Pessimism is killing me

[Jaena]

Being a pessimistic person myself, I am almost immune to this sort of thing. When it comes to things like my mental state though, and some of my oddities, I am a major target for harassment.

Like when I was in training, they asked us to name one odd habit/quirk of ours, and I released for the world to know my OCD method of eating things liek M&Ms and Skittles and even Smarties and jelly beans. As soon as I did that, I became a major target for harassment. I have found ways of hiding that particular trait of mine, and also to control it a bit.

Another one was my decision to put a sign up at my desk asking people to warn me before coming up behind me. I explained it to one person fully (I have a major anxiety issue, even with meds) and anytime after that that someone asked, I explained the incident that caused me to put the sign up, and my lovely neighbor (who I have missed terribly the past couple days because she's been sick) would kinda slip in there as if it were a joke "She has an anxiety thing". That way I didn't have to explain it, and it was not actually obviously the truth.

Hell, I'm still catching slack for eating cereal straight out of a box at work last week. I bought the box of cereal, I wanted to eat it, and I didn't need milk in it, so why bother with a bowl? It's my box dammit!

AS far as how to deal with it yourself, tell people to shove it. In your own personalized way of course. Or play it off as a joke yourself. Once oyu start making fun of yourself, then others lose the fun in poking at you because you're doing it for them.

[Graillik Tur]

Gaaz is right on the money. The geeks one great strength is his mind, and he thinks it is beyond reproach. And he is getting more and more vocal as we become a less violent society. It is both good and bad, no one should be bullied, but if there is no fear of shooting your mouth off....ya get the case in point.

[Terin]

I carried the book with me because I was reading it, not to broadcast the fact that I was a health nut. As far as the announcing I am a veggie, it DID come up in conversation, and someone said something about salad, and I said I hate salad. the occasional ripping I can stands, and if it's funny I'll actually enjoy it, but few know how to do it right (GAAZ usually can do it, and Osiris has mastered it.) I dunno. It might also have to do with the fact that after I announced it, and the first person questioned it, when I tried to explain that there were plenty of alternatives to salad, I was intterupted with a barrage of jokes. I loathe it when people interrupt me.
-T