Home→Forums→Emotional Mastery→How to trust myself more and stop beating myself up?
- This topic has 4 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 7 months ago by Martina Weiss.
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April 16, 2015 at 12:17 pm #75427heal2014Participant
I had this problem with a roommate a few months back. I was very kind, considerate and went way out of my way to help this person while all I received in return was selfish and rude behavior. She would mess up the kitchen and bathroom (which I had to clean up all the time), and was rude to me and my friends on more than one occasion. I ignored all of this, kept my mouth shut and just went on with my work. One fine day, when I had a big professional commitment, she started misbehaving again. I tried my best to ignore her but finally gave in and confronted her. I was also extremely stressed out with work and other things and had lost all my patience with her. When I informed her about the way she behaved with me over the past few months, she refused everything and accused me of lying. I kept the phone down after saying that I do not want to speak to a human like her. The next day, she got her husband to give me those death stares. I ignored it and moved forward with my life. I do not have any connection with this person anymore.
However, I am racked with guilt. I regret losing my temper and wish I could have been more patient but then again I had no idea how to react to the situation I was in either. During that time, I was going through tremendous problems in my personal and professional life and probably that was the reason why I lost my temper. I don’t know. I do wish I could stop beating myself up and move on from this.
I also realized that she was oblivious to the mess she made in the house and also of her behavior. I told her politely to help clean the house but she refused saying she was busy. So, I went ahead and did her share of the work instead of being assertive and telling her that the mess is hers and not mine. So, in a way I am at fault as well as I was not vocal and assertive.
Any valuable tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
April 16, 2015 at 4:50 pm #75443Adam PParticipantHello there,
I hope everything is going well/ improving in all aspects of your life; personal and professional. Doing everything for your roommate not only crippled her, but you as well. Embrace the gift of separation from her and continue to work on yourself. No contact is certainly a great tool for all of us that have experienced relationships with people that have greater struggles. If you ever do run into her or she tries to contact you, apologizing to you for her behavior, etc. If want to remain NC then go ahead, or if you are still feeling responsible/guilty, accept her apology and then continue with your life. There is a ton of information about no contact online and for those individuals that have gone months and even years, the guilt that they once felt inside for somebody else’s behavior goes away and if they ever do run into that person again, they either a. stay NC or b. acknowledge the person with no regard/care and move on. They leave that person to go with the wind.
Take what you learned from this experience and in the future if you have another roommate practice that assertiveness and vocalization.
Take CareApril 17, 2015 at 2:04 am #75456KathParticipantI know how you must feel about this! A couple of months ago I was in more or less the same situation with a flatmate who did not ONCE clean the bathroom, and when I politely asked him to he started complaining about something that was wrong when he moved in. He left kitchen & bathroom in a total mess, was rude and selfish, and I kept my mouth shut most of the time to avoid stress and conflict. After he finally moved out he did not even pay the full rent.
There were lots of little things, and I really felt bad about not trusting my gut when I allowed him to move in and not being clear on household issues from the beginning. I thought: This somehow must be my fault! Maybe I was not nice enough, or not clear enough, or selfish in other ways, and the flat disappointed him or whatever… in the end I though NO! This guy is just an a…hole, whether he intends to be one or not. I blocked his phone number and wrote him an official demand note. He sent me rude emails, and I stayed very clear and fair until he finally payed the rest of the rent.In the end I recognised that there are some people with whom it just does not work, for whatever reason!
This is why you can stop beating yourself up: You did the best you could and what felt right for you. There is no way you could have changed the way it was with her! Losing your temper is completely normal – there are people who speak their mind all the time and there are people who are more held back until they explode ;-)… which works perfectly with other people who are sensitive enough to recognise this and communicate on this level.
And some people only learn when someone explodes in their face! You should actually be proud that you finally stood up for yourself. And alas, saying that you dont want to speak to a human like her is probably just the truth.April 17, 2015 at 4:58 am #75459WillParticipantHey you,
To be honest, you seem to have a decent handle on this situation. Yes, assertiveness rather than *~*kindness*~* (actually, avoidance and resentment) would have been a more helpful approach here. But you know what? It’s done. You handled it as best you could with the knowledge and experience available to you at that time, and you made it through ok. It was horrible, but here you are, and you have more knowledge now, and more experience, and you can practice assertiveness in the future.
That’s all you need to do. If you start beating on yourself again, just give that self a time-out. Be like: “Hey, self, I don’t like it when you talk to me like that. I did what I did, and got the results that I got. I learned from it, and this case is now closed.”
Let go. Keep letting go. Be kind to yourself, including your past self, who didn’t know how to handle the situation and was under a lot of pressure. She doesn’t need more judgement now for not handling everything as best as freaking possible. We all lose our temper sometimes. Past you was a human, and deserving of love despite occasional “mistakes”.
I’m full of nothing but understanding and friendliness for past you, and I hope with time you can be, too.
EDIT: I just wanted to make clear that this kind of *~*kindness*~* is exactly the kind I suffer from, and I have been in your shoes. It doesn’t mean my kindness isn’t valid or real, it is. It just means that I need to keep an eye on how I really feel when I’m doing someone else’s washing up, and picking up someone else’s socks from the livingroom floor. Kindness is a feeling. May it grow in you and me and all.
- This reply was modified 9 years, 7 months ago by Will.
April 17, 2015 at 7:35 am #75466Martina WeissParticipantForgive yourself for having lost temper, heal2014. Understand that at any moment you were (and are) trying your best to behave the right way. I’m sure you’ve done your best. So forgive yourself. Such things happen.
See what you can learn out of this situation and move on.Also, forgive her. She had her reasons why she behaved the way she did. I’m not saying that you were that reason, no. There was something inside of her she could’t deal with, something that aroused her, something that might have made her feel bad about herself, or inferior. Whatever the reason for her hostility might have been, she tried the best she could and at that moment she couldn’t do any better.
Don’t take her behavior personal at all. This doesn’t have anything to do with you.
Forgive yourself, and forgive her. See what you can do better next time and move on.
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