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Getting Used to It – A Metaphor

ByMike McBride Reading Time: 2 minutes

Tonight when I went to see my massage therapist, as usual, she asked me how my body felt and what sort of tension I was feeling. I responded that I really felt pretty good. I’d been so busy with work that I haven’t had time to wear myself out with any sort of physical activity, so either everything was mellow, or the stress from work had affected me so much that I just got used to it and didn’t even notice it.

It didn’t take much of her poking and proding to realize that it was the latter. I was ridiculously tight in the shoulders, neck, and all the way through the ribs. That’s bad, and worse, I didn’t realize it. I know it’s not good to be that tight, and I know how much better I feel when I’m not, yet I still just got used to it the way it was and didn’t think there was even a problem.

Sounds like a metaphor for life, eh? If not life in general, certainly the life of a survivor. Sometimes we are so familiar with the pain and other affects from our past that we don’t even realize how much better life could be with some small changes. We simply get used to what we have and convince ourselves that there’s nothing really wrong.

Something to keep in mind. I know I’ll think about tonight the next time I assume my body isn’t feeling any stress during what should be a stressful time!

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4 Comments

  2. So true! Hey, Mike: This would be a great post for The Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse. I think most of us, as survivors, need to learn how to pay attention to the messages of our bodies more and do more self care.

    Reply

  4. Mike, stress is one thing I still have trouble feeling in my body. I just noticed this week that I often do fine when I have company visiting but I get a 2-4 day headache when they leave. I have had two of these headaches this summer with all of the company that we have had. Some part of me holds the stress at bay until it is safe in my space for me to let down. Maybe with this awareness, I can find better ways of dealing with the stress.

    Reply

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