The Toxicity of Comparing Crises
Crisis Situations are Not One Size Fits All
I have a clear memory of my childhood that reminds me of what happens when we are in crisis mode. My mother was standing over me, yelling at me to finish the food on my plate.
I had been vomiting throughout the day, with a fever and stomach cramps. My mom had spent the day cooking something, (I believe pork of some kind) and she filled a plate for me when my siblings and Father got home from school and work. I can still remember the smell of the meat and vegetables on my plate, that, at that moment, made me feel nauseous. I sat quietly and pushed it around my plate with my fork.
My Mother glared at me with total distaste, before rising from her chair to stand behind me, in hopes to “force” me to eat the undesirable meal. She repeated, over and over, louder and louder, “You need to eat that food and be grateful you have it!”
I am sure I was grateful, but the odor emitting from it was making me gag.
Finally, in one last attempt, before threatening to feed it to me “like a baby”, she uttered those all familiar “parent” words, that still sticks with me.
“You know there are children starving in this world. You are lucky that you aren’t one of…
