I recently had a discussion with a friend about certain situations that stress me out more than others. My thought on it was that I am a creature of habit and a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to some things, so when they don’t go the way they should I freak out. While that is very true my friend made a great analogy to describe my behavior in high stress situations. He said “You’re a sponge.” I’m not a literal sponge, but an emotional sponge. Whatever those around me, especially those I am closest to, are feeling I soak it up and feel the same. I had never quite thought of it that way before, but the more I pondered it the more I realized how true it is.

Now being a sponge isn’t always a bad thing. Often times if I’m in a negative mood, or even just a “meh” mood, I can come in to contact with someone in a great mood and it completely turns mine around. When others around me are putting off positive emotions it is really beneficial for me. Then in return I give off the good vibes to others continuing the cycle of happy.

On the other hand if there are bad things happening around me it can really take a toll. I am a person who along feels everything deeply and personally, and can be empathetic. The more negative things that happen around me the lower my mood gets, turning in to stress and increasing my anxiety.

Since I have become aware of my sponginess I can hopefully deal with it better, and use it to my advantage. Although I knew negative things will happen I can reduce the influence of those people and things that cause the most stress. In contrast I can pin point what aspects of my life allow me to soak up more positive vibes and increase those.

Being an emotional sponge doesn’t have to be a bad thing, as long as you know how to deal with it, and control it in a positive way.