Affected by others..

sensitivebunny · Post by **sensitivebunny** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:01 pm

Does anyone ever feel like they take on the stress of others? I was at work today and dealing with a friend/coworker who was going nuts over something incredibly silly..I found myself taking on her nervousness over the phone and I started getting aggravated..my breathing was labored and I realized I was stressing out over something that wasn't mine..So, I practiced the breathing technique Lucinda spoke about on the Relaxation cd--which is fabulous by the way..I really felt relaxed, calm and in control..I think as an anxious person, I sometimes cannot listen to another person have a drama episode, etc..it wears me down..
I asked my fiancee if I do that to him..and he said "yes, sometimes"..I guess I knew that I did, but to feel what he feels was weird..a step in the right direction to overcoming anxiety..

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:28 pm

I had a huge problem with this...and still do at times. I think a lot of us have that "needs to save the world" syndrome so other anxieties become ours. I also had a big issue with allowing others to affect me when I thought something wasn't "fair" or right. For instance someone breaking the law...I would get so angered by it. Wasn't like what they were doing was directly affecting me but it would send me into a spiral for several minutes on why they should be caught and how come they feel they can break the law, etc. I constantly have to tell myself, even now, that that is their problem, not mine and I need to let it go.