Vulnerability: The Strength You Didn’t Know You Had
Most people, when they think about vulnerability, usually see it as a weakness. It is something that makes them weak and exposed. But what would happen if we saw vulnerability in a different way? What if we saw it as a strength?
In this article We are going to explore the idea of vulnerability and why it is important to have it in our lives We’ll also talk about how to be more vulnerable in our relationships and why it can be so beneficial.
Vulnerability can be seen as the ability to be open and honest with our feelings, thoughts and experiences In this sense, vulnerability is presented as a resource for personal development and growth.
On the other hand, a state of vulnerability would allow us to be able to show our true selves to others. Even if it means we might get hurt.
And this is perhaps the reason why we refuse to experience vulnerability. Being vulnerable requires courage and strength, because we expose ourselves without knowing what is going to happen. We trust that the other person will accept us as we are.
We know that human beings are mostly oriented toward pleasure and certainty. This is why vulnerability can be so threatening.
Why is vulnerability important?
But vulnerability does not usually produce a pleasant feeling. Why would it be important to experience it in our relationships?
Vulnerability is important because can help us cross the barrier of superficiality that characterizes contemporary relationships. Helping us establish closer relationships with others. Well, when we are vulnerable, we let the other person enter our internal world and get to know us as we really are.
This can lead to a deeper level of trust and intimacy Plus, being vulnerable can help us grow and learn more about ourselves. It allows us to get in touch with our emotions and understand ourselves better.
What are some examples of vulnerability?
Some examples of vulnerability are sharing our deepest fears and worries with someone, being honest about our mistakes, and admit that we need help Other times, we can be vulnerable by opening up about our feelings or sharing something personal with someone.
Vulnerability in the psychotherapeutic relationship
A clear example of a relationship where we usually use vulnerability as a resource are the help relationships that are established in the context of psychotherapy
With a psychotherapist we can experience what some call psychological safety. That is to say, an environment built together with another person (the therapist) characterized by:
If you have already gone to psychotherapy, you will know that these elements allow us to speak openly with the certainty that the other person is genuinely interested in us In understanding our world and therefore promotes in us the same attitude, of seeking growth allowing us to be who we really are.
But we must not forget that this relationship has a limitation. And it only happens in the context of a helping relationship such as a professional health care service. However, we can learn from this example more about how to bring the experience of vulnerability into our everyday lives.
You may be interested: “Expectations in psychological therapy”
How can we be more vulnerable in our relationships?
There’s a lot ways to be more vulnerable in our relationships:
Try to share some things that we normally wouldn’t share with others. Which can include our thoughts, feelings, fears and experiences.
On the other hand, be more open and honest with the people we are close to. This means being honest about our feelings and thoughts, even if we are afraid of how they will react.
Finally, we can also be vulnerable by admitting that we need help or support from others. This can be a difficult thing to do, but it can be very beneficial for our relationships.
Remember that socially, vulnerability is often considered a weakness and that these transformations in your relationships can surprise more than one person. But Daring to be vulnerable and allowing others to have a safe relationship to be vulnerable is actually a strength too
Try to practice the attitudes we mentioned above (empathy, respect, confidentiality and acceptance). Providing this to people you know will inevitably bring it back to you.
Additionally, creating growth relationships based on moments of vulnerability can allow us to get in touch with our emotions and understand ourselves better.
