As with everything, context is pretty important. There are definitely people who are one-uppers, but not everyone. Context can usually provide the answer, unless one is socially disadvantaged.
this post was submitted on 27 May 2025
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I’ve absolutely never understood the idea that this is one-upmanship or trying to make the conversation about yourself. It’s a very solipsistic take - we are social creatures.
I use Arch btw.
I use Debian. Anyway, what desktop environment do you use? KDE, XFCE, or something else?
I have this one friend who is an immensely kind person but she's just horrible at this. She tries to relate with a relevant story but it always comes off as her just trying to shift the story to herself. If she wasn't such a sweetheart I'd think it was intentional but I think she's just bad at this one particular conversational aspect. Is a little cute seeing her try so earnestly and fail so spectacularly, not gonna lie
I mean there are people who do that and it’s usually very obvious they are doing it, not just relating to you. It’s a completely normal and acceptable way to have a conversation and I’ve never understood the people who say otherwise like what do you even talk about if you can’t even reference your own life? I think those people are probably just those “I don’t do small talk” people
I use LFS btw.
I learned about shift response vs support response from this Anna Akana video: https://youtu.be/y99WZ-3c6zE
Time and place for both, but putting names to them made me a bit more conscious of balancing the two.
PS, if you haven't seen her LA Metro PSA videos, treat yourself and check them out
I changed jobs about a month ago, but never felt like my previous boss actually cared about my spouse having cancer (always said she could relate because her 70 something year old mother had a different type of stage 4). New job, people have said they can relate and understand, but have absolutely made it about me and how I'm doing, not how they're doing.
I was literally told constantly growing up that finding something relatable and sharing is part of normal conversation, but then people would be offended if I did and tell me I'm "too quiet" if I didn't. Like wtf do yall want, WHAT DO I DO, GAAAHHHH . . .
. . . fuck it, I'll just talk about trains the whole time
As someone on the spectrum the way I've learned to deal with this is basically: A) first reacting empathically ("Oh god that sounds horrible", "Are you alright?" etc.) B) then bringing up relating things, but trying to always turn the topic back in the end so they can continue about their thing ("Yeah I once hurt my ankle, that wasn't fun. Your arm must hurt so much") C) trying to downplay the relating story a bit if possible is usually good, to make sure you're signaling that you're not trying to steal the spotlight ("It was hard enough just hopping around for months, I can only imagine how difficult it's to do stuff with only one arm") D) if nothing else seems to work, people tend to like being asked questions about them and the thing ("What did the doctor say?", "How long do you think it'll take to heal?")
Here's what you do, whatever you feel is right in the moment. Will some people hate it? Yes. Will some people love it? Yes.
You can't please everyone and you wind up disappointing yourself.
One of my best friends, we interrupt each other's stories all the time and that's just the natural flow. Never snapped at her or vice versa or anything.
I have other friends that REALLY can't handle that. So I gotta like, dial it back with those people specifically.
I will say that one thing you should try to keep in mind is that before you perhaps chime in is remember where you branched from and bringing it back to that.
Bees are also an excellent topic. Did you know there are bees that are nocturnal? Or that some use feces to deter predation of their hive?
Opossum facts are a fun filter.
You can slowly get more and more gross, those who step away are weak and undeserving of your companionship.
You can't just say that and not supply us with at least one gross opossum fact...
Sorry for being behind on replying.
So, one that I don't really get why it grosses people out, but female opossum can stuff a decent chunk of their own face into their pouch. Like, double over and just get up in there. They keep it fairly clean, and can retrieve dead babies(more babies than nipples, some just fail to develop), sometimes snacking on them.
The reality of "playing dead" can get people. I have watched crowds blanche as we broke the illusion of them just "falling over". They do fall over often, but it's accompanied by voiding their stomach. They look and smell diseased when they do it. Never had one actually do it on stage, our ambassadors were heavily worked with before ever doing a public appearance, but just being able to give a first hand explanation got some fun reactions.
On the topic of opossum shit, this one is getting well known, but can still catch people off guard: They do feces recovery, like many species! Just handfuls of their own shit, shoveled on in. They also prefer to use a waterway as a bathroom, so they sometimes dip their tails to act as a catch for the feces. They're just... They're covered in it. Yet they are surprisingly clean animals!
I think the key when trying to relate to someone is brevity. You want to signal "I understand what you're saying because something similar happened to me" not "shut up, we're talking about me now". The former is more difficult to do the more words you use. At the very least you have to stop talking long enough to let the other person continue their story if they want to.
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WHAT DO I DO, GAAAHHHH . . .
- That sucks.
- That's crazy!
Select one as appropriate.
That’s crazy!
"Why don't you ever have anything to say about yourself?"
I'm cultivating an aura of mystique.
Oh shoot, is this not normal human behavior?
Connecting: "I know how that feels. This one time, something similar and awful happened to me. It still hurts."
One-Upping: "Oh, that's nothing. This one time, something similar and awful happened to me, pity me for how I hurt more than you."
it is. However, some people (fuck you dana) can’t let someone tell a story without interrupting with a “my story is worse” and then just talk over you, telling their whole story you just reminded them of….
it’s “one upping” that’s the problem… it’s nuanced but it’s possible to relate without taking over the conversation.
Meh, I dont have the patience to figure out all the sophistications of small talk. If I'm telling you something you left a lull in the conversation and feel free to take back over when ever you like.
it all depends on what the conversation is about. If it’s about my toenail, feel free to chime in… and balance, like don’t just prevent anyone else from talking
Whenever somebody tells me about the death of a family member, I always end up mentioning my cat that died six years ago. And I feel fucking stupid as I'm saying it but I can't seem to control myself. I've never lost a (human) family member that I was really close with so I just feel like I have no idea what to say, although I'd like to somehow make the person feel better in some way. So out comes the cat comment.
As someone who has lost a dog they were really close to, i get it, and i appreciate it. Loss is loss. The feelings we feel are similar.
Its like when people with kids talk to people with pets and they talk about pets as their kids. It doesnt bother me, thats what you know. And honestly, sometimes, my 4 year old isnt much different than a dog anyway. People that get offended by that, imo, are self centered and lack empathy themselves
So I can totally see myself and especially my boyfriend doing that in a couple of years. (Our cat died this year) Sweetly he and a friend connected over death because a friends mum died a coupe of years ago. I was like oh my god you can't compare that, but our friend really opened up about his mum after we told him how heartbroken we're after our cat's death.
One time I made the mistake of trying to relate to somebody with many allergies by comparing it to how I was raised vegetarian. Wow I've never made somebody so offended in my life. I really fucked up and I am never going to relate to anyone again.
Letting one bad experience change the entire way you interact with the world is giving that one person who was offended an insane amount of power over you and your life
I was being a bit facetious, don't worry haha. But yeah that's a good way to look at it, thank you.
I don't have a problem when they bring it up either. It's when they dismiss my story to highlight theirs.
"Oh, you were in a car accident? That's NOTHING. I was in a REAL car accident where I nearly died."
"Your parents divorced? That's not even a real divorce. They just separated. My dad died. From the car accident."
"Oh, your house was on fire? You call that a fire? PATHETIC. My house was on fire after my mom drove her car into it, setting off a gas explosion, killing my father."
I think sometimes people say things that come across that way in order to offer potentially helpful advice, not to one-up you. For example, if you had a minor house fire recently but my house had burned completely down at some point then I might tell you my story as both a way to let you know that I understand how difficult your situation is and offer assistance with what comes next. Dealing with insurance and replacing your stuff can be an overwhelming proposition. If I don't communicate the desire to help you particularly well then you may think I'm just trying to say that I had it worse when really I'm wanting to help you but am simply too awkward to do it effectively.
Obviously some people are trying to shift the focus off you and on to them but I think you should be able to tell someone's intentions with a quick follow up question to whatever they say. Something aimed at determining whether they want to help you or just talk more about them.
I liked the storytelling, thanks!
I think everyone secretly yearns for the opportunity to reenact that tired old movie cliché where someone half-heartedly says "yeah, I know how you feel" which causes the other person to angrily respond "NO, YOU DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL, YOU CAN'T KNOW HOW I FEEL" and for the first person to sheepishly agree and apologise for the presumption.
It makes every character who has ever said that seem like an insufferable cunt, and in real life it's a thousand times worse. It sounds more like you fear that someone is trying to crib some of your weirdly-beloved pain as though it's currency, and to wear it on themselves like the spoils of a war you just lost. The difference between thinking that, and thinking "this person wants to be with me in this moment and share the burden", is so slight that it's easily-missed, so I don't necessarily fault people for the mistake. But you can literally just choose to go with option B in future, and in doing so improve your overall mental health and general vibe.
I read a post about different communication styles, and this is "builder vs maintainer". https://www.haileymagee.com/blog/three-communication-differences
A builder will try to add to the conversation by adding their own experiences. A maintainer will not add their own, but will focus on the other person's.
A builder talking about something may feel like a maintainer isn't that interested because they're not adding anything.
A maintainer talking to a builder may feel annoyed because the builder keeps talking about themselves.
And I just think these grossly oversimplified textbook explanations for people are abject garbage.
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yeah, I almost always preface my rants with "is it just me or .."
I do want to know what other people think and if the things driving me insane are also driving them insane
Where can I find an entire country of people like this? Autist's Paradise, right there.
Support groups and group therapy. Identifying with someone else’s experiences through your own relatable experiences is a reaffirming connection.
It’s helped me a lot navigating the Autistic tendency to get lost in the mechanics of the story. Now I try to end my contribution with reconnection to the original experience, emphasizing the validation, and returning control of the conversation.
Now I try to end my contribution with reconnection to the original experience, emphasizing the validation, and returning control of the conversation.
This is something I've only just figured out how to do! I still need a lot of practice with it, my handoff is awkward and stilted and doesn't always work, but I'm a little proud that I can still learn new coping mechanisms and strategies even at this comparatively later stage of my life.
When did you learn this particular skill? Did you have guidance from someone close to you, or did you figure it out on your own?
Group therapy. It’s very intimidating to start, since you’re joining a group of people that already know the ropes. It took a while for me to join in and share, but it didn’t matter. I personally learned far more from observation than sharing my personal experiences. I’m in my 40s, if that helps.
Ah, dammit. I'll see if I can find something around me. It's hard to convince myself to go because of the group aspect; much easier to stay home where I won't upset anyone accidentally. But it does sound like it would be helpful; I'm younger than you but not by much. Thank you again!
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"I have it worse"
and
"Naaah bro that's not that weird / dumb I do that too"
Are very close sentiments at face value and it can take a fair amount of finesse to get something to read as the second one.
Training to be a peer recovery mental health specialist helped a lot if any of you are interested in learning some better techniques. It's mostly timing and choosing the right parts of the story to tell.
I feel like you can tell where the intent is behind it when they bring up a similar situation from their life. It's not hard to tell if it's from a helpful place vs them trying to upstage you.
I tend to do this to try to relate and let them know they're not alone, but lately I've just been trying to listen so that I don't come across the wrong way.
Thinking about it, I would at the very least much prefer it over getting unsolicited advice from people who know way too little about the situation they're trying to fix. That shit genuinely infuriates me.
My wife is a one-upper when it comes to trauma. Unless I was legally dead and came back to life, she'll always win.
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