{"id":1714,"date":"2025-12-20T16:05:38","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T21:05:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/?p=1714"},"modified":"2026-02-03T16:08:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T21:08:28","slug":"asking-for-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/?p=1714","title":{"rendered":"Asking for Help"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Dearest Readers,<\/p>\n

Why is it so hard to ask for help?<\/p>\n

When I was in high school, I learned how not asking for help can get you in trouble. I was directing a play in our little black box theatre and the previous group had left a cumbersome fireplace prop on the stage. Did I go and find someone to help me move it? Nope. I dragged the heavy object into the wings, knocking chunks of plaster off its corners and leaving scrape marks on the stage.<\/p>\n

That afternoon, our teacher admonished the person \u2018whodunit\u2019 and dared her to come clean. I stayed silent but my conscience got the better of me and I confessed after class. The teacher praised me for telling the truth but then posed a perplexing question: Why didn\u2019t you just ask for help?<\/p>\n

Hm. That\u2019s a tough one.<\/p>\n

I guess nobody taught me how. I come from a family of DIYers and I\u2019m not talking about renos. Lift it yourself. Carry it yourself. Figure it out by yourself. Manage it by yourself. Self-sufficiency is prized above all, to our detriment. Most of us still struggle to ask for help when we need it.<\/p>\n

To ask for help is to admit weakness and weakness equals death. Too much of a stretch? I don\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n

Ironically, admitting I can\u2019t do something actually brings me strength. One of life\u2019s paradoxes. Thank goodness I\u2019ve learned!<\/p>\n

Just yesterday, I needed some help. My mental health was in the toilet and my best thinking told me to isolate and numb-out. Instead, I reached out. Twice.<\/p>\n

Sent a voice message to a friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelp. Not doing well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just sharing that gave me the courage to call my boyfriend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need life support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vulnerable. Ugh. But he was able to love me into a better place. He couldn\u2019t have done that if I hadn\u2019t told on myself.<\/p>\n

It sounds simplistic but if you need help, try asking for it. It makes a difference.<\/p>\n

May Light from Every Possible Source brighten your darkness this holiday season.<\/p>\n

Celia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dearest Readers, Why is it so hard to ask for help? When I was in high school, I learned how not asking for help can get you in trouble. I was directing a play in our little black box theatre and the previous group had left a cumbersome fireplace prop on the stage. Did I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[359,916,1108,1038,1106,1107],"class_list":["post-1714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ask-for-help","tag-depression","tag-life-support","tag-mental-health","tag-reaching-out","tag-vulnerability"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1714"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1716,"href":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1714\/revisions\/1716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.celiamcbride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}