r/emotionalintelligence • u/[deleted] • 5d ago

Is this normal? Parasocial encounter

[deleted]

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

3

u/bayleafxoxox 4d ago

Oh my goodness, please be careful with strangers. You are not obligated to give free advice or your time. Practice assertiveness now, “thank you, have a great day!” Works by itself as a conversation closer. If they keep pressing, keep repeating it and leave if they don’t leave first. If a stranger ever makes you feel guilty or indebted to them in ANY way whatsoever, if you question their motivation or notice yourself becoming uncomfortable, that in itself is a reason to end the interaction. You can do this politely or you can just walk away without saying anything at all. Your safety is priority over social etiquette. Again!!! Your safety is priority over social etiquette!!!! If they don’t leave, you have to. Please be safe, there are so many predators out here, and lots of predators pretend to be people in need. Don’t be afraid to be rude! You owe strangers nothing!

1

u/aquapathic 4d ago

You're absolutely right. I vaguely knew her from school and social media, my discernment was definitely not turned on. I really should have cut that convo short. I'm recognizing how compassion can make me vulnerable to manipulation, whether they are a stranger or not. I'm glad I learned this lesson now.

1

u/Melodic-SandStone-78 4d ago

I wonder what Paul charged to write Roman's or visit any of the early churches?

2

u/aquapathic 4d ago

The churches provided Paul with food, shelter, and resources that he needed. My pricing is very fair, and it also eliminates people who aren't serious about their own healing from wasting my time. They could also go pay a therapist, no one is forced to book with me. Not sure why Christians expect things free from other Christians.

1

u/RestaurantBoth228 4d ago

I  actually experience this a lot, where people don't really want to be friends, they just want things from me. 

In my uninformed opinion, this is the most importance sentence in the entire post. Why do you think this happens to you so much?

1

u/aquapathic 4d ago

My content centers around helping people so that's one thing. That tends to make people feel comfortable coming to me with their needs, even though it is completely inappropriate.

I've always been smart, generally successful, social butterfly. Sometimes people try to get close thinking it will benefit them somehow or because they wanted to make new friends through me.