Something I experienced a lot in the past was the feeling that someone was mad at me, even when they were not.
Sometimes people's behaviour is not even directed towards you, they may just have a lot going on and are finding it hard to keep their emotions in check and are in their heads. That their current feelings are not towards you.
I know I am not the only person who experiences this but I learned some helpful methods which helped me combat this and change my perspective and thinking about it eventually I stopped overthinking it and ruminating on it and making myself feel worse.
These methods were:
I paused and asked myself have they explicitly stated they were mad at me or if I had done something to upset them. This is a great way to reflect on your recent actions and interactions with them. Often enough if you cannot find a reason why they are not mad at you. Just be careful to watch yourself making up reasons they are mad at you which is where the other tips can help.
Practising mindfulness: this helped me become more aware of my thoughts and feelings so I could manage them better and recognise what I was feeling. It helped me in times when I needed to compartmentalise a feeling or thought so I could come back to it later in the day when I was in space where I could focus on it and avoid ruminating on whether they are mad at me or not and allow me to go about my day.
Acting how you would normally and positively: when you act normal or in a positive way I found the person you feel might be angry with you gets out of their head a bit. I found they tend to join in with you and relax and what they were showing decreases. Otherwise, if you have found they are still feeling tense ask them if they are okay. This can open the conversation about how they are feeling and how you can support them.
Lastly asking what if they are mad at you. If you have a close enough relationship they should be able to answer you and even if they don’t know the reason why it can help either determine if they need some space to think and get their emotions in order or you can both reflect on the reasons why.
I hope this helps someone and I would also like to hear any other tips people have to reduce rumination or how to stop thinking someone is mad at you.
