The Band-Aid Effect

It's strange how effective Band-Aids are for blocking out pain. When you put a Band-Aid on a cut, no matter how much it hurts, it will feel better. Even if it is just a little bit better. It gets better so that you can ignore it. The only problem with putting a Band-Aid over something that hurts is that eventually, someday, it will get torn off. Mostly when you least expect and when you least feel able to deal with it.

Tonight I had one of my Band-Aids ripped off. Someone I wasn't expecting to see for a long time reappeared in my life. Reappeared at one of the services at work and I felt as though I was going to pass out. Seriously. The blood drained from my face and all of the air left my lungs. I hate taking Band-Aids off. Anyone who has watched me do so will attest to the fact, but I would much rather have had to rip off twenty than go through that again.

It's strange that sticking a Band-Aid over a hurt can help so much of it. Maybe it's because when you don't see it, you can't feel it enough for it to hurt. At least that's my theory. When I ignore something I don't want to see I tend to be able to ignore it. Or at least push it to a place that I don't feel the hurt I feel. Maybe that is something that happens to more people than just me. When we are able to push away what we think we don't feel we really only set ourselves up to hurt more in the future. We may not realize it at the time though. Mostly we don't.

I wish that putting a Band-Aid over something would make everything feel better. I really do. My life would be so much easier if that would work. But it doesn't. It might make it feel better for a little while, but it doesn't heal it and it doesn't make it go away. It's still there, just under the surface, waiting for something to happen to make you feel all over again.