Tell them you’re not interested in their bad gossip.
Remedy Revenge Strategy
Ending toxic words
Example #1: Workplace
I once did part time temporary office work for a building contractor friend. Before he left the office one day, he said a subcontractor would be in to use his computer. I said okay.
The subcontractor arrived, sat at my friend’s computer, and began spewing bad gossip about my friend. After several minutes I had enough and said,
“I don’t want to hear it.”
The subcontractor paused, then changed subjects. He was quite a talker, but he no longer talked about my friend.
Example #2: Family
A relative made an extremely difficult situation worse for me. The sudden, unexpected appearance of her ex-husband stressed her out. I was in no mood to listen to her anxieties and she had other people to talk to in that house. I had to repeat “I don’t want to hear it” twice, but she did stop telling me about her anxieties. I was then able to cope with my own stress, the sudden death of my husband.
© Paula M. Kramer, 2021 to the present
All rights reserved.