When someone gives me disappointing news, no matter who it is and what it's about, at that moment I become solely preoccupied with acting okay about it. This could be for several reasons: a) I don't want people around me to feel uncomfortable, b) I want to preserve my pride, and c) I want to convince myself that I'm okay. Whatever it is, I've noticed that I don't have an honest reaction until a while later, usually when I'm by myself thinking and/or writing. That's when I finally decide whether I actually AM okay with it or not, and how to deal with it. I wouldn't say this nonchalant facade I assume upon initial disappointment is fake, necessarily...even though it only happens when I am around other people (I don't pretend I'm okay when I get disappointing news by myself). Partially it's an automatic habit, and partially I really DO want to be okay with it, especially if I'm around people who would really worry about me, or if the bad news comes in the form of an apology/confession (e.g. Person: I did something bad yesterday etc. etc. Me: I see, yeah it's fine"). My brain tries to skip carelessly past the issue, which might make things easier in the moment, but certainly makes things harder for me when I am re-confronted with the issue, later and on my own.
Does anyone else do this?
