Learning to ask for help

From the moment I was born, I knew I was meant to help take care of others. Maybe it’s because my mom was diagnosed with MS within a year of my birth and she needed me to help her from the start. Or maybe it’s because I am the oldest of 3 and I was taught that I had to help my siblings right off the bat. My chosen profession of physical therapy is 100% taking care of others. Maybe it’s all of that that makes it really hard to ask for help.

I was told by 3 different people this week to get out of my own head and ask for help. Man, when something hits you over the head like that it might just stick!

As a physical therapist, I see people who have been in pain for a long time. They look up treatments online. They change there physical space. They tell themselves they just have to deal with it. And they do…until they just can’t anymore. That is when they’ll go to a doctor, maybe try a round of medication and if that doesn’t solve the problem.I use Advil on occasion myself if my own aches linger , but it never does actually fix the problem. It only calms the problem temporarily. There is still work to do after the problem is calmed and unless you actually seek help, you will just keep going in circles. I know this is true in the physical world as well as the psychological world.

I promised those 3 people, who told me the same thing in different ways, that I would step out of my comfort zone and I would ask for help. It makes me tear up to think about. I am supposed to take care of others, not the other way around. Yet, I know they are right. If I don’t ask for help now, when will I? Do I just abandon my goals and throw in the towel? What is the worst that could happen? If I ask for help and they say no, I am no worse than I am right now. If they say yes, well, my whole world may change.

Where could you use a little support right now? Can you step out of your comfort zone and ask for help? I’m pulling for you. We got this!