Posted by wendy b. on March 23, 2003, at 0:40:13
In reply to Re: delusion question » daizy, posted by Dinah on March 22, 2003, at 9:39:35
This is the most lucid description of this phenomenon I have read. I have the gift, too, of being able to "read" people well. The reasons behind why this is so were also the volatile parental environment I was raised in. So, thank you, Dinah.
My brother and I coined this type of person the "high-monitor personality," always scanning and searching and taking radar readings of every single emotion for every person, in every situation... It's exhausting. I hope it becomes less necessary for you to do over time? Therapy seems to have helped you understand it and name it, that's half the battle. For me, the other half is getting the parents to understand ANY of this dynamic...
Hope you are having a relaxing weekend (after Thursday's meeting),
Wendy
> I have that skill too, daizy, for the same reason. When you grow up with volatile parents you learn to read cues. Sometimes other people are so surprised, and it feels to them like I'm reading their mind. And I keep in mind that it's just a skill, a skill I wish I had no reason to learn. And because I have that skill, and because I'm really oversensitive to emotions of others, it is sometimes very painful to be around people - especially angry people or people in pain. I seem to absorb those things, and it hurts.
>
> I'm pretty sure I'm not delusional on the subject because my therapist readily acknowledges that I have the ability. He says it's one reason he tries to be extra careful to always tell me the exact truth. But he also says that I very frequently correctly pick up the feelings, but assign the completely wrong reasons for them. So I might think someone is mad at me, when really they're just mad.
>
> I also have some elements of magical thinking, but I only partly believe them. I'm always aware that it's magical thinking, and make an effort to figure out the logical reasons for what happened.
poster:wendy b.
thread:211346
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030322/msgs/211665.html