tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6508803881553989740.post2021611340874742627..comments2024-03-27T19:42:04.893+00:00Comments on Student Minds Blog : Let's ditch the "stiff upper lip" and recognise mental health difficultiesStudent Minds Blogging Editorial Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05844163639145202162noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6508803881553989740.post-74656325840430046722016-01-05T08:59:34.985+00:002016-01-05T08:59:34.985+00:00I'm a 52 year old English lady. For most of my...I'm a 52 year old English lady. For most of my life I've received these messages whenever I've been upset or shown my emotions/if I've cried:<br /><br /><br /><br />Don't you cry/crying is weak/childish.<br /><br />Pull yourself together/don't get upset/don't upset yourself/other similar sayings.<br /><br />Fear nothing/worry about nothing/don't be scared about anything.<br /><br />After my mum died (a bereavement) I was told not to be sad as my mum would want me to be happy.<br /><br /><br /><br />If this is Britain's stiff upper lip philosophy on how I'm expected to behave - with total emotional restraint - then I really hate the British stiff upper lip and I cannot keep this stiff upper lip.<br /><br /><br /><br />You see I'm a person who sometimes cries and feels sad, afraid and unhappy and I feel I am being told to stop all my feelings and emotions with this stiff upper lip thing and then I'm judged as being weak/immature/wrong because I can't do this.<br /><br /><br /><br />Sometimes, when I'm told to be brave or strong, I'm concerned that this means I'm not supposed to cry, feel or show any emotion at all.<br /><br /><br /><br />I definitely feel this stiff upper lip thing is harmful and discriminatory to our mental health. People should be able to cry and express their feelings and emotions appropriately and not be told to keep them under lock and key as the stiff upper lip way dictates. I am a woman and I'm not a macho man being trained as a soldier to fight in armed combat so I feel the stiff upper lip teaching is inappropriate for a woman like me.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01095771043034349292noreply@blogger.com