Welcome to Nowhere

Okay, so I’m neither Japanese nor a psychiatrist, but there’s still a lot about this story that I can agree with. Particularly speaking as someone who really doesn’t rely on things like facial expressions and such. I think that’s what makes it extremely easy for me to tell when something’s bothering someone, to be honest. Not so much because I have a medical degree, or anything like that, but.. hm. Let’s see how well I can explain myself here without making me sound like a complete and utter idiot.
People who can see find it incredibly easy to rely solely on the more obvious, and often more deceptive, visual queues. It’s easy for someone to force a smile and accompany it with the usual ‘I’m fine’, or ‘It’s just stress’, or something similar. And it’s equally easy for other people to accept that, and move on–if it doesn’t look like there’s a problem, then there can’t be much of one, can there? That, I think, is a huge difference with me; I can’t see a person’s facial expressions, so I have to rely on the less obvious, but really still just as easy to spot, non-visual clues. It’s surprising how many ways people can signal there’s something wrong without their even realising it. Anything from their tone of voice, to the way they enter a room… things most people miss, because they either can’t, or don’t want to, see past the false smile.
Now, I’m not gonna sit here and say I pull a Star Trek, where I can instantly know what someone’s thinking/feeling, but sometimes, I do think I get more of an indication of it than most people, just because I don’t have that pleasant little ‘Everything’s just peachy’ image to give me a reason to miss those other… I dunno, warning signs, I guess. Of course, just because I can usually tell doesn’t mean I’m going to mention it–it isn’t my business. I subscribe to the theory that if people want me to know, they’ll tell me. If they don’t tell me, then I probably shouldn’t be asking unless I’m in the mood to be told to fuck off. On a scale of 1 to 10 so far as loaded questions goes, it’s been my experience when it comes to seeing other people, at least, ‘What’s wrong’ rates right up there as about a 1. It can be the best, and the worst, question you could possibly ask or be asked, especially if there *is* something wrong–one of the reasons I don’t ask. That, and it’s not my business… see above. Heh… it’s kind of amusing, in a few ways. I’ve been told by a few people I should consider a career as a therapist. My response is usually the same… therapists are good for what they do, but who wants to spill their life story to someone they don’t know for $30 an hour? It’s hard enough doing it with someone you actually know, for free. And, personally, I’d much rather fall into the latter category… I like to actually know the person if they’re gonna fall apart in front of me. That whole comfort thing, I guess. But, hey, at least someone’s taking those few people’s advice… and, like the title says, it’s as good an explanation as any.