Yes. I have some pretty bad social anxiety issues that theatre has done a tremendous amount to ease. I am used and like to be alone most of the time and try very hard to go unnoticed unless the situation calls for more than just my physical presence. According to the Myers-Briggs personalit types, I am an INTJ. Apparently this is a rare outcome but who really wants to be normal? You can learn more about what this means here:
http://www.16personalities.com/intj-personality
It is difficult to accept compliments especially when you aren't used to or comfortable with being noticed. I know there are many people who take compliments graciously, but I have had to come up with ways to accept compliments without feeling selfish. The problem with simply not accepting compliments is that you then become ungrateful. I'm here to say that this is not the case. When someone says they think I'm talented or good at something, my insides want to drop out of the bottom of my feet. I've never been completely sure of why this is, but nevertheless I have recently been forced to come up with an automatic response to positive feedback. Part of this is to give the other person a smile that communicates how grateful I am they took time out of their life to compliment me of their own accord. My hope is that they never see how completely uncomfortable I am.
I will likely always struggle with this, but it gets admitadly easier every time to pretend like I'm not wanting to run away from the person complimenting me.
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