It is not the easiest task when you have to deal with annoying personalities in your daily life. However, psychology teaches us how to deal with difficult people.

Let’s face it, you can’t escape difficult people. They are everywhere, and they complain about almost everything. If they’re not complaining, they’re depressed or sulking in the corner. Hey, I’ve been difficult before, well, many times, and I’ve been difficult for others to deal with. I feel them.

How to deal with difficult people?

There are many types of difficult personalities. You have the complainer as I mentioned above, you have the person who always has to be right about everything, and you have the gossip.

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But guess what, there are many other types of difficult people too. Would you like to know how to deal with them? Well, we’ll use psychology to do this. You are about to learn skills, techniques, and communication to reach difficult people in your life.

1. Will they talk?
   Before you can deal with difficult people, you must first know whether they are willing to talk. It is better to understand what makes them act negatively towards you or others.

You may find that some people don’t care, and want to continue gossiping and abusing others. But there are those who find it difficult just because something is wrong. Find out if they want to talk first.

2. Try to be calm
   If someone is behaving in a difficult way, especially towards you, it is difficult to maintain your composure. It can make you angry or make you want to lash out in some way. Do not do this.

According to Dr. Barbara Markway, the best approach is to do your best to stay calm, and remember that what’s frustrating this person probably has nothing to do with you. Count to ten, take a deep breath, or whatever you have to do to stay grounded.

3. Own approach
   The first thing you should do when dealing with people with problems is to meet with them alone. Trying to discuss the issue at hand in front of others will lead to defensiveness.

However, no amount of talking could change their mindset. It can only remind them of their actions and reactions. Difficult people must want to change on their own. It’s just the first step.

4. Don’t judge
   Maybe this difficult person, whoever he is, will tell you something controversial. Please refrain from making judgments about what they did or witnessed.

From one point of view, it may be easy to judge a different point of view, but staying neutral is key. Just listen and absorb what they have to say.

5. Be prepared to be patient
   The truth about these people is that they don’t change overnight. Most often, difficult people have been this way for most of their lives.

There are many reasons why they adopt a bitter attitude, and this bitterness usually has long roots. But if you are patient, you can break the hard shell that deviates from the rest of the world.

6. Communicate in love
   Although this may seem like you are a pushover, you are not. The difficult individual feels overwhelmed by the world and becomes accustomed to pessimism and sadness.

They need kindness to understand that they can take a break from nagging and complaining. Be open during the conversation, ask questions to get clarification, and by all means, make eye contact so they know you’re genuinely interested.

7. Providing assistance
   If there’s an obvious problem that’s bothering someone, offer to help. As long as the difficulty doesn’t include the silent treatment, you may gain some insight into what’s causing the chaos within them.

When you have a chance in your conversation, ask them if they have done anything to solve their problem. If not, help them come up with a plan. Then offer your help to implement the plan.

8. One issue at a time
   If you’re just learning how to deal with a difficult person, you may feel intimidated. Good. Soon you will be able to help them after following the other steps.

But, when it comes to problem solving, don’t try to help them solve all their problems at once. This is not good for any of us. Take one step closer to your friend or family member and help them find their own solution to get out of a difficult situation.

9. Set those boundaries
   This is the part I hate the most. It’s the part where the difficult person doesn’t try to change or try to talk things out. They keep bad-mouthing you and others, and may even use the silent treatment.

When this happens, there’s nothing you can do but build your boundaries. Don’t cut it out completely, but make a promise to yourself about what you will and won’t tolerate. Your sanity is most important.

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The correct method for dealing with difficult personalities
Whatever you decide to do, make sure it looks right. Learning how to deal with difficult people teaches you how to handle many problems, including friend and family problems and personality disorders.