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Can we talk about how my mom's "just push through it" advice turned me into a burnout who ignored 3 panic attacks before I crashed?
My therapist told me last Thursday that grit without boundaries isn't strength, it's self destruction, and now I'm wondering if my parents actually knew the difference or if they were just repeating what their parents said without thinking.
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wendy_jackson2mo ago
...and that's the thing, right? My dad was the same way with his "mind over matter" crap. I remember running cross country in high school and he'd scream at me from the sidelines to push harder when my shin splints were so bad I could barely walk after. I tore a ligament my junior year and he told me to ice it and run anyway. I did. Now I'm 29 and I've got this permanent limp when it rains because I never let it heal right. The worst part is I did the same thing to myself at my last job. I worked through a kidney infection because I thought taking a sick day meant I was weak. My therapist straight up said I'm retraining my brain to listen to pain instead of ignoring it, and it's honestly harder than any workout I've ever done.
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graygonzalez2mo ago
...and that's exactly what happened to me with my dad and his whole "rub some dirt on it" philosophy. I remember I was 16 welding a gate and this hot slag burned a hole straight through my glove into my thumb. He just handed me a roll of electrical tape and said to keep going. Now I'm 34 and I still catch myself ignoring these tight chest headaches because I think stopping is weak. My therapist told me last month that I treat my body like a work truck that never gets oil changes. The worst part is I don't blame him, he learned it from his old man who worked in the steel mills. But man, breaking that cycle is hard when your first instinct is to just push through til the tires fall off.
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