ah yes, I feel like I have made a break through with this one. I’ve noticed that certain people are negative because they crave attention, so if you ask them questions and show interest in what they are saying, they tend to not be as attacking to me personally. I’ve tried this with one particular person who attacks me all the time. They have been attacking me less. They are still negative about life in general, but I can handle that a lot better than I can them just attacking me out of the clear blue.
I think sometimes I get too caught up in what they are doing to me and then I feel like a victim. But if I think how can I change my behavior so they will react differently, then I’m no longer a victim. I have been trying to think of so many things I could do, but nothing up until now has worked. Then I realized that I’m just not listening to the person at all and that they just need attention in general. Its very hard for me to listen to someone who attacks me but they are partly attacking me because that is the only way they can get me to listen at all.