WantsOut

So my son sends me this cute, innocent seeming blog entry. It's a woman describing moving with two dogs.

This is how she described them:

"Our first dog is - to put it delicately - simple-minded. Our other dog is a neurotic German shepherd mix with agonizingly low self-esteem who has taken on the role of "helper dog" for our simple dog. Neither dog is well-equipped with coping mechanisms of any kind. "

This silly thing reminded me of myself and my relationships with alcoholics. am I just a neurotic with agonizingly low self-esteem that sets herself up as a helper to a "simple dog". Do we both have no coping mechanisms of any kind?

Here's the whole story - it's cute but it's so weird that this made me think of myself. I still have a lot of work to do on myself.

Hyperbole and a Half: Dogs Don't Understand Basic Concepts Like Moving

Lushwell

Not all coping mechanisms are innate........we can put effort in to developing them. Most mammals have an innate ability to swim. Most humans need to put effort into developing that skill. Some make it an art.

We stand at the pool edge of life.

We can declare that we can't swim.

Or sign up for swimming lessons.

givemetennis

I think I am the helper dog and the simple dog is my addict son. Or, maybe I've taken too many literature classes in my life.

pixilation

I love hyperbole and a half. That moving post made me laugh until I cried.

Her newest post did too.

StarCat

...Now that you mention it, I hadn't realized it at the time, but yet.
I can see myself in that post, XABF completely oblivious that anything is wrong, and me not knowing what to say or do anymore because I can't take the cycle of abuse, then him snapping at the end and complaining about it until I can't take it anymore, then the both of us escalating the argument, etc, etc...



Same here...

I remember sitting down and reading the entire blog all the way backwards towards the very beginning after I got all worked up over XABF trying to control my life from rehab. The day I stopped talking to him, I knew I was severely depressed, and her blog helped a lot.

Codie101

I am definitely the "helper" dog and my ABF is the "simple" dog. Sad.

JustAYak

I read that blog all the time . Fun stuff.

SoloMio

I am wiping tears of laughter from my face after having read that blog post. Never heard of Hyperbole and a Half, but I'm going to bookmark it.

Thanks!

lillamy

Me too!

theuncertainty

Hilarious!!! I can't stop laughing! (I'm definitely seeing similarities between myself and Helper Dog.) Thanks for sharing, WantsOut.

barb dwyer

that was a HOOT!

I had to move with cats.... I'm going back to read more of this!

this is what a blog SHOULD be. The graphics cracked me up!

BumblingAlong

Thanks for the belly-laugh!! I haven't laughed like that for a long long time!

barb dwyer

so... apparently i'm the last person in the US to know about hyperbole and a half?

figures.

StarCat

It is gaining popularity, and getting even funnier as time progresses.

Although some of the older ones are downright hilarious.

This is one of my favorites, although I am not sure if it relates to the topics here. I suppose it could be some weird exhibition of codependency or something, although to be honest I don't ever see myself doing this for anybody EVER. (I did cut my car in the Saks Fifth Avenue parking lot using XABF's earhair clippers once, though... I just got tired of him yelling at me about "When are you going to get your ^%R$%@#$%^E%$ hair cut?" So I cut it, and it's the haircut I have now, and I actually like it.)

Hyperbole and a Half: My Tweenhood was a Haze of Baldness and Shame