Are you a drama Queen or
King? Or is your partner?
Yesterday I was lying on a beach sunbathing (in England would you believe?) and behind us was a family full of drama. Some people just make mountains out of molehills, sweat the small stuff and live life in a heightened emotional state. As I lay there I reflected on how contagious drama is to those all around. Everyone in striking distance can get affected and caught up in it. On the beach, the kids of the family were reacting to the parents, my afternoon nap was disrupted (with no doubt knock-on effects to my family later!!)and anyone nearby on the beach will have heard all that was going on.
Often people who live a life of drama don’t realise they are often doing it to themselves – it’s a pattern and a habit and they can even become addicted to drama. Others can pick up the habit during times of stress, and with cortisol running high they can then react to smaller issues with a stronger response. And this quickly builds to feelings of overwhelm.
If you think you may be prone to turning minor things major, perhaps start by just noticing your reaction to the situation. Then questioning whether whatever is going on will be important in an hour’s, day’s, week’s or a year’s time? How is your reaction helping or is it making the situation worse? How would someone more relaxed deal with it?
It won’t be easy but you can start to change the pattern and the first step is self-awareness of your reactions. The second step is consciously choosing to change it. My next post will look at what to do if the drama Queen / King is a partner or someone else close to you but you could start by sharing this post and they might figure it out for themselves ????