Do you know someone that seems to always have some type of ordeal or grievance to complain about, telling endless stories of hardship, unfairness and affliction in their lives that constantly land them in the role of perpetual victim? If so, you probably know first-hand how draining this can be, especially if the storyteller never takes the offered advice, but instead appears to actually want/need the attention that comes from the sharing of such tales. This is what being addicted to drama looks like, and oftentimes they're not even aware of their compulsion.
It is during circumstances like this, that detachment becomes an invaluable attribute, for it enables us to remain neutral and calm within the chaos. Detachment helps us stay centered and aware so we know when to interject, when to remain silent and when to simply walk away. A lack of response to other people's dramas will likely be perceived as coldness, indifference, non-support or even betrayal. But in actuality, the ability to detach ourselves from these types of emotional theatrics, enables us to see what is really going on.
Did you know that we are much more likely to feed off of another person's melodrama if we haven't dealt with our own? This reminds me of the old show, The Dog Whisperer where Cesar Millan always talked about how dogs with pent-up energy can feed off other unstable dogs and become aggressive and out-of-control. We're not much different in this regard, for we all have snags in our demeanor.
Mastering detachment requires us to face these unresolved issues. When we prioritize our wellbeing by mending old wounds, we naturally become more peaceful, impartial and discerning. Detachment is simply an ability to remain neutral, which is actually a very high state-of-being. Detachment doesn't mean we don't care about other people and what they're going through. It means understanding what our personal entanglement in any given situation is actually fueling. Is it helping or empowering dysfunction? Mastering detachment is about being responsible and conscious about where we expend our energy, which ideally won't be to feed instability, victimhood or pandemonium.