The Sympathy Face

If you've ever had a friend who was fairly demanding of attention you have likely used the sympathy face. Because, I find the ones you notice being attention seekers (even though most of us are in other ways) are the ones who aim to attract attention in the form of sympathy.

I am an empathetic person, I like to think. I always end up listening to the traumatic stories of their childhood and participate in the ego-boosting remarks like “don’t be silly, you have something to offer; you’re life is good and will only get better” etc...etc...But eventually, I realize that this particular brand of person is actually not feeling bad about themselves or their lives at all; they just want YOU to feel bad.

If you have sympathy for them, it means you care and that they can count on you to be on their side even when they are wrong (because you, of all people, should know that they need someone in their corner).

You do not come across these people every day and sometimes you just get people who arrive in this phase but eventually get out. Sometimes, it requires that you no longer buy into it. You no longer feed their ideas about what your relationship should be and the best way they know how to get attention.

The annoying thing though is I never spot these people right away, it always takes a lot of sympathy attempts and eventually the realization that they have over-exaggerated stories and feelings.

Man o man that reminds me of the drama queens in relationships. You know, the ones that feel like their partner isn’t passionate about being with them and loving them unless they are fighting. They seek to make the other person feel bad purely to get them to argue with them. At least the spiders make their intentions perfectly clear (though some people still ignore them…for some strange inexplicable reason).

What kind of people are these?! Seriously guys, if you EVER notice that you do stuff like this then I beg of you to seek emotional help- wherever that may come from. DO NOT just seek out new people that haven’t figured you out yet. This is unhealthy. The truth is you should not need validation from your friends, significant others, or strangers. These expectations are ridiculous and unfair. You, and especially they, deserve more.