I AM
Nicole Perry
Writing about mental health from a feminist counselling perspective
A few months ago I was facing some tension with an acquaintance (caused entirely by their unwillingness to hear my very reasonable “no” to their request), when I caught myself in a dangerous thought. The stress of having tension between us was really getting to me, and I found myself thinking, “maybe I should just compromise after all, to make it easier”. In other words, maybe I should just say yes to their request, in order to escape the tension and stress that had resultantly arisen. And then, here comes the epiphany. I was about to say yes to someone simply for the fact that someone I barely knew had guilt-tripped me about saying no. That wasn’t compromising. That was conceding.
Holy shit, have I been using the wrong definition of compromise for my entire life? My mind started racing, and I actually looked up the definition of compromise on the spot (or, Siri looked it up for me). It turns out, a compromise is when both sides give a little in order to find a mutually acceptable arrangement. There is nothing – absolutely nothing – I would have gained from giving into this situation. And is that a good enough reason to say no? I think it is. But so many of us who’ve been socialized as female are taught to believe that other people’s needs and desires are more important than ours. We’re taught that our role is to keep things running smoothly, and make sure to do everything in our power to reduce tension. I’ve gotten to a place in my life where I’ve recognized it’s okay to step out of that role. I’m not going around creating unnecessary tension, but I’m not going to go out of my way and do my self a disservice just to make someone else happy. Now, some people might be thinking, in this example I might not gain anything materially, but perhaps I would gain some goodwill with this person, and in the future they’ll be more likely to go out of their way to help me. It’s a nice thought, but it turns out to be rooted entirely in wishful thinking. I think a lot of us can get caught up in this wishful thinking. So let me reiterate something from above – they were guilt-tripping me for saying no. I was now dealing with tension and stress because I said no. Does that sound like the kind of person who is going to be appreciative if I make a sacrifice? Who is going to want to be generous in the future? I can tell you from experience, it isn’t. I’ve made sacrifices before, in the hopes of building a relationship of goodwill and reciprocity. It doesn’t work unless both people are willing to be generous, and make compromises that are mutually beneficial. So the next time you catch yourself thinking of making a “compromise”, ask yourself, is there mutual give and take here? Is this a relationship of reciprocity? Or am I just giving in because I’ve been taught that other people’s needs are more important than mine?
3 Comments
Amy Dickens
1/8/2018 09:36:59 am
It helps me to reflect on how uncomfortable we have to deal to conflict and tensions, and the urgency to settle and tend to comprise by giving in. We have been socialized to say yes and comprise to relieve the tension when we were little girls. Also women tend to go out of the way usually to settle as we are caring and nurturing and most of all, very attentive or sensor to our and others' emotions and feelings.
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Absolutely Amy. I think the emphasis on how we were socialized and the impact it has is so important - it really puts these kinds of struggles into context. And you're not the first person to talk about major illness being the turnaround factor. I've spoken to others who felt it was their health that finally helped them to start saying no.
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AuthorNicole Perry is a Registered Psychologist and writer with a private practice in Edmonton. Her approach is collaborative and feminist at its heart. She specializes in healing trauma, building shame resilience, and setting boundaries. About the Blog
This space will provide information, stories, and answers to big questions about some of my favorite topics - boundaries, burnout, trauma, self compassion, and shame resilience - all from a feminist counselling perspective. It's also a space I'm exploring and refining new ideas.
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