I hate the saying “no pain no gain”. I think it insinuates that it’s somehow noble
to suffer through pain, or even worse, that seeking relief from pain is somehow
a sign of weakness. I've had people
tell me, “Why should people get counseling because of this or that, part of
life is experiencing pain”. I hear “death
and grief are just reality”, “life is meant to be stressful”, “everyone feels
sad”, etc. I want to challenge all those
thoughts. Yes, trials will arise, but accepting
the pain and suffering through them doesn't have to be part of it.
As most of you know, I recently returned from a challenging
hiking experience. As someone who is not
into physical challenges, it required a lot of pre-planning and training. One thing I learned is that foot care is
extremely important. One little pebble
that feels like a small nuisance can turn into a huge painful blister. During the hike at nearly every stopping
point, I’d take off my shoes and inspect my feet to make sure there were no
signs of redness or rubbing. If there
was any sign of a problem, it was immediately addressed with ointment or
blister protection Band-Aids. The
thought being, I’m going for endurance. Yes, I could continue to ignore that little
tender spot except in the long run that tender spot will bring me unnecessary pain. Could I push through a blister? Sure, but why endure that pain if there are
ways to comfort it.
Will life present hardships?
Sure, I agree that part of the human experience is unexpected turns in
the road, situations we didn't expect, losses that are painful. What I challenge is the idea that when those
hardships occur, we somehow benefit from “pushing through the pain”. I challenge that a better approach would be
to prepare for them, get support when they do occur, and use whatever skills or
resources are available to you to ease the pain. If you need some extra support or skills to
help, that’s where counseling might come in.
I always say counseling is a sign of strength, not weakness. It’s an aware person, one who is monitoring
their own health and can identify what they need, that seeks counseling.
Life is about endurance.
We want to enjoy the journey, not suffer through it. So the next time I hear someone says “counseling
is just a Band-Aid” – I’m going to take it as a compliment. Anything that relieves or prevents pain can’t
be all that bad. Have a great week!
