You know what bumper bowling
is. They put long, inflated tubes in the
gutters on either side of the lane so it’s nearly impossible to miss the
pins—at least with your first ball!
Die-hard bowlers say that using
bumpers is cheating, that only babies should use them.
“Bumpers only encourage people to be reckless and
irresponsible because there aren’t any consequences! How will they learn to get better so that they
stay OUT of the gutters?!”
I see it differently.
In my mind, bumper bowling can
actually help everyone enjoy the game more.
How?
·
It can eliminate
fear of embarrassment. Some of us don’t know
how to bowl well, and it can be scary doing something you’re not good at. Bumpers can help calm the fear of trying something
new.
·
It can build
self-esteem. Both the bowler and their
friends can feel good that at least one pin was knocked down, especially when
bowlers in neighboring lanes are easily getting lots of strikes and spares.
·
It can make the rest
of the day pleasant. With a better score
thanks to bumpers, the bowler won’t be upset or feel guilty about wasting their
bowling partner’s time or money getting all ‘zeroes’.
A lot of opinionated people
with little mental health knowledge think like die-hard bowlers.
“Accommodating a loved one with mental illness encourages
them to be dependent and to shirk their responsibility because life’s too easy! How will they learn to become self-sufficient
when you enable them?!”
I see it differently.
In my experience,
accommodating a mentally ill person can sometimes help everyone. How?
·
It can eliminate
fear of embarrassment. Some of us don’t know
how to handle common aspects of life, and it can be scary doing something
you’re not good at. Accommodations can help
calm the fear of trying something new. Eliminating
fear in one area can free up a person to stretch in another. Since anxiety (fear) is heightened in
mentally ill people, it makes sense to reduce it from time to time.
·
It can build
self-esteem. Both the mentally ill
person and their family members can feel good that at least some progress was
made, especially when other relatives, neighbors, and churchgoers are easily getting
through life. Those who have to work
extra hard just to navigate through life should rightly feel good about any
progress, be it slow, infrequent, or minimal compared to others.
·
It can make the
rest of the day pleasant. With at least
some success thanks to the accommodation, the mentally ill person won’t be
upset or feel guilty about wasting their family member’s time or money making little
or no progress. Daily frustration and
guilt driven by lack of progress can be eliminated through careful use of
accommodations.
Referring to her mentally ill
daughter, someone once told a friend of mine: “You’re enabling her!”
My friend replied: “You bet I
am!”
What a great response! My friend chose to accommodate in that
situation for all the above reasons, and it helped her and her daughter. True, constant accommodation often causes
problems. But when it’s used wisely,
accommodation can help a lot of people in a lot of ways.
You might not get to choose
your lane, but ignore the opinions of people who have no clue what your lane’s
like.