Distress

We all have it and will most certainly have it as life goes on, so here is the place to let off your most suppressed steam. I don't want to turn this into just a rant thread, however. Ranting is acceptable, of course, but I want people to have discussions about problems we may share in common.

Now to start things off, I'm going to say that my biggest stress problem has to be the stress of others around me. A very tough thing to avoid since everyone gets angry or frustrated constantly, and it isn't healthy to go through life without venting about something. But as I stated in another thread, I have a minor ability to feel someone else's stress, and it's worse than being punched square in the gut. Minor frustrations can cause me to corner myself away from everyone else and become nothing less than an despairing, empty husk. Above that, it stresses me even worse when someone in the room is taking pleasure in another's distress, nothing will get me infuriated faster than a sadist. Which is mostly why I'm a general happy person, and I avoid getting angry as much as possible, because not only am I a complete and heartless asshole when I'm angry, but I start to feel the damage I cause by either scaring or hurting someone else, therefore making me sick to my stomach.

Living with a military step-parent and having a trait of pacifism makes it extremely difficult for me to make my own decisions and I tend to go along with what anyone else says as long as it avoids getting someone angry or upset (not a very good trait for an Admin, I know, but I'm a little more ruthless when I'm taking something seriously). My parents are emotionally unstable, my step-father being the easily angered stick-up, and my mom being a sensitive and sickly punching bag. A lot of my mom's sensitivity passed on to me, which is probably why I avoid conflict all the time, and my step-father is amazingly manipulative of both me and her. His anger drives the household with an iron grip, and there's nothing we can do about it, since he is keeping my mom from giving me the essentials to move out and has convinced her that I need to be there as an emotional crutch for the rest of her life. So, my mom is forced to teach me to drive, get me a job and let me live my life in secret. My father doesn't even agree with most of his methods, but since he believes I can solve this problem on my own and would rather not interfere, he's letting me make the decisions.

Being in charge is a huge pressure for me, I'm sad to say. I have little self-confidence in most of the decisions I make other than the basics and laying out pre-set rules. It's had a little impact on my Adminship, but since I've done this for a while, I know what is expected of members and what I need to do to those who bend or break the rules without permission. I'm happy to be your guys' Admin, and wouldn't give it up unless I was asked, and doing this has helped me make decisions in my own life, so thank you guys.

Anyway, lay your stress on the table, and maybe some of us can help you clean it up.

Spoiler:

and that there is the water vapor above the iceberg's tip of my tale

But ya'know what? I have plenty enough to look forward to before I let that bog me down. Thankfully, my reserves are still alive and kicking.

I like to think of myself as easygoing, without a lot of stress, well at least that's the aura I give off. And in reality, I am a happy person, and with only one life to live, I'm not going to let anything get me down. But I too, have my stressors and issues that I deal with. A mom, who is an alcoholic, and has been to rehab numerous times. She will probably die within the next 15 yrs if she doesn't change. A father whom I used to be super close with, but whom I don't talk to anymore because of some of the decisions he made regarding family vs. his third wife. Two sisters who don't seem to be able to stay out of trouble. School which is almost done (thank god) but then I will coming back to get my M.S. degree, so that's more pressure. The pressure to have a child soon, and be able to pay the bill's for the house and everything that comes with it....but it's still all good