Growing up, many of us were taught to “tough it out.” I remember carrying firewood with my siblings and falling, only to be told to shake it off when I told my parents my hand hurt really bad. It had been a long day and it happened at bedtime, so everyone just wanted to go to sleep.

The next morning, I found myself in the emergency room with a hand full of fat sausages, my fingers so swollen they were touching. My mom felt terrible, but that “tough it out” mentality stuck with me, and I’m sure a lot of you suffer the same problem.