31 Habits of a JoyFULL Wife, Habit Number 22 - Stop Drama at the Door

Throughout our lives, at one time or another, we have, and will continue, have to deal with drama. We will be put in testy situations we would much rather avoid.

Avoidance is not going make drama go away. As a matter of fact drama thrives in an passive/aggressive environment.
Recurring drama is cause by:

• Jealousy

• Self hatred

• A need for attention

Regardless of the symptomatic cause, you can't allow someone else's mania to dictate your home, finances or peace of mind. That's what I call job robbing.  As sympathetic as you'd like to be, there comes a point when you have to draw a line in the sand. In other words create boundaries. This is sometimes difficult, if not painful but unless you want to spend the rest of whatever time you have on earth devoid of joy, you're going to have to do what the moniker on the T-shirt above says.

Here is a bit of advice that we could all use on handling these inevitable occurrences with a bit more finesse.

5 Tips for Dealing with Drama

1.  Know better. Realize that when others go out of their way to put someone down, there is usually some underlying reason.
2.  Don't get involved. If and when someone decides to insult you, the best thing you can do is smile and state "no comment." There is no reason for snide remarks and comebacks. Just smile and change the subject, and let them know that you refuse to be bothered by such immature and futile tactics. They're wasting their time, and embarrassing themselves when you don't let it bother you. It is better to finish the conversation sooner without being insulted.
3.  Get over it. The person who is trying to bring you down is first and foremost trying to get a reaction out of you. If you play it off like it doesn't bother you (even if it does) then they automatically lose. Make a mental note to stay away from this person until they learn how to behave properly, if ever they do. Let them work out their own internal struggles themselves.
4. Vent only to someone you truly trust. Sometimes we do need someone to lend an ear so we can get a few things off our chest. But don't make the mistake of ranting to everyone who is willing to listen, no matter how secret they promise to keep your quotes.
5.  Don't feed into it. Don't let the person see that you're getting upset because that will give them more incentive to keep on going.

 

No More Drama, Mary J. Blige

Tired of drama running your house?  Detroit area residents can attend a workshop on Saturday, February 2.  Click here for the details about the "Not in My House" workshop.