Do You Dislike Receiving Compliments?

KimbaWolfNagihiko said:

I have a certain t-shirt three different people have told me they like. I know it's just a normal human thing, and even I complimented a water-volleyball teammate on her colorful bathing suit yesterday, but... I just don't like getting that kind of attention I guess. I would rather be ignored by the general public for the most part, aside from the ''hello'' I expect from people serving me. (If someone like a cashier doesn't greet me, I actually tend to notice that and think my former boss had some nerve complaining about MY customer-service skills, when I at least tried to be polite.)

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I know what you mean, although I've trained myself to accept and ignore these kind of things, and put them down to "stuff people do".

I never knew what to say when someone complimented me on my clothing. What is the correct reply to "Nice t-shirt"...? "Yes. I know. That's why I bought it." or "Interesting. I'll pass on your comments to the manufacturer."...?

Tommycombs said:

I'm like that too. It's part of my personality disorder. I don't wear anything with logos, words, or designs in public to avoid unneeded interactions. I dress as ugly plain as I can manage. But compliments confuse me because of my generally low self esteem. I almost think they are patronizing me or lying.

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Heh. Yeah... I have those vague suspicions too. And I also wear completely plain clothes with no designs... although I don't dress "ugly"! I just don't like my body being used as a canvas for advertising or artwork. It just feels weird. I'm a person, not a billboard!

diaperbobby said:

A thought to consider about receiving compliments: Whether we may like to receive compliments or not, I think the simplest and best answer to a compliment we may receive is "Thank you." It acknowledges the compliment (which I believe is important to do) but it does not necessarily invite further interaction. It may be difficult to say "thank you" if we are embarrassed by compliments, but I invite you to try it; saying "thank you" gets a bit easier as you do it more. Just something to think about...

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^^ Absolutely, totally 100%. That's the way to do it. Acknowledge it (as is social custom) and move on. Just forget about it, basically.

ericlovesdaddies said:

I'm not huge on them. The one that I hate most is "I'm proud of you" I don't know why, but I've always hated that.

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Oh, no, no, no -- that is messed up! "I'm proud of you!"?!?!

Stop it! I'm in control of my own life! Only I have the right to be proud of myself! Stop trying to manipulate me by stroking me like a lapdog and telling me that you're proud of me! You can't be! F*** off!

*shudder*

I guess I sort of like compliments, but they can be embarrassing, and I don't know how to process it and respond without feeling awkward. >.<