What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger – Does it really?

I’m sure many of you have heard a quote of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche – “That which does not kill us makes us stronger”, also known as “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. My question is – does it really? The internet has conflicting opinions regarding this matter, as many as the number of people in the world. A lot of people claim that by going through rough, difficult experiences people build up their strength and are more prepared for any upcoming life obstacles. Other claims that believing in “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” can be a comforting thought.

Although there are many opinions regarding this statement, there is also a lot of truth in it, but have you thought of this quote in a different way? People claim that going through different difficult and demanding situations can positively influence later functioning. It makes you adaptive and resistant and as a consequence, it can better your mental health. However, what doesn’t kill you does not necessarily make you a stronger person. It can make you weak, angry, and sad.

Everyone is different and we all deal with different situations in a different way. One can become more resistant and the other may not know how to deal with things and as a result, they may experience long-lasting mental health problems. We are only humans, not robots and when we have to face a difficult situation we all adapt to it in a different way. It’s ok to feel the anger. It’s ok to feel unhappy. It’s ok to feel helpless.

A lot of people believe that “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”, but what we really have to think about here is does it really? What doesn’t kill you can make you vulnerable and can leave you traumatised. Furthermore, the high severity of difficulties or traumatic experiences can transform into an increased level of stress and can cause the occurrence of symptoms of post-traumatic stress.

What I really don’t want is people reading this post to think I am being pessimistic as I am an optimistic person who tries to think realistically. However, I can not say I am optimistic in every situation as this would be a lie and I don’t like to lie. I just want to make people aware that sometimes an easy situation for us may be a difficult one for others. I don’t want my readers to get me wrong – “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” in one way or another or at least it can make you stronger depending on your personality and the situation.

Please stay strong. Stay positive. Make memories. Try to live your life to the fullest and squeeze the positive energy from every situation as everything happens for a reason. I always try to think that whatever happened to me in my life happened for a reason and if I wouldn’t be able to handle some of the situations they would have never happened. Of course, this is me and those are my thoughts and I am sure not everyone will agree with me, but this is who I am. I am only a human and I can make mistakes, so can you. Without them, we wouldn’t know what we know 🙂

Please feel free to share your opinion about “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” in the comments below. Do you think it really does make you stronger, or maybe not? Let me know what you think 🙂

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