Trosser legens råd - Aftenposten.no

What is it with Norwegians? For those of you who don’t read Norwegian, the above article is about Norway’s king refusing to chill out and not work so much, in direct violotion of his doctor’s advice. My husband and his family are exactly the same. My MIL, for example, hurt her knee skiing a few years ago, and now the wear-and-tear on the knee is starting to catch up with her. She told me the knee is making funny noises, causing her a lot of pain, and that she thinks she’s going to need surgery. Despite this, she refuses to let the pain from the knee “hinder” her in her daily activities (focus on the active–she is a woman who does it all and then some). Me, I take pain as a sign that I’m doing something wrong, and lay off whatever it is that I was doing. Not the Myrstad-Brodwalls, however. There are many doctors (and mental health professionals, and lawyers) in the family, but I get the idea that this family is the people who help those in need–not those who are in need. I remember once asking for a painkiller when I was over at their house because I had a headache; they didn’t have any. Not to mention that my husband has never taken a sick day for as long as I can remember, and we’ve been together our entire adult lives.

I have to admit that that family seems to be blessed with amazingly good health, both physically and otherwise. On the one hand I think it’s good, but I also think that it results in a lack of comprehension of what life’s like for those of us who are not so lucky. I take it easy when I’m sick or in pain, either physically or mentally…and that means I take it easy a lot. My experience is that “working through it” just doesn’t work for me. The thing that irritates me is that I feel negatively judged by my in-laws, husband included, when I first have a health problem and second choose to baby myself rather then power through. I’m sure that some of that negative judgment comes from myself, too, but I never felt that way before I started living in Norway. That kind of thing is really a bummer when you’re in a foreign country and have no other support system than your in-laws. Don’t get me wrong–they’re wonderful people and I feel lucky to have married into such a strong, close family–but they just don’t understand. Husband included.

What I’m wondering is if this is a Myrstad-Brodwall thing, an upperclass Norwegian thing (Johannes’s grandfather was doctor to the previous king, after all, and continued working until shortly before his death at 83), or simply a Norwegian thing in general. Any ideas?