Does that which doesn't kill you only make you stronger? True or false . for Questionland Seattle

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Does that which doesn't kill you only make you stronger? True or false .

I personally do not think everything you go through in life always makes you stronger. I find the statement belittling too. It's insinuating that you weren't as strong or were less of person somehow before the experience or invalidates the state of or how developed your character, intelligence and emotional health was to begin with. Is it very possible that their are cases that that old saying just doesn't apply even to the positive of people.

Clementine asked in Whatever 11 months ago | Report

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I don't think it belittles a persons past (as if being capable of being stronger means someone is weak), but I do think that some experiences can literally make a person weaker.

Mentally, post-traumatic stress syndrome comes to mind.

Physically, a stroke, a heart-attack, getting your leg chopped off. Literally makes you weaker.

So yeah, I think its not meant to be taken literally. It is meant as a standard response to people who have overcome a hard time to make them feel mildly better and/or express sympathy.

Basil answered in Whatever 11 months ago | Report

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True, when referring to contagious diseases which promote the development of antibodies, and life experiences when you have not developed who you you are as a person (therefore becoming a Defining Moment).

Otherwise, false.

Sacrelicious answered in Whatever 11 months ago | Report

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I find that this axiom usually rests upon the belief (rampant in our culture) that there is some intrinsic value to suffering, which I think is bullshit. It's usually something people who aren't suffering say to people who are- and, as someone who's had a chronic and debilitating pain condition for 10 years, I find it fairly irritating. It also generally puts the person whom it's being said to in the position of being seen as or feeling the need to act somehow accepting of their predicament, wisely serene, or otherwise exalted. Telling someone "that which doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, amirite?" often sounds like shorthand for "I don't want to hear about or even acknowledge the existence of your pain, your frustration, or your grief- I only want to hear about hardship if it's encapsulated in a story of perseverance and growth." I don't particularly think that it insinuates a pre-existing weakness, but I do think that it puts the sufferer in a false position in relation to the speaker and essentially bowdlerizes their experience by discouraging honesty about what suffering is really like. It (the whole "suffering is valuable" idea) suggests to people who are struggling or in pain that there must be something wrong with them if they aren't overcoming or seeing the up side of their negative experiences. This creates a situation in which the sufferer feels even more disconnected and alone, because speaking honestly about his emotional reaction to suffering results in being treated as though he is whining or, indeed, making his own suffering worse by refusing to be positive about it.

Below is a link to an RSAnimate production of a Barbara Ehrenreich speech which she did to illustrate some of the ideas in her book Bright Sided, which addresses some of same ideas as I did above (albeit in a somewhat different manner):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5um8QWWRvo

Sphinx answered in Whatever 10 months ago | Report

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This is an axiom that best describes scarred but survivor trees in windswept or otherwise harsh environments - think the natural model for the various forms of bonsai - but not necessarily people.

I remember a school volunteer wearing a "No Fear" brand T-shirt with a prominent slogan proclaiming that 'death is a part of life' so live and play with 'no fear'. Thinking how this can be interpreted by impressionable youth I pulled her aside and explained that taking chances in activities might not kill you but instead leave you with a spinal cord or traumatic brain injury. Fear can sometimes be a very good guiding factor in deciding what is or is not a good idea.

Russ Campbell, NWEBS answered in Whatever 11 months ago | Report

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It's a bit of "folksy" wisdom that isn't necessarily true physically or emotionally. I file it away with all the other fortune-cookie level advice I receive.

Black Beetles in Amber answered in Whatever 11 months ago | Report

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