I came face-to-face this year when dealing with my landlady, who believes I am practicing witchcraft against her, poisoning her with sulfur gas, etc. It became clear that my usual strategy of apologize-and-try-to-please would not work here, and that this was definitely about her and not about me. Learning to not care about her opinion of me was a new (and very useful) skill for me. Not that I deliberately provoke her, but when she’s upset by things that are obviously not my fault I don’t let it upset me.
I came face-to-face this year when dealing with my landlady, who believes I am practicing witchcraft against her, poisoning her with sulfur gas, etc. It became clear that my usual strategy of apologize-and-try-to-please would not work here, and that this was definitely about her and not about me. Learning to not care about her opinion of me was a new (and very useful) skill for me. Not that I deliberately provoke her, but when she’s upset by things that are obviously not my fault I don’t let it upset me.
Beware; history tells us that those accused of witchcraft do not fare well. Consider other accommodations.
We’re moving next month. But she, like most paranoid people, is probably more of a danger to herself than us.