Hi, you are “face to face with Shell”.
I have been talking about when people say hurtful things and when you can feel hurt, annoyed, angry, etc.
I now want to talk about the times when I was actually “ok” when they things were said and when it didn’t bother me.
Please look at the video below and read on:
Before I started doing my website and YouTube channel, I worked in the NHS for 30 years. It felt like I was giving back some of the care I had been given. After 30 years in a few different posts and departments, and after travelling; I felt that it was time for a change and to give back to others in another way; hence why I started my channel and site.
Whilst working in the NHS, I had to deal with many types of patients; one woman once told me that my nose had been burnt off. I replied that it hadn’t, it had been damaged but luckily, it had not been burnt off. She was adamant about it and keep repeating the same sentence. I was fine by it and actually found it quite funny, as she was having none of it. She was a character and would make me smile any time I had to deal with her.
Once she eventually took that my nose had, in fact, not been burnt off, I said that I was lucky to be alive, as 2 people had been killed in the explosion. Her reply: “Well, there you go then” and walked away. I laughed as she walked away.
There was a nurse standing in the office listening to our conversation and she was horrified about the whole situation. She asked me if I was ok and was genuinely upset by what had happened. I was totally fine. I had to reassure the nurse that I was ok. It was really kind of her to be concerned about what had happened.
Another post had me working with children. On my first day, one of the managers came to me and tried to explain what the children might say to me. I was like: “Yeah, I know”. I mean, I had been living with my scars for years and years, and was at a comfortable stage of my “journey”. I listened and I was trying to reassure her that I was fine, and was prepared for what the children might say. It was really sweet of her to come and speak to me about it, maybe not in the middle of the main office though, with lots of people around lol. The thing was…none of the children ever said anything to me.
There was another instance (not long after my discharge from hospital) where an insurance salesman visited the house and asked how I was getting on. I remember that I was drinking through a straw (because my mouth didn’t open that well to begin with) anyway, I said that I was OK. He then said: “Until you look in the mirror”. Both my mum and I said at the same time: “No”. For some reason, I had accepted my face very early on, this is how it was.
The point that I am trying to make, is that you will probably get to a point in your “journey” that things will not bother you as much. You’ll think, yeah OK, this is me…
There are still times when things get to me, especially when I think that the person does know what they are saying.
Things do get better, have faith, and have faith in yourself that you can do this.
Stay strong and we’ll chat soon.