“When you’re tired, get some rest. When you’re sad, go ahead and cry. It’s okay to take a break. Then one day, there will surely come a day when you’ll be able to run again.”
-Quote from the hit South Korean series, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay
While most individuals associate vulnerability with feelings of fear, uncertainty, or shame (EugeneTherapy, n.d.), vulnerability is an essential human experience. As Brené Brown mentioned, “Vulnerability is the core, the heart, the center, of meaningful human experiences.”
Despite the misconceptions we have about vulnerability, it has a lot of benefits that we often overlook. Here are some benefits of embracing vulnerability as mentioned in the website of EugeneTherapy (n.d.):
- The vulnerability allows us to be our genuine selves.
- Vulnerability helps us build empathy.
- Vulnerability helps us work with emotions easier rather than pushing them away.
- Vulnerability gives us courage.
- Vulnerability allows us to have better connections with others.
Vulnerability is never a sign of weakness. One can embrace vulnerability as a strength. To embrace vulnerability, you need to identify your pain points (Fahkry, 2018). Your fractured parts merge with the wholeness of your being. Thus, vulnerability is essential in the human experience. The complete picture, the wholeness of your being, is not always perfect. To heal the pain is a process of self-examination and self-awareness. We have to embrace vulnerability as it is a part of our being (Fahkry, 2018).
Have you embraced your vulnerability? How do you know that you are not okay? Let’s talk about it more this October 20 at 7 pm on the #MentalHealthPH tweet chat and Twitter spaces. Tara #UsapTayo Lite lang with your usual #Usapkada!
Questions:
- How do you know that you are not okay? (Self-check indicators, I can’t sleep, can’t eat, headache, tummy aches, etc.)
- What do you usually do when you are not okay? What would you want people around you to do when you are not okay?
- How can we embrace vulnerability? What would you like to say to individuals who are afraid to be vulnerable at times?
