Happy New Year folks!  I am excited about this year because 2010 was one of my roughest years on record, so I am glad to move on to something new.  I don’t officially make resolutions, but most of my goals are pretty typical.  I will strive to make this a great year.  Anyway on to the post.

I think me and SpongeBob are cousins... *shrug*

I am an emotional sponge.  What does that mean exactly?  Well it is interesting you should ask, because I am going to tell you.  Aren’t I so accommodating?  Basically an emotional sponge is empathy that is taken way too far.  I soak up all the emotion of those around me.  Sometimes this is a great thing.  When I am feeling down and I encounter people in pleasant, cheerful moods I instantly am uplifted.  I find it very hard to frown in a room full of bubbly energy.

HELP!

However, emotional sponginess becomes problematic when I am faced with negative energy.  If I am around someone who is sad and crying, chances are I will end up crying harder than them.  The same goes for anger, discomfort, anxiety, and any other yucky thing you can think of.  This is an especially hard thing to deal with in romantic relationships.  Adding more negative energy to an already negative and possibly volatile situation is a recipe for disaster.  Sigh.  In fact I have been accused of making situations “all about me” or labelled selfish because of the emotions that I take on.  It is frustrating because they don’t understand that I can’t help these chameleon tendencies.  I wish I knew how to wring out my sponge.  Any suggestions?