iStock/Thinkstock(WATERLOO, Ontario) — You know that person who always seems to have a dark cloud over their head? Well, don’t go raining on their parade by trying to stop it from raining on their parade.
It just so happens, according to researchers in Ontario, Canada, that these people prefer to wallow in self-pity rather than hear from others that life isn’t so bad.
Professor Denise Marigold from Renison University College at Waterloo says, “People with low self-esteem want their loved ones to see them as they see themselves.”
Therefore, it’s not positive reinforcement that they seek but more like negative validation, that is, having someone say they understand just how rotten they feel.
In other words, you’re doing someone with low self-esteem a favor by not trying to brighten their day.
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