02/20/2026
❤️🩹 Why do people avoid talking about important topics? The fear of getting hurt or hurting someone else can be overwhelming. There is a sense of vulnerability because precious topics can feel pure and tender to the heart (like the preciousness and vulnerability of a baby). You might have these “what if” statements running through your mind:
- What if people don't like me?
- What if they don't like the core of who I am?
- What if they don’t respect my thoughts and opinions?
- What if they get mad at me?
- What if they’re upset?
💜 There can be a deep fear of what people think for so many reasons. I talked about that a lot in episode 89, “Why do we care about what people think?” Part of it is simply being part of a tribe. We are social beings, and we are meant to feel that we need to work together in order to survive. So when people don’t like us or are upset with us, it can trigger survival instincts. We can become afraid of negative judgment or criticism.
🧡 There’s also the fear of rejection, or of feeling embarrassed or ashamed. And it’s not just about talking through issues or problems, many people even have a hard time expressing love. We have so many loved ones, yet how often do we say it freely? Some people naturally feel more at ease with that than others, but we can also cultivate it. We can develop that sense of expression, that ability to communicate with each other.
💗 The intensity of these feelings, whether positive or negative, can feel overwhelming. Not knowing what to do with that overwhelm, even the overwhelm happening in your physiology, can make you want to curl inward or tuck yourself into a protective mechanism. You might back away from something important to you or freeze up and feel unable to talk about it. This is why many people feel conflict-averse when it comes to having difficult conversations.
👉 Watch the full episode in the MultiDimentional MD, “Why people avoid talking about important topics” by clicking the link below:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw2M6fgjAvc
💫 In Stillness,
Dr. Arlene Dijamco
The MultiDimensional MD