Member-only story

5 Things That Hurt Others You Probably Overlook (And How to Avoid It)

Subtle behaviors that cause others pain more than you realize.

Victor Mong
6 min readJan 29, 2025
Photo by SHVETS production via Pexels

Most people don’t hurt others on purpose. They just don’t realize the emotional impact of their actions.

It’s easy to think that as long as we’re not openly rude or confrontational, we’re not causing harm. But emotional pain isn’t always the result of direct conflict.

Often, it’s the small, seemingly harmless behaviors that leave others feeling ignored, disrespected, or unimportant.

Here are five common behaviors that unintentionally hurt people and what you can do to avoid them.

Changing the Topic When a Conversation Get Heavy

There are two ways people change the topic in conversations, and both can hurt others.

The first is when someone changes the topic to avoid dealing with another person’s emotions.

For example, if a friend opens up about feeling hurt or overlooked, instead of listening and understanding what you’re doing that makes them feel this way, you steer the conversation away.

You might crack a joke or make a casual comment to lighten the mood, but this dismisses their feelings…

--

--

Victor Mong
Victor Mong

Written by Victor Mong

I write about human potential, building a life you want & mastering your mind || info.victormong@gmail.com

Responses (2)