Dealing with Gossip and Rumors

Many people think about rumor mongering as an appalling habit because rumours are associated with the destruction of several relationships. Unfortunately, we live in a world where gossip and rumor are prevalent in society. Gossipers are usually insecure people who are very unsure about someone they view as a challenge and may even be jealous for no apparent reason. As much as no one enjoys being the topic of gossip, most individuals are perhaps guilty of gossiping. People should always strive to keep a cool head and view gossip as a destructive element in society that should always be ignored. In most cases someone spreading rumors is hopes that the victim is provoked into some kind of retaliatory action and therefore ignoring the rumors will allow people to see that the issue of discussion is of no importance. What if it starts becoming malicious? In some instances, rumours can start to get out of control and before long individuals begin to feel quite nervous and victimized. This can be very damaging to the mental health of the victim. “When people are feeling bad about themselves, they sometimes think they will feel better if there were others worse off than there are,” said Grace Ingabire of Nyamirambo. “people gossip because they are idle with no work to do and as long as people are idle, they will spread rumors and cause conflicts between people,” said Ingabire. As a result, a victim of gossip may start thinking that everyone is laughing or condemning them; this leads to more psychological illness such as; paranoia or symptoms of anxiety and depression may surface. According to Fred Bayingana of Remera, merely ignoring or laughing off rumors is the best way to go. “Certain people always want to be in charge and at the top of the ladder. You probably know at least one person who needs to be the leader and when people are at the top of the esteem scale, or are determined to climb higher, one way they do this is by reducing the “status” of another person,” Bayingana said. However, by carrying on with your normal life, remaining polite, loyal and probably most importantly, not retaliating with counter-abuse rumours will automatically fade away. In this sense a gossiper will lose interest in rumor-mongering. Ends