Monday, February 22

One Cause for Unsafe Relationships 2/22/15

     Who doesn't want to be happy? That is possible when we have great friend-ships.
   
     Without them, we feel "incredible im-mense pain," as one client told me this week.  We may feel like a failure, like this
fellow did.
We need relationships for emotional healing and spiritual growth.
      Many complain about the lack of people with whom they can relate.  The problem isn't that there aren't Safe People around.  Many are simply unable to choose Safe People.  They do not know how to distinguish them from others.  They have a broken people picker.  Bad habits get in the way:

    We Rescue
 
One problem is being in a rescu-ing relationship.  The connection is with another person in crisis.  When the other person is in pain we feel close to them.  This friend-ship may give us a sense of value.  We are helping someone.

     They need us.

      So we think.  But it is not a mature connection.  It is a rescu-ing connection.  We want to avoid people who cannot meet our needs.  We do not want relationships ridden with problems.  Mutual-ity is key for satisfying relationships.  If it isn't, stay away from that person.

     Needy people are unable to tend to our wants. Reci-procity is lacking.  Often we are prone to these type of rela-tionships.  We ex-perienced this pattern early in life.  We respond-ed to needy relatives.
     We related with people we were unable to satisfy.  It did not matter how hard we tried.  What we did was not enough.  They always cried out for more.  Ask your-self, are you in a rescuing rela-tionship?  Is this person there for you when you are hurt-ing?  Or is relating with this person a one-way street, all going their direction?

      If it is not reciprocal, is that a fair relationship?  You know my opinion.

    People needing to be rescued are not taking re-sponsibility for their lives.  Such people are not safe, even if they are nice.  It is im-portant to grow.  An unsafe person does not grow.  In fact, they may get angry, if you ask them if they are.

      I did that with a relative on the phone.  It was his birthday.  After the usual pleasantries, I asked this question.  He hung up on me.

      Another person's behavior is a statement about them, their values and priorities. This relative's hanging up on me was not a statement about me.
Today I will stop trying to control my relationships.  I will participate at a reasonable level.  I let the other person do the same.  I can let go.  I know the relationship will find its own life.  Or it won't.  I don't have to do all the work.  I only need to do my share.      Melody Beattie
      Those who rescue do not contribute to their growth or that of those who are rescued.
Because a rescuer needs an unsafe person to rescue, rescuing always leads to unsafe people in one's life.  
 Dr. Cloud and Dr. Townsend, Safe People  p 102. 

1 comment:

Thumper said...

Dear Pablo,

I love the quote by Iyanla Vanzant. We have to surround ourselves with positive people who give us grace, love and compassion, ones that can fill our love bank. If we cannot get it from our family we can get it from authentic friendships. I am learning that we often have to ask for it. Ask for what you need. Ask a friend to tell you the good that they see in you. My goal is to do this more often. It will help with my healing.

Quotes from the Posts

"I'm mindful that our thoughts affect the words we use, our words influence our actions, our actions shape our character and our character determines our destiny."

From "My Character Determines My Destiny." To read it, please click here.

"Progress not perfection, is better than no progress at all, especially when we're trying to rid ourselves from unwelcome dragons that dwell within the closets of our soul."

From, "Still Learning" which, within four days, became the most popular post
written. To read it, please click here.

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its trouble, but it does empty today of its strength"
From the post: "Life Is Not a Correspondence Program." Click here to read it.

"Even though we cannot control our circumstances, we can control how we choose to respond to them."

From, "Handling Stress and Dealing With an Emotional Bully."Click here to read this post.

"Nope, being busy isn't exciting. Boring is good. Because boring is not boring; boring is being healthy, living a balanced life that has serenity"

From: "Do You Know What It Means If You Are Too Busy?" For more, please click here.

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