'Talk things through' That is what the experts all advise us to do. If we have a problem they say we should get it off our chest. Share the burden. Get a dialogue going. The more we communicate with each other, the more we will foster mutual understand and respect. Or so, at least, the great psychologists tell us. But what if you find yourself trying to have words with someone who just winds you up? What if, the more you talk to a particular person, the more inclined you feel to run screaming for the hills. What if it doesn't work?....Is it ok to pull back, shut up, and let more time pass?
Eventually, we can get used to most things. If continually assailed by an unpleasant noise, we will find some way to 'filter it out', If confronted with a lingering, noxious odour, we will eventually shut down the receptors in the part of our brain that recognises such smells. We can even handle pain in this way if subjected to it often enough. Sometimes, though, we end up protecting ourselves unnecessarily. I now feel inclined to toughen up...!