Why don’t people talk about things that make them uncomfortable?

The answer is pretty obvious, I know. But if you think about it for five more seconds, the answer begins to be more complex than you would think.

It’s easy to bark back at someone with the comment, ‘I don’t want to talk about it! It makes me uncomfortable. Why do we need to talk about it?’

The easy way out is to yell at somebody and give an elementary response to a complex issue and completely avoid addressing what is really making you feel uncomfortable.
I understand there are subjects that are taboo in our culture, but I must propose this question: Why have we made these topics so unbearably awkward for us to talk about?

Let’s list some of the topics that make people cringe when we say the words out loud: Promiscuous sex, financial hardships, personal stresses, death and illness to name a few. It seems that when these subjects come up in conversation they immediately draw negative attention. People don’t want to continue with the discussion for fear of verbalizing a truth that is eating them inside.

Nothing beneficial arises from preventing yourself from speaking about subjects that affect your everyday life. I understand that on a certain level a person may not want to say in a group discussion they’re having financial problems and it’s affecting their livelihood, but at some point they will need to talk about the situation.

As painful as it may be to talk about a personal problem, it’s more distressing if you keep all those emotions inside.

As a society we like to pretend that everything is running smoothly. We put a smile on our faces for the public to be fooled that there is nothing wrong on the inside. In turn, we end up fooling ourselves.

With all the changes being made in this country it’s about time people in society begin to change the way they deal with everyday struggles. People shouldn’t be sweeping their issues to the side, trying to avoid them at all costs. They should be opening up in this delicate time and asking for help.

If people don’t talk about their everyday obstacles now when the country as a whole is struggling with its own problems, then they will never be able to move on and grow.

The only solution society can take in order to get over the awkward feelings of talking about taboo subjects is to just do it. Deep down, on some level, we know everyone else can understand what we’re going through because these are common situations. If everyone is going through the same thing, or knows people who are, then why can’t we talk about it?

It’s about time everyone realized the negative factors associated with avoiding the common concerns we all share and actually take proactive steps to solve the problem.