A few nights ago, my sister came to me and my parents to chat about an issue she had been keeping from us for quite some time now. I’m not going to disclose the details of the situation out of respect for my sister, but the matter led to her feeling quite embarrassed and ashamed.
My family and I were grateful she finally approached us to converse about the issue, but we were also somewhat confused as to why she waited as long as she did to chat with us about it. When we asked her why she didn’t come and speak with us sooner, she explained that she was regretful to ask for help, because, to her, it is symbolic of weakness and failure.
My sister is not alone in supporting the idea that asking for help is something to be looked down upon, or met with disdain and ridicule. Socially, we have been conditioned to correlate the concept of asking for assistance with weakness, or inferiority, but I am here to inform you that this association is absolute bull shit, loudly and proudly.
As humans, we tend to have low periods in life from time to time. Regardless of what is causing someone to struggle, we all do. Life isn’t fair, nor is it easy, so if we acknowledge this without question, why do we hesitate to ask for help when we could seriously use some?
I’m not going to pretend that I am immune to the reluctance affiliated with inquiring for some extra assistance, because I, too, feel embarrassed when I need some help. But, I think it is crucial that more of us begin to challenge this rather ridiculous attitude that reaching out for help is something to be looked down upon, because, if anything, it takes a shit load of strength and bravery to reach out in the first place.
ontheedgeofeverything 