I hurt my finger the other day. I was hanging up a Christmas wreath and poked myself on some of the wire. No blood, no mess…just minor injury to my pointer finger. It continued to hurt throughout the day and as my mind went through a “Web-MD” style list of how I was undoubtedly going to die of this finger injury, I realized what I needed to do.
Put a band-aid on it.
For as long as I can remember, any wound felt better when I had a band-aid. I didn’t have to be bleeding. It didn’t have to be a visible cut. I didn’t even have to remember how I got hurt in the first place. I just knew if I felt bad, a band-aid made me feel better.
This was a source of frustration to my mother who saw our household budget for first-aid balloon as soon as I was old enough to reach the shelf with the box of bandages. She would tell me over and over that I didn’t need a band-aid and if I wasn’t bleeding, a band-aid wouldn’t do any good.
In a way, she was right. As a grown-up, logically, I know that a band-aid isn’t going to fix all my problems. But at the same time, it always made me feel better. My parents may not have been able to see how I was hurting, I may not have always known myself. But I knew, and I was never wrong, that in some small way that band-aid on my sore finger or scraped knee or bruised elbow made me feel better.
If there is one person I am an expert on, it is myself. I know when I’m hurting and I usually know what will make me feel better. Sometimes it’s a relaxing evening with a good friend, sometimes it’s talking to a professional about my life and my past, and sometimes it’s a band-aid.
I’m guessing you’re an expert on yourself as well. If you dig down deep, I bet you know a few of your own “band-aids”, the tips and tricks that lighten the load and help you feel better for a few moments. Don’t forget to take the time to take care of yourself. Take a night off when you can. Spend a few moments meditating and centering as your day begins. Reach out for help when it feels like too much on your own.
If you need a band-aid for an old wound that has scabbed over or a new hurt that is still bleeding, reach out. There is help for you and there are people who will listen. We’re one of them and we are available 24-hours a day at 815.756.5228. Your pain matters and so does your healing.
