Life is about balance. Work vs. home. Right vs. wrong. Church vs. government. Play vs. work. So many things we are supposed to be able to juggle effortlessly. What about caring vs. uncaring? When is caring too much a bad thing? How can caring be construded to uncaring? If you have worked so hard to protect yourself by creating a wall, a mask really, how do you still show you care? My own mother asked me if I can show care, if I can show love, if I had let anyone in. At first I was appalled that my own mother didn't think I could love, but later I sat and thought about it. I couldn't really come up with an answer as to why I have such trouble showing my family my emotions. After a while, I just forgot about it.
Last night, my husband asked me why I couldn't get over something. Why I cared so much when I never show it? It made me start thinking about what my mother said again. This time, I came up with some answers. I went back into my early childhood. I went back into my school age, family gatherings, first boyfriend. I basically relived my whole life watching what emotions were shown to me and what emotions I had shown. It was a very eye opening experience to say the least.
To find one's self, you must always start at the beginning. In my family, displays of over-emotions and/or affections were frowned upon. If any emotions or affections were shown, it was between my mother and me. My father and mother rarely touched each other, rarely showed any emotion to each other except for bad ones like anger, hate, and fear. Soon, my range of bad emotions outweighed my range of good emotions. I locked up all my good emotions inside, while I was never afraid to show my bad emotions. It was just automatic to not be afraid to throw a fit when my siblings ignored me, but to be afraid to ask them to play with me.
In grade school, I had a small group of friends. By small, I mean, I had one friend through third or fourth grade. The other children were afraid of me. Boys liked me, but at that time I didn't like boys, so any that showed interest, I just beat them up until they moved on. Girls feared me so much as to not be friends. I was loud, crass, and a bully. I would beat up on people I didn't even know, while never showing anything to those I was close to. Even though my group of friends grew wider eventually, I still never showed emotion until I was shown it first...just like with my mother.
In middle school and high school, my group of friends had grown to about 5-10 people I could trust...almost. I was interested in boys finally, so I no longer beat them up at the first sign of interest. I waited until provoked or rejected. While I kept the bullying to a minimum, I still didn't let people in. I would be loud and crass while maintaining a good distance from everyone. People I talked to for years would know little or nothing about me. My wall kept becoming larger and stronger. If I felt threatened or hurt, I would take it out on all...but I no longer went out of my way to hurt people.
In my marriage, I trusted my husband inexplicitly. I let him in more than anyone else. He knew all of my dirt and I thought I knew all of his. My rough outside lead him to believe I was made of stone though. He has never shown emotions or affection, so he thought I was a good match when initially, I had none either. When I love though, I expect reciporcation. I love to cuddle, I love to snuggle. I love being held, being touched. I tried as hard as I could to not expect those things and to stop asking for them. When I asked, I was either denied, or just indulged because that was all he could do.
I don't show emotions because I'm never shown them. I never learned how to properly love and care and how to show them in a productful way. I hide how much I care about things because I can remember in the past that if I cared too much, those things would be taken away and I would just be left mourning and sad. I try not to care because I don't believe that people care for me. Nothing in my past would show any differently. I have trouble believing in self-worth when everyone I know behaves like I am worthless.
So yes, while I can care and I can love and I can show them under certain cirmcumstances...I can't break down my wall. It's all that's protected me. It's the one constance. My one friend who has always shown that it won't hurt me. So I keep my wall up. I keep my emotions inside. Emotions inside can't be used against me to hurt me.