I was fairly fortunate after I graduated in that I actually got an oppurtunity to leave near a friend from my peer group who has since become my best friend. We lived in the same city for a couple of years and spent time almost daily.
Ok, I'm supposed to be cleaning my house right now (self imposed but still) but I just came across this and need to say something. I lived in SoCal after I graduated and had a pretty decent support system as far as recent grads. One in particular. We were connected at the hip for years and I still consider her one of my best friends and absolutely my family. It seriously made all the difference. We would take turns convincing ourselves that we weren't insane. That might be a strong word but it gets the point across.
I remember it being a really big deal to us that we felt like we were substantially more skilled than everyone else that we knew in things like understanding why people did things, when someone was lying or full of shit, and bar none the world heavyweight champions of mental and emotional manipulation.
I don't think we ever felt more skilled necessarily, we recognized that we knew more about human nature and behavior than a lot of people...just going on my challenge gave me that feeling of have having more clarity at one point than a lot of people will ever have (and I don't say that to sound condescending or superior). But yeah, your eyes are open, you can sense bullshit, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you're immune, especially when you have emotions involved. It just makes you feel worse because somehow you know you're getting into a situation that's going to work the shit out of you. And let me be clear about this...regardless of whatever else RMA did, it gave me a clearer idea of who people are. And it's been a huge hindrance until I realized how to regulate it (it would have been nice if that was something they had taught us...but according to original Synanon protocol, no one ever went back into the "real world", not really)
This seemed like a double edged sword to us though because while yeah, its handy to 'be able' to call bull shit in a moments notice in the world, its almost never wise to.
Yeah, I found out really quick that people don't like to called out, even gently.
What also made it worse was we were college age. Bright kids, had girlfriends, smart friends, etc. The thing was it was really dificult when we tried to explain these observations to our girlfriends as they sort of resented it and were kind of insulted and offended and basically had the opinions that we were incorrect and that even though we went to the school we were no more intuitive or hip to bull shit than anyone else. It was impossible to explain to a non-goer what the hell we meant. We knew what we knew, but were treated upon explaining with a mixture of jealousy and denial that we were like that.
Like I said, resentment. No one likes to be told that they're seen, regardless of what walls they think they've established.
On the other hand, it sort of made us psychological wild cards or damaged goods if you will in the social hierarchy.
No way. Wild cards maybe, damaged goods, never. I won't accept that. Like I already said, it's a matter of regulation, and finding people who are open to you, who you are, where you've been, people who love you for who you are and are willing to listen to what you have to say and actually hear it and respond. They may have been wrong on a LOT of things, but I still believe that being a real friend means being honest. Not that I've always practiced it, it can be scary sometimes, especially when it will cost you someone you love.
Writing this now, in hindsight I don't know who was correct anymore. I do know that I am quite an odd bird.
Being an odd bird is a blessing. You were one before you went and that's always going to be who you are, but being unique is a gift, and maybe 90% of the population won't like or appreciate it, but there's always that 10%...
The thing is I've always been unique, So..? Did we just think we were more perceptive because of the severe emotionality of the past experience; were we more perceptive just simply because we just happen to be bright individuals but attributed it to Super Psychology Training Camp.
I think it's a mix. I've found that everyone has to find their own individual way of incorporating it into your life. Because it is a part of your life, for better or worse, it's there. You push it down, it's just going to find a may to manifest itself, and usually not in a good way...speaking from personal experience. What do you think?