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You are here: Home / Military Life / Why Military Wives Don’t Ask For Help

Why Military Wives Don’t Ask For Help

November 21, 2013 by Julie 10 Comments

Why Military Wives Don’t Ask For Help

“Just let us know if you need anything.”

As a Military spouse, I have heard this phrase from many different people. It is a great thing to hear. When you hear it you now know you have someone to call if you need to. It is so great that people want to help.

But here is the thing…

Why Military Wives Don't Ask For Help

 

Most Military spouses don’t ask for help, even if we could use it.

We want to be able to take care of the home, the kids, the money, the yard and everything that comes up all by ourselves. We will never let that person know if we do need something if we feel we can kinda handle it ourselves. There is just something hard about asking for something specific.

It is hard to say, “Hey, I need someone to mow my lawn because I just can’t seem to do it right.” or “Would you mind watching my kids while I take myself out to dinner? I really need a break.” or “I need someone to fix my fence. It is broken and I can’t afford to pay someone to do it.”

The list can go on and on. We feel like by asking for specific things we are asking too much. Or maybe it is because we don’t really believe the person telling us to ask. We might just assume they are just saying that and don’t really expect us to call.

I will admit. I hate asking for help. I try to do it myself first. I will always try to do it myself first.

When my husband was deployed the last time I had to mow the lawn all summer long. This was hard and every time I did it I would burst into tears when I was done. For some reason, it was very hard for me. At the end of the mowing season, I hired a company to come out and do it because I couldn’t imagine asking anyone.

My friends and neighbors had their own lawn to mow, right? And the last time I had asked someone was when I was going out of town for the summer and they didn’t end up doing it. So I would never ask. I would do it myself or I would hire someone to do it for me. It is just how I am.

There have been a few times when I HAD to ask for help. There was no other option. In those times I was thankful that I had people to ask. It’s a hard thing to do. To admit you do need help and to ask for it.

We want to be brave. We want to be strong. We do not want to be seen as weak.

But what I have been learning the last few months is that some people want to help, they really really do. They don’t know how to help you unless you tell them. I have seen people willing to cut our grass or help with the lawn. To bring us fans when our air went out. To offer a shoulder to cry on when I just didn’t think I could make it another day.

We are brave and we are strong but we are not superhuman and sometimes we do need extra help. We are doing the work of two people. It would be impossible to get everything right all of the time.

Do you struggle with asking for help? Why do you think Military wives struggle with this???

Don’t forget to check out The Newbie’s Guide to Military Life: Surviving a PCS and More by Soldier’s Wife, Crazy Life and Mrs Navy Mama. Your guide for learning about military life.

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Filed Under: Military Life Tagged With: army wife, military life, military spouses

About Julie

Owner of Soldier's Wife, Crazy Life. Writer, reader, coffee drinker. Mom to three boys, wife of a National Guard soldier. Living life in Tennessee.

I wanted to let you know about the InDependent Wellness Summit, March 1-6, 2021! 

It's all virtual! And you can either sign up for Free General Admission or receive 30% off of their VIP All-Access pass using my link! 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Amber Turner

    November 21, 2013 at 7:28 pm

    I have heard that phrase many times too, but unfortunately it is not normally backed up. I think we do not accept help in part due to how we might be viewed by others. We don’t want to seem weak. Also, I think it has a lot to do with society. We don’t live in solicit help society really. Other countries seem to really exercise the idea that “it takes a village”. We seem to put too much pressure on ourselves, even outside of being military spouses…as mothers too! Thanks for sharing your insight!

    Reply
  2. Janet Reeves

    November 22, 2013 at 1:30 pm

    Wow! Your post hit home. I think I struggled with asking for help because I felt like people expected me to fail. I felt (and it probably wasn’t true) that they thought I wasn’t strong enough. Asking for help felt like admitting that was true. We have to learn to tell ourselves that we have nothing to prove. We do the best we can. Part of that is knowing when we need to ask for help.

    Reply
  3. Lauren @ Going Green: Our Army Adventure

    November 22, 2013 at 6:04 pm

    I pretty much never asked for help before, and becoming an Army wife just made that so much harder! AH!

    Reply
  4. Miranda Pridgeon

    November 22, 2013 at 10:55 pm

    It is like we have this need to be strong no matter what the circumstance. I do believe that is why we try to do things completely on our own! Great post and so true!
    Miranda Pridgeon

    Reply
  5. Jessica

    September 2, 2019 at 8:38 pm

    I am more than inspired by your article I am I mother of two boys an two girls. Military wife, an have two autistic children. I would love to ask you for more advice if possible. Thanks.

    Reply

Trackbacks

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    January 30, 2018 at 6:00 am

    […] Day 3- Make a list of 5 friends you can call. When you want to get together with someone. Or if you really need something. Don’t be afraid to ask for help during the deployment. […]

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  4. How to Get Through a Deployment With Toddlers says:
    November 14, 2018 at 10:00 am

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    January 29, 2019 at 8:01 am

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About Soldier’s Wife, Crazy Life

Soldier's Wife, Crazy Life

Welcome to Soldier’s Wife, Crazy Life! I am so glad you are here.

My name is Julie and I have been an Army wife for almost 15 years now.

My husband of 18 years has served in the active-duty Army and now the Army National Guard. We have lived in Germany & Tennessee during our time as a military family.

We have three boys and have been through four deployments together.

I hope that you can find support for your own deployments, pcs moves, or anything else military life brings you 🙂

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