Six Difficult Personalities( And How To Deal With Them)

We all understand that we are people with differences, based on the fact that we have different religious values, morals, societal values, different DNAs, thinking patterns, blood types, blood groups and so on. 

So how can we not expect to encounter difficult personalities in our day to day life? Be it at work, school, in our family or a close relationship.

The fact is, wherever you go, there will always be someone you meet, who will surprise you with how difficult they can be. (:

So understanding and accepting this can save you from a world of hurt or trouble.

Knowing that there are several types of difficult people and identifying their differences and learning how to deal with them effectively, will help you keep your cool when you find yourself in difficult relationships.

Check out these six different personalities and how you can deal with them effectively. 

As you go through these traits, try to think of someone in your life who has similar personality traits, keeping in mind how you can use this information to help grow your relationship with them. 

And, who knows, maybe you’ll see which, if any, of these personalities describes you. 

Six Difficult Personalities And How To Deal With Them

1. “The Garbage collector”

Anyone with this personality loves to replay the bad moments and injuries they’ve suffered at the hands of other people, they nurse and hold on to their wounds. 

This makes them more like a stinking ground filled with negativity and mostly a will for revenge. They haul their dirt (anger and frustration) on anyone that comes into their life.

Dealing with the garbage collector, first, try to confront them with their attitudes and make them understand that everyone has their past, hurts and failed attempts.  

But carrying those memories as extra baggage will only weigh them down in life and blind them from seeing any genuine relationships that might show up in their life. 

To be frank, no one likes being close to garbage; its unpleasantness sends everyone packing. 

What should a “garbage collector” do?

He or she let go of and clean up the past, especially the dirt of anger and frustration and be open-hearted once again.

You can help such an individual by showing them love always.

1. “The Sherman tank”

Those with this personality trait tend to intimidate others because of their aggressive and hostile attitude.

Just like you cannot reason with a tank, it rolls over everything and anything in its way, so also, these people have difficult personalities and are hard to reason with. 

The strategy for dealing with this personality type is to ignore them once they start being pushy or aggressive. 

If you find yourself in an argument with this difficult person, you have to weigh the issue to determine if it’s an important one and worth fighting over. 

But if it is a matter of pride and not really significant, ignoring them is the best thing to do. 

Although there will be crucial times when you must stand up to them and also try to confront them, letting them know how much their attitudes hurt you.

3. “The Space Cadet”

This is another problematic difficult personality type that most people consider or call “weird”. They are just in a different world apart from anyone else, and they tend to say or do something unreasonable and annoying most times, but they are usually brilliant and creative people. 

Now these type of people should be most times left in their own space as they like to dream and create. They might be hard to reason with, but they do love to find people who understand them. 

If you have one in your life, patience is the key to having a successful relationship with this personality type. 

Being patient enough to understand and hear them out even if you find yourself not interested, you can learn to get along. 

4. “The Volcano”

These people have difficult personalities because they are unpredictable and tend to be unapproachable. 

It is difficult to relax around these type of people because you don’t know when they are going to explode. 

To deal with someone with this personality, you need to get them to calm down, and you can do this by remaining calm yourself, not engaging them once they explode. 

Just let them vent out all their anger and try not to interrupt, till they are calm, then you can talk to them softly and transparently. 

 5. “The thumb sucker”

Another difficult personality…they are otherwise known as “moody” and tend to be full of self-pity. 

They usually need people around to cater to their needs. 

If they do not have their way, they resolve to silent treatment and use this to manipulate others to get what they want. 

The strategy for dealing with this type of person is to help him, or her to quit feeling sorry for themselves and rather be grateful for whatever they have presently. 

Remember many difficult people have at their core a whole range of insecurities.

You can help such a person understand that everyone has one issue or another to deal with, not one of us doesn’t have or won’t have something challenging to deal with in our life, but self-pity never moves anyone forward.

Most times, it is helpful to expose the thumb sucker to other people’s problems, so they might see that their life really isn’t that bad and it might be a good thing if they could be more grateful for where they are and what they have.

6. “The Users”

Another set of difficult personalities, these manipulate others for their selfish gain. 

They put on a pity-party face to make others feel sorry for them and help them out. They use guilt as a tool and if you’re gullible, you can end up feeling you must meet their needs. 

If you find yourself with this type of person, take a stand and create limits to what you’re going to help them with, because if you don’t and they get you pinned down, chances are high you’re going to feel obligated to do everything they ask.

It’s the old story, if you give them an inch, they will take a mile. 

You can help this person by making sure they participate in whatever they need. Not leaving you to do everything.

Also, if you’ve had enough with this person, rather than pretending and depriving yourself of  freedom, most times a simple but firm “no” is the best medicine. 

Phewww! (:

Question?  Do you have any of these personalities in your life? 

Or maybe a mixture of two or more of these difficult personalities? 

Or maybe you’ve been able to identify a personality type that describes you?

Whatever the answer, why not get to work right away, applying what you now know and better your relationships and increase your happiness.