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Avoid Stress: Beware the Naysayers

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I don’t get it.

The circumstances don’t seem to matter: there always seems to be someone who is willing to turn a good situation into something bad, or make a bad situation worse.

Take Jackie Evancho, for example, the phenomenal 10-year-old singer on the TV show America’s Got Talent. She is angelic, really, with a singing voice that literally made my jaw drop. And it wasn’t just me; the in-studio audience and judges were just as astonished as I, and full of praise for this little girl’s amazing voice. She was beautiful, too. And she had a beautiful smile. And she had poise and presence and manners and… well, I guess I’ve gushed enough! Take a look for yourself (WARNING: be prepared to be blown away): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPITHzdUUDk

It wasn’t long until the naysayers reared their ugly heads, accusing her of lip-synching. It wasn’t really her, they say, she is a phony. Puh-leeze… look at that video… the vibrato in her voice perfectly matches the quiver of her lower lip. And don’t you think that the judges would have been able to tell? A conspiracy, you say? The entire America’s Got Talent production team and staff are all keeping this big secret? Uh-huh…

The same thing happened to Susan Boyle when she stunned the world on Britain’s Got Talent.

There are your two examples of turning something good into something bad. There are more: the “faked” moon landing, the “Flat Earth Society” that believes that the world is flat (really), and on and on.

Now let’s make a bad situation worse: those that say that attacks of 9/11 were a government conspiracy. Wasn’t that event disturbing enough? The arguments are ridiculous for so many reasons, the most obvious of which is the fact that two people can hardly keep a secret. Imagine how many hundreds of people would have had to have been involved in such a conspiracy: those that planned it, those that placed the bombs, those that actually hijacked the planes or, as some have said, those that were on the planes and are now hiding? How is it possible that every single one of them could have kept a whopping secret like that? The answer is simple: it isn’t.

Here’s my point: no matter what is stressing you, whether you’re dealing with cancer or some other illness or even life in general, there will always be those that seem to try to make it worse. They will talk about what will happen to you, or what happened to them or someone they know. They will diminish your feelings by telling you that so-and-so had it much worse, and so on.

I don’t think that it is necessarily mean-spirited, unfortunately it’s just their nature and you have to protect yourself from them. Just realize that some people simply need to be negative; it comes naturally for them and it has become habit. Many times they don’t even realize they’re doing it!

Avoid them if you can, ignore them if you can’t. I know, it’s easy to say and usually hard to do. But do it you must in order to minimize your stress.

Dealing with cancer, some other major illness, or life in general? Our free daily tips will help you cope: sign-up at http://www.CopingQuickies.com For even more stress management tips and techniques visit http://www.CopingUniversity.com where world-class experts share their wisdom to help you cope. Hours of FREE online audio programs will help reduce your stress and restore your hope. Topics are unique, unusual, fascinating, and just plain fun! Learn how to find humor when nothing seems funny, how to love the way you look no matter what, and how to be romantic even during a serious illness. Our online content is always free, so visit today!

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We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.

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