Gossip excludes individuals.
You glance around the room, to find those same three people looking at you and then laughing or whispering amongst themselves. The first time this happened you were left wounded and hurt. Then you reprimand yourself for thinking others would gossip about you.
Most days, you are faced with the same behaviour. They have confirmed that you are a source of their chatter because they make comments about you within hearing distance.
They invest so much time and effort in you, that it leaves you feeling a number of raw emotions. Anger, paranoia, sadness and vulnerable.
You wonder what is so dam interesting about you; that can hold their attention for so long. This is what I call a backward compliment.
It is as if your presence places them under some magical spell – captivating them.
RELATED: The Dangers of Gossip. (This post is a story about gossip – great antidote).
Having to attend school, the work place or any situation where this type of behaviour exists; is a lot of pressure initially. It can impact us for hours after the situation has taken place. This is understandable when we first encounter circumstances such as this. We have no tools or experience with this sort of conduct.
When you first come across passive aggressive behaviour (hostile words said with a smile on their face), you may attempt to laugh it off; it’s uncomfortable but you are not so sure what is going on. You don’t want to create waves so you bare the brunt of an awkward situation. But it zaps all the positive energy from you.
