bADD days turned glADD days

Some days...some years even...we find ourselves dealing with poisonous people. They are the ones who not only don't understand our make-up, but seem to take perverse pleasure in cutting us down to size. I'm not talking about the occasional encounter with rudeness, or even unpleasant people we see semi-regularly, but those whose input we can't avoid. It may be a boss or a teacher, a spouse or sibling; someone we can't just walk away from because of the nature of the relationship.

This tends to be a theme in our lives, especially if someone has a place of authority over you. But there's no reason to let it keep you down. Sometimes you can make a change, but if you can't, it's time to start using coping mechanisms, or learning to adapt. "Why should I have to adapt? They're the problem." I hear ya. But the fact is, they're idiots, as incapable of bending as we are of organizing. The unfortunate difference is, we have occasional hyper-focus and they have a never-ending supply of ugliness, so unless you want the problem to continue, you're going to have to be creative.

I've found great hope in scripture, especially when I read about how the devil is stalking me and wants me dead, but God is protecting me. In this scenario, God plays Himself and sends warrior angels to fight for me, and said poisonous person is the devil incarnate. Only then I realize they aren't that bad, they just seem to have accepted a current position on the advisory board of the evil one. Either way, in the end, God's warrior angels always win, and evil person either bends or is destroyed.

Unfortunately I haven't gotten very far in practical ways of dealing with poisonous people, but this has me smiling for now, and that's way better than worrying about what tomorrow holds. So jump in and throw me some answers-what kind of coping mechanisms have you found in dealing with unavoidable hellish wrath?