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Do you feel like other's emotions are your responsibility?

2768 Views 18 Replies 12 Participants Last post by  The Nameless Composer
I get this every now and then, especially when there's someone who is getting too close or attached to me. I intuitively know that their feelings for me and mine for them are mismatched and that since I know this, I should prevent them from getting any closer in order to spare their feelings. It's a weird place to be in, because there's always a bit of doubt that comes with these pieces of intuition, so there's part of me that tells me I'm just being cold for no reason. There's also a part of me that obviously cares abut them and wants them to be in my life. So then I get stuck in a position where I feel guilty for staying and guilty for being cold about it because I can't decide what to do... :confused:

Anyway this also happens with things that have nothing to do with me. Like forgiving people or sparing them certain criticisms or thoughts because I can tell where they are in life emotionally and think that it would do them more bad than good. Then others think I'm to easy on people or that I'm spineless because, they take people at face value and I see things that for all I know might not even be there.

Have you guys experienced this before, do you have any words of wisdom to share about these types of situations?
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Yes i do, I have the feeling/idea that I have to make other people happy... and that I need to please them, do things for them. And I'm afraid to say ''no''. And the be clear to other people of how I think and feel about it, and not being unclear... I also have a very big problem/difficulity to set defined boundaries between me and other people. Many times I've been in situations with people who crossed them and it got all blurry and I said yes many times but actually not want to say yes. A part of me wants to make people happy but on the other hand i feel used and trapped by them. I hope this is a bit understandable, this is one big thing i need to work on in my relationships with other people. I see that the sense I'm a nice and caring person so I have the feeling I kind of invite these people to take advantage of me. Its so weird the see it happen that I can't say no, my automatic response is yes and do things for them, stay with them, get involved with them. I also have a great deal of pity for them because most of the time these are people who have gone trough a lot in life, are really depressed and or kind of apathic the don't actively change their situation... I want them to be happy but I don't know what to do with it... Rationally I feel I have to distance myself... but I don't know, maybe if my own adittude changes maybe they also act different to me... or maybe see them really once in a while and not such anymore. Because I also getting to take over their emotions, feeling depressed ect because of their situation... I have a lot of issues to work on within my own personailty (I don't mean the INFP part) but the things i said above, boundaries, being clear, giving my own opinion and stay with it, and more like that.
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My answer to this thread could be a tread on it's own... I wonder if other ppl would get in the same situations as I did... And what did they do to make themselves and their boundaries stronger... and the thing of attracting (emotionally) unhealthy people. Maybe it's because I'm also unhealthy, but they are further off the path as I am... And they are older, I'm 26 and the two people I talk about are 37 and 55.... So yeah maybe it's not very nice and unfair but I secretly, I don't want to end up like them. But I don't like it when people judge them to harsh, you don't know the life situations they been trough. And i also see good things in them, and when the were younger, I don't know on some weird level I can relate to them, being rejected many times. But it seems to me that they aren't good companions because I also get sad from those situations, and these are also ppl of a distance, they never really worked on themselves emotionally or no that's not true, they did try, but it didn't work out... and they kind of gave up, living the isolated life.
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Is this weird? I also have 'normal' friends...but when I'm also in depression mode I gravitate to these people. Sorry for bringing my own stuff up so much.
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