Notice: Originally, this post was going to become a Q4M, but I think that it would be more beneficial if I left it more inclusive. Some of the language here may reflect that.

Both of these terms are something that I made up to describe how certain people handle potential conflicts or emotional issues that they have on the rise. Neither are particularly healthy.

Explosive Suppressors are people that typically conflict averse, and would rather send you cues to avoid being confrontational or direct about how they are exactly feeling. Often times, this manner can come across as being standoffish, or passive aggressive at random times. If you do not act accordingly or pick up on this, then the end result could be either them withdrawing further or exploding from bottling the problem up for too long.

Reactive Outburst are people that typically more confrontational, and they may be quick to get upset/angry. They will often tell you exactly how they are feeling shortly after, but it may be messy or problematic within the moment. They may come across as very aggressive or masculine to whoever they lash out on and they will take sometime to calm down after. However, there may be some emotional damage done by the outburst that they caused.

A lot of people may be thinking: "Neither, why can't I have someone who tells me how they feel when it bothers them and communicates this respectfully as well?"

Well, that is the point of this post. If you do not vet well enough or feel limited in your options, you may be stuck with one or the other. Hopefully, this will lead to a discussion about the topic of conflict resolution at hand.

Go.