I use this word a lot so I figured I would define it…
Noun
1 : Someone’s baggage (trauma, judgments, insecurities, behaviors and other undesirable feelings) which is typically unresolved and therefore is often projected onto others or becomes triggered by others
2 : Someone’s perceived positive attachments (feelings, emotions, thoughts, actions) towards situations, topics, people, or themselves that are often assumed to be shared by others
A few notes on ‘stuff’:
- Everyone has it
- Projecting it on to others is a defense mechanism to cope with the unresolved feelings or as a result of an inability to see the point of view of others
- It is does not have to be related to the person at which it is being projected
- We often do not know when it will be triggered
- It often explains someone’s exaggerated or seemingly over the top reaction within a conversation (both positive and negative)
- It can often hinder connection if projected onto someone who does not share their feelings/thoughts
