two dozen

I've noticed that a lot of the men in my life will offload their emotional processing onto other people instead of just handling it and only recently am I starting to notice how much it affects me. It's a lot of mental energy trying to deal with things I have no context for most of the time, or things that aren't even remotely my problem.

I'm a cook, but more importantly, I'm a (usually) female presenting younger person in a field that is primarily 28yr+ men. I've had SO MANY men tell me that they felt like they could tell me anything, and without asking if I wanted to hear, would tell me some of the most traumatic/unnecessary/personal things that nobody should be discussing at work. Eventually when I started to stand up for myself and tell them I wasn't their personal therapist, they'd get upset. Thankfully I'm a lot older than I was when I started working in kitchens and it happens less frequently. But it sucks that I had to navigate my own emotions and problems at home, then come to work to listen to my coworkers tell me why they are only able to date certain types of women on top of everything that was also happening at work.

As for my roommate, we barely talk due to different schedules and having basically nothing in common. But he saw me a couple times in a tank top and decided to let me know that he desired me carnally instead of working through his feelings...

I'm just so tired of entitled men telling me things that have nothing to do with me, and then expecting me to help them walk through their emotions. It's different than talking things out with a friend. With a friend there's a rapport and expectation for deep conversations about emotions, past histories, etc. But men that I see maybe 2x a week in an impersonal context have no right to offload their emotional labor onto someone who isn't even part of their lives.

Anyway