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Default   #4   Quiet Man Cometh Quiet Man Cometh is offline
We're all mad here.
Some people may not want to ask for or accept help because to them it might feel like a failure on their part not to be able to handle whatever situation it is by themselves. In cultures where individual effort is praised, it can feel shameful to ask for help. Also, if one person felt that they were smothered by other people and not allowed to make choices for themselves, then they may want to hold onto that independence more fiercely, and asking for help may feel like stepping back into old ways.

It really depends on the mentality of the person but I think it's not unusual for people to feel ashamed, embarrassed, or feeble if they need to get help from others.

Sometimes, accepting help from other people is something that people need to learn, especially if they grew up in a family where they may not have been able to rely on other people for help. Some people might refuse help as a sort of knee-jerk reaction to being asked, but then may realize later that they do need it and feel too bad about it to ask again when they've already refused. Accepting that you need help, also means acknowledging that you are having trouble and some people might be too proud to admit that, or be too afraid of what other people might think of them to admit it, to themselves or to others.

Does that help at all? Asking for and accepting help is something that has come up in the mental health support groups that I've been a part of now and them. It's not a rare thing to have a hard time with it.
Old Posted 11-24-2012, 12:39 PM Reply With Quote