Being Vulnerable 
We all seem to avoid being vulnerable. In the 21st Century it used in the context of computers being vulnerable to attack. Women avoid short cuts home to prevent being vulnerable to attack, getting mugged or raped. Charities work with vulnerable adults. Aid is being targeted at the most vulnerable in the Philippines. DONATE HERE!!
Nothing can compare to the vulnerability of having everything taken away from you in a natural disaster. Emotionally vulnerable is linked to all of these situations.
Being vulnerable can occur in a crisis. The end of a relationship. A relationship unable to begin, or a bereavement. We feel stripped bare. Exposed: protective layers pulled back showing the deeper hurts: our inner selves. We feel anxious at this exposure unable to protect ourselves from the daily hustle and bustle of our lives.
To see being vulnerable is an opportunity is a challenge.But it is.
We can trick and delude ourselves into hoping we are somebody we are not. We would like to be clever, positive, fearless, and capable individuals: but invariably we are not. We are fallible. We stumble, we fall. We don’t cope well in particular situations. To lead a life for who you would want to be and not who we are is potentially miserable.
Vulnerability gives us a clearer picture of who we are. The mist of denial and hope has risen to reveal a more realistic landscape of ourselves.
To be present with our true selves, and to lead our lives with who we are with all our imperfections is hard but better mental health.
Copyright Adrian Scott North London Counsellor Blog 2013
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Disclaimer: This weblog is the view of the writer and for general information only.
This article is designed to provoke argument and critique.