Isshh...that moment!

'Oops why did I send that', seeing that old text

'Sheesh, I shouldn't have said that', recalling that conversation

'Ghosh, what would they have thought of me'

“Oh no!! How embarrassing,” we whisper, out loud, to no one.

Are these the feelings, while accidentally reliving embarrassing memories?

The moment when you slipped over the stairs. The moment when you stumbled over a simple word in a presentation. The moment when you said something that doesn't fit in right context-wise. The moment when you greeted someone thinking they are greeting you. The moment when you faced a serious wardrobe malfunction. The moment when you realized you are not wearing pants (extreme case of Raju Rastogi).

All so afresh to date. No matter how far we have come in space and time, these 'cringe attacks' make us wince.

Yes... 'cringe attacks' they are. Basically; remembering and reliving cringe events that happened in the past and feeling anxious and embarrassed about them.

Then we catch ourselves wishing to go back just to change things.

Or if we had a viewer to the situation who might have interpreted something weird, we find ourselves wishing to explain to them the real thing.

This reminds me of a very familiar instance.

The scenario when you are giving something a deep thought, you are in your own world, and long later you get to realize you have been staring at someone all that while. Ishh...that embarrassment! And if you don't get the chance to explain, the moment stays with you, until something even more embarrassing happens :)

It comes as an attack when we're going about our usual routine, and a small thing somehow triggers that memory. We suddenly find ourselves in a flashback, replaying the situation and wondering what could have been done differently, and then comes the guilt, embarrassment, and sometimes trauma.

The people you find who are least sensitive to embarrassment are either total jerks (they didn't even realize), or else they’re very self-accepting (they don't care about the world).

Though sometimes the cringe attacks are embarrassing but funny as well. Like maybe how you spilt the coffee over yourself and everyone laughed, including you.

And sometimes they are just unforgettable for the embarrassment they brought. Like abruptly choking on a drink then continuously coughing with eyes watering and looking ridiculous, that too in a meeting or a silent setting. Or maybe just liking an old social media post.

For the next cringe attack, just try taking it on and analyzing it deeply once to not let it bother you again.