People Who Avoid Their Own Feelings Often Can’t Handle Yours
Learn the signs and protect your emotional well-being from neglectful relationships.
I can still vividly recall the moment when it hit me — that was when I understood that I was spilling my innermost thoughts to a friend who would not really listen.
I had told one of my closest friends about my heartbreaking break-up with my girlfriend, exposing my guts and showing them the raw wounds that remained inside. Memories of her laughter, inside jokes shared between ourselves, and even tears we had cried together still felt like open sores.
But as I was talking, I was drawing in my friend’s gaze, their attention wandering.
It was in that moment that I could feel a chill run down my spine. Clearly, they were not really in the conversation in that moment.
The weight of my feelings was not something to carry; it was more just that they had never met their own, making room for none of mine. Deeper than any word that may have been spoken were their inability to listen.
Then I realized that there was no other option than to speak into an empty room for words echoed back, making a noise of silence instead of any sympathetic or empathizing noise.
