Mental health topic: How to deal with Offense?

[nightglow]

Living in a diverse world, you are bound to come across other people saying or doing things that are offensive. Regardless of how offensive the action or words said, or if the other person intentionally meant to hurt you or not, the feelings of offense must be processed in a healthy way in order to move on with life and to reduce or manage trauma if applicable. This thread is hopefully a place on sharing how you healthily process feelings offended in life, and the environment it happened in can make that challenging sometimes. All the more reasons to discuss.

What are some ways you healthily process feelings of being offended?

What if the incident took place at work or school?

What if the incident took place at home with family?

What if the incident took place online with strangers?

What if the incident took place x months or x years ago?

What are some resources to reach out to if you are finding yourself struggling with feeling offended and trying to manage that?

What are some variables or are there any variables to remember when finding yourself offended?

What if you are in a circumstance when you don't receive an apology?

What if you are in a circumstance that your received an apology but feel an apology is not enough?

Is there a good rule of thumb of how long you should wait to respond directly to the person who offended you or not respond to them at all?

When is it a good time to reach out to a mental health professional for help vs just a friend?

Any other good things to remember when dealing with feeling offended?

 

[Chris]

I'm not easily offended. When I am I don't confront them unless I'm close to them and it is going to be an obstacle in our relationship. I take time to think it over, try to consider their point of view, and often sleep on it before taking any action so I can approach it calmly (if it even still feels necessary). At work or online I report it if it requires it rather than handling directly.

Then I work through those feelings on my own by channeling them into creative projects and working out. For well-being I practice mindful hobbies to try to avoid hyperfixating - baking, crochet, and puzzles being my current go-tos. Although a good vent to a third party also helps.