The British Stiff Upper Lip - What is it costing us?

Stiff Upper Lip

I read today that the British stiff upper lip could be hampering efforts to fight Cancer in the UK. The article from the BBC news site reports that our embarrassment stops us from telling the doctor about the symptoms we may be experiencing. We are as aware of it as other countries but are more reluctant to tell someone about it and fear wasting the doctors time. This means it may be weeks between the symptoms starting and finding the courage to go and say something.

War-time mentality?

In particular, it seems that older people may be more likely to wait - maybe thinking that we shouldn’t complain or whine and should instead battle through, putting a brave face on it. Perhaps it is through embarrassment too.  I wonder whether this will be as true for Millenials? Programmes such as Embarrassing Bodies and YouTube may go some way to breaking down some of the barriers that cause people to not want to talk about their bodies and how they are feeling.

Stoic-what a word!

I like the word Stoic, how it sounds – it’s the name of a Viking in How to train your Dragon and I had a feeling it meant being brave but I had another search after reading it on the BBC page and found this great piece from Jules Evans in The Guardian. It’s about being stoic ( in light of the research by the British Journal of Cancer) and how that has changed over time.  Jules Evans explains it far better than I could so have a read but he concludes that ‘Being Stoic doesn't mean repressing your feelings – it means understanding them and learning to take care of yourself.’ Hear, Hear.

by Tasha George