Poll of the Day > I can't get over how I was the "weird kid" in elementary school...

(+) Yeah! (+)

To this day, I still think it clouds my interactions with other people and how I operate in social situations. My desire for attention and to impress people with my taste/opinions plus my tendency to let others take the lead when we're in a group of friends seems to all be rooted in my apprehensions built up from being a kid who had no tact and social grace.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzLF59_3RnY

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I'm still the weird kid. Embrace the weird. Embrace me.

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Live your best weird life. Stop caring about what other people think.

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It happens

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Those elementary school memories will scar you for life.

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DragonClaw01 posted...

elementary school memories will scar you for life

I know this feeling far too well, unfortunately.
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It's crazy how stuff like that can break you. I moved in middle-school age and went from being cool and respected to... not those things. And it basically ruined my life for a decade.

I was always the "weird kid," and now I'm still the "weird person." I'm the black sheep of my family and society.

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Weird people are awesome

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I wasn't the weird kid (was weird but had weirder kids in class, so I was never the weird kid), I was the quiet awkward kid, so I can relate. I'm so glad not to be a kid anymore

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Don't take this the wrong way, but have you considered seeing a therapist if you can afford it?

There's an interesting form of therapy I've experienced a couple times (had to stop for financial reasons) called EMDR. What happens is a therapist walks you back through a past event while trying to induce a mental state similar to dreaming usually through rhythmic tapping or eye movement (I guess the obvious comparison would be to hypnosis but that's not really what's going on). The therapist will then help your mind re-process the memory in a more healthy way, maybe by suggesting how you would have preferred events to play out instead. It's used a lot on people who've suffered deep trauma, but I've seen it used for bad but not outright traumatic events that people have always been bothered by (that's usually what the first full-on session consists of regardless).

For example, my mother wanted to try it, and she re-processed the event of her childhood books being given away. I don't even remember what I re-processed for the first time because afterward it became... completely unimportant. I let it go. One of my sisters, on the other hand, took the therapy long-term to process some deep-seated trauma. It took a long time but she is much, much better for it.

If you can afford it, I recommend trying maybe... three sessions to see if it does anything for you, though if you decide to try and re-process really bad memories, it can be pretty distressing to get through. Some people overinflate how great it is, but in my experience it is effective.

Tbh, if mental health care were readily available, I'd recommend that everyone try it out at least once, if only because it's an unusual experience.

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Gaawa_chan posted...

past event

What if you feel like there are too many of those to go through? What if you know that some traumatic events have been repressed?
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EclairReturns posted...

What if you feel like there are too many of those to go through? What if you know that some traumatic events have been repressed?

The EMDR therapist I saw was a therapist specializing in extreme trauma (we're talking child rape, war crimes, etc). She actually helped my sister with some repressed memories, then re-processed them- I never asked her how she and the therapist managed that, but I guess if you're interested I could ask tomorrow. It can take quite a bit of time to work through those things. The biggest obstacles to this are either financial or personal, with the former being self-explanatory and the latter being that you have to really want to persevere to get the re-processing done.

How many memories you go through is up to you, not the therapist. If you feel it's working and you're able to, you can continue, or stop if you don't feel you need it anymore. The one thing I'd recommend you do arrange with the therapist beforehand is to make absolutely sure you never have to end a session mid-processing. If you're doing a therapy session and your time with the therapist is already half-way over, don't start an EMDR session, especially if it's a particularly grim or complex memory you're going through; those take time to work on, so it's best if you give yourself as much time as you can during your therapy session to get through them.

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I was the socially awkward kid that tried to fade into the background back in the day lol

never liked been the center of attention and still don't

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I don't know if we ever really get over our early years. I wasn't the weird kid, I was the hyperactive brat, or that is how I think people thought of me. I did stupid things without thinking beforehand but I never did things to be mean. I just feel like I probably annoyed people. That is why I avoid social events now.

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SunWuKung420 posted...

Embrace me.

I'm good, buddy. Thanks, though.

Reading through the posts, it seems most see themselves as the victim/beaten down hero in their own stories. Makes sense.

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Solid Sonic posted...

To this day, I still think it clouds my interactions with other people and how I operate in social situations. My desire for attention and to impress people with my taste/opinions plus my tendency to let others take the lead when we're in a group of friends seems to all be rooted in my apprehensions built up from being a kid who had no tact and social grace.

Possibly. I still have traits from when growing up. I will say however I stopped caring more and more about what others think and do. I also have a lot less tolerance for drama. I've become much more of a happier person due to that.

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I was a crybaby in elementary and most of middle school. Even the slightest hint of something negative towards me would set off the waterworks. I was quiet and lonely most of the time but I did find a handful of friends eventually. Currently I'm still quiet and lonely but I don't cry much anymore.

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