Scars
Whether physical or emotional, we all have them. No one is completely without some kind of scar.
I have scars on both of my knees from falling off my bike as a kid.
A few years ago I got a weird abscess on my forehead and now that's all scarred up (this is on top of the chicken pox scar that was already there).
As a teenager (and into my early 20s), I was a cutter. Those scars exist too.
10 years ago I had an MRI due to severe headaches and was told I had scarring on my brain (that could explain a few things).
Some scars we wear as a badge of honor. Others we hide in shame. Some have a story while others may bring up a painful memory.
Emotional scars are harder to deal with, though, as only the person that bares them even knows they exist. Maybe there's a physical scar to go along with it, but more often than not it only exists inside. Like the physical scars, they may fade over time, but these invisible, internal, emotional scars we carry with us hold more weight. These are the things that trigger anxiety attacks, PTSD episodes, and bouts of depression. And even though everyone has their own emotional scars, we don't talk about them.
Think about it... if someone has a "cool scar" you say, "Oh, how did that happen?" and then hear a story. Maybe it's some crazy tale or simply, "I walked into a door." Emotional scars don't provide that. But... what if they were visible? Would it prompt more honest communication? Would we all be more likely to talk about the things we never say if they wielded some kind of visible manifestation?
What if we wore our emotional scars as a badge of courage like our physical ones? Shared our stories with one another? Maybe... just maybe, it would be easier to live with them knowing that we weren't alone in our scarring.
I have scars on both of my knees from falling off my bike as a kid.
A few years ago I got a weird abscess on my forehead and now that's all scarred up (this is on top of the chicken pox scar that was already there).
As a teenager (and into my early 20s), I was a cutter. Those scars exist too.
10 years ago I had an MRI due to severe headaches and was told I had scarring on my brain (that could explain a few things).
Some scars we wear as a badge of honor. Others we hide in shame. Some have a story while others may bring up a painful memory.
Emotional scars are harder to deal with, though, as only the person that bares them even knows they exist. Maybe there's a physical scar to go along with it, but more often than not it only exists inside. Like the physical scars, they may fade over time, but these invisible, internal, emotional scars we carry with us hold more weight. These are the things that trigger anxiety attacks, PTSD episodes, and bouts of depression. And even though everyone has their own emotional scars, we don't talk about them.
Think about it... if someone has a "cool scar" you say, "Oh, how did that happen?" and then hear a story. Maybe it's some crazy tale or simply, "I walked into a door." Emotional scars don't provide that. But... what if they were visible? Would it prompt more honest communication? Would we all be more likely to talk about the things we never say if they wielded some kind of visible manifestation?
What if we wore our emotional scars as a badge of courage like our physical ones? Shared our stories with one another? Maybe... just maybe, it would be easier to live with them knowing that we weren't alone in our scarring.
