10 things that make us uncomfortable

One of the things I like to do in my blog is try to figure out what people are really like and what they think.  When animals get uncomfortable, it's because they think they are going to die.  So they get nervous and they become not very cuddly.  When humans get uncomfortable, they show it in nervous laughter, sometimes they run, sometimes they get aggressive.  In fact, we have a whole range of emotions to cover the different things that make us uncomfortable either physically or mentally.  So here are a few of the things that make us uncomfortable.

10.  Silence.  -  Nature hates a vacuum.  Boy is that ever true.  blank space, dead air.  Whatever you call it.  It's a silence that happens in the middle of a conversation that kills the rest of it.  Sometimes it happens because someone has come clod-hopping in and said something like 'How about that Idiot Obama' to a group of NAACP boosters.  Then the silence.  Then the beatings.  Other times we get it because everything that needed to be said on the subject has been said and nobody wants to venture to a new topic.  This happens a lot on early dates.

9.  Talking out of turn - It's not really that it's not your turn to talk, it's that it never should have been your turn to talk at all.  You see.  I've been accused of liking to hear myself talk.  This is by people that I assume hate to hear themselves talk and then in a close second, me. Often the act of talking out of turn will in turn bring on number 10.  It happens when you either talk over someone's story or try to dominate the conversation and then you say something ill informed.  OFTEN followed by number 10.

8.  TMI - Too Much Information. This is like talking out of turn, but instead it's providing more personal information than people are really comfortable hearing.  It's usually done when people don't realize the amount of collective comfort that everyone has in the group. 

7.  Do you mind if I go Blue? - This happens to people that are used to the company of one sort of people (Truckers, Lumberjacks, Politicians).  They find that the parlance that is not only accepted but expected is nothing of the sort with another group of people. This one can happen inadvertently when you go out to dinner with your office group and people let their hair down a bit.  All of the sudden some people are not comfortable at all with the rough language that they would never dream would come out of the mouths of co-workers.  So my advice?  Don't swear in a group that you are new to.  Yes, it's obvious, but maybe not.  Also, understand that in some areas there are words or phrases that approach a gray area that you might not suspect.  This would include talking about bodily functions.

6.  Pardon ME! - Speaking of bodily functions.  Very few things will take wind out of the room like if you break it.  The wind that is.  Yes, yes, I know, if it eats, it poops, and if it poops, it farts.  But I promise, there are many groups of people that would rather sit silently ignoring the by-product of your sins of emission rather than acknowledge the broken breeze. 












5.  So when's the baby due? - I have another whole blog on questions that should never be asked.  This fits nicely under the category of making other people uncomfortable.   This is usually a mistake of youth, but most certainly not exclusive to it.  Wrong questions or questions that are too probing will make all in the room squirm.

4.  He sang solo, solo he's a base  - This is an amazing bit of discomfort that happens when you hear someone singing in public.  probably one of the scariest things that anyone can do that isn't potentially lethal.  If you have ever been in the audience for someone that was not prepared to take the lead and you heard a series of bad notes you can almost hear everyone shifting in their seats.

3.  The Gumball Machine - On a different note, you feel very uncomfortable when you see the red and blue lights of your local constabulary come on.  The first thing you do is look at your speed and then check your registration.  This only takes 1.3 seconds.  After that you change lanes hoping he doesn't change with you.  It really doesn't matter at this point if you were the target or not.  You got ZINGED.

2.  THUMP THUMP -  After watching a bunch of ghost hunter type shows I was intrigued to find out that a certain low level vibration that can not be heard, CAN in fact be felt and it automatically puts you ill at ease.  It got better when they did an experiment where they took an old house and put a vibration generator in a part of it and then brought in two groups of people to walk the house and give their impressions.  One group the thumper was turned on, the other had nothing.  The groups were then asked about their impressions of the house.  No mention of ghosts or paranormal was a part of the experiment.  nearly all of the people that were in the thump group reported that they felt like the house was haunted and that they had seen things.  The other group felt like the house could use some fixing up.  So bottom line, low frequency vibrations make you uncomfortable.

1.  BOO! -I don't know about you, but when I get startled, especially when it's somewhere I'm not supposed to be startled.  It makes me jumpy nearly all day after that.  Just someone making a really loud noise in a place that you don't expect loud noises (like work) makes everyone uncomfortable for at least another hour. 







Sure there are LOTS of things that make people uncomfortable, but I think these 10 are familiar to all.  Thanks for reading!