Everyone is conspiring to make them look and sound stupid, everyone is talking about them behind their back, everyone thinks bad things about them, everyone is purposing excluding this person from activities. It's exhausting. It really is. Being around this person makes ME anxious. Hell, the anticipation alone regarding being around this person makes me anxious. I'm talking knots-in-my-stomach, heartburn anxious. It really takes the pleasure out of being around them.
Have I tried to talk to them about how I feel. LMAOROFLLMFAOLOLOLOL! Simply put, yes. That was an absolute disaster itself. Somehow during that conversation I became the bad guy, I was the one who was being negative towards them, they can never do anything right, I'm so mean...tears...screaming...the whole 9. Um ya. I'm thinking that's filed under "F" for FAIL.
So this person does something frequently and it didn't hit me until recently. Whenever we are in a group of people, many times this person will call attention to something regarding me that this person knows I am uncomfortable about. It is at that point that I have a number of people staring at me, wanting an answer/explanation for this "something" and as I'm stuttering my way through it, trying not to freak out I always end up thinking, "they did it again." They don't come to my defense regarding anything, they don't try to *help* me explain the situation better, they actually jump INTO the jury box, nominate themselves jury foreman and lead the delibersations.
Once I took note of this reoccurring behavior, I just about immediately realized that was going on. If someone ELSE is the topic of gossip (whether real or perceived) then those people aren't talking about that person, or thinking negative things about them, etc. But because they completely lack any semblance of self-awareness, they doesn't realize that by doing that, they DO call attention to themselves. I've had people come up to me and say, "what's the deal with ____?" And "why does ____ always try to start trouble with you?"
<Sigh> It's sad because this person obviously has no self-esteem and very little self-worth. If someone doesn't realize there's a problem is there any hope? Or do the rest of us just have to grin and bear it and keep our glasses, however full, away from them?
