How do I not feel sorry for someone else? I can't imagine that it's helpful.
My husband has a good friend whose wife visits me whenever our husbands are golfing or fishing or something. She isn't someone I would normally choose to be friends with but I see her often. I realized that I don't really like her. I just feel sorry for her. She is socially awkward and seems incredibly lonely. I've read your book 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do and I know it's bad to feel sorry for ourselves, but I can't help but think it's probably also unhealthy for us to feel bad for other people. How do you stop feeling sorry for someone else?
How to deal with strange, subtle rude comments?
The best way to describe my brother-in-law is that he has a chip on his shoulder. He makes weird statements that I find incredibly rude and annoying but the stuff he says is so strange I'm not even sure how to call him out. Here's an example. I bought a new car. He said, "That's what all middle aged people do when they start to panic that they're getting old." For the record, it's not exactly a flashy sports car but I didn't say anything because I wasn't sure how to respond. Another day he saw me loading my kayak onto the car and he said, "Your life is even more boring that I thought. You think floating in a plastic boat is fun." If he were joking or just having fun, I'd be fine. But he says these things completely serious. He's not really a fun or funny person. Instead, it's mean spirited. But comments like this often drive me crazy for days as I'm thinking about what he meant or what I should have said for a comeback. Should I ignore his comments or speak up? And what would I even say?
Infertility
Hi Amy, how can we become mentally stronger when dealing with infertility and childlessness not by choice? My husband and I tried to conceive for 7 years but couldn’t due to health issues, we started classes on adopting years ago but quickly learned how incredibly stressful and unstable the process is and are not sure we could handle it (like if adoption failed after we bonded with the child). It has been almost ten years since my hysterectomy solidified our infertility and my heart still hurts every time a friend/coworker/family member gets pregnant, every time anyone asks if I have children, etc. It’s almost as painful now as it was years ago and I would love any tips you have to help.
How do you deal with a negative thought that's true?
I listened to episode 128 about dealing with negative thoughts that aren't true. But how do you deal with a negative thought that is true. Sometimes I tell myself I'm not not as good at math as other people. That's true. Sometimes I think I'm not in as good of shape as I wanted to be at this age. That's true also. So how do I deal with those thoughts that are negative, yet accurate statements?
I lost my job and I'm having trouble staying mentally strong. What can I do?
I was unexpectedly let go from my job three months ago. I'd worked there for about 10 years and was blindsided. I thought I'd be able to find a new job pretty fast but it's taking a lot longer than I imagined. I'm a professional with a lot of good experience. I've applied for a lot of jobs and only had a few interviews but no luck. I'm discouraged and starting to feel panicked as I need to get a job soon. I've been meditating every day, exercising, and trying to take care of myself but I still feel awful. I have an interview next week for a job I don't even really want but I'm starting to feel a little desperate. How can I stay mentally strong when I'm out of work and can't get a new job?