Caring for your loved ones is an important side of life. However, caring too much or incorrectly assessing the circumstances can cause anger and disagreements, even if the intentions are in good spirits. 

Today’s story covers how snooping around your family can cause embarrassment and the importance of boundaries. A man’s cousin staged an intervention for him thinking he needed help when, in fact, it was a medical condition all along.

More Info: Reddit

Caring for your loved ones is important, but assessing their needs first is crucial too

Image credits: Kindel Media (not the actual photo)

A man has a medical condition that causes the overproduction of earwax, only his wife and parents were aware of it

Image credits: Veganbaking.net (not the actual photo)

For the condition to not damage the man’s hearing, he continuously needs to follow a strict regimen, which includes flushing the ears with a syringe

Image credits: Cord Allman (not the actual photo)

Recently, the man’s nosy cousin noticed the man going into the bathroom with a syringe, and she thought he had an addiction

Image credits: u/Firm-Tip-9612

The woman decided to stage an intervention for the man with all his friends, and when he realized what was happening, the man laughed in the cousin’s face, embarrassing her

Recently, a man approached Reddit to ask for perspective on whether he was being a jerk. The story begins with a man disclosing a minor medical condition he has. It causes the overproduction of earwax, and the man needs to continuously follow a certain procedure. This way, permanent hearing loss, tinnitus, and ear infections are kept at bay.

One day, the man was about to go into the bathroom to stay on top of his regimen, when his cousin, Kara, stopped him. The OP (Original Poster) was holding a syringe in his hand, which is used to clean the ears, and this raised Kara’s suspicions.

She tried pushing the OP to tell her what this was about even though it wasn’t her business. So the man told her that it was a minor medical procedure and went in. As he was going out, Kara stopped him again and started asking more questions. Kara even went to the lengths of asking why he took so long and why the toilet didn’t flush. It turned out that she snooped around and listened. Of course, the OP wasn’t too happy about this and just said that it’s none of her business.

The following weekend, the OP’s friend suggested going out for dinner and meeting up at his house so that they could go together. When he arrived, Kara was sitting solemnly on the couch with his friends and said that they were going to talk about the OP’s “problem”.

It then clicked for the man regarding what it’s all about. Shocked, he laughed a little as he just couldn’t believe it. Kara then asked what was so funny, to which the man replied that she could’ve talked with his parents first. She then claimed that she didn’t want to involve the “enablers”. This caused OP to laugh even harder, and Kara stormed out as she was mortified by the situation.

The OP explained his medical condition to his friends and they went about their evening. Later, the OP’s mom told him that Kara was mad at him and that he should apologize. However, he doesn’t feel he owes Kara an apology, as he was forced by her to reveal his condition to his friends.

Image credits: HLS 44 (not the actual photo)

It’s good that the man in today’s story didn’t need any kind of intervention, but that’s not always the case. Intervention might be a good start for people who are struggling with the usage of certain substances. Although an intervention’s effectiveness is hard to measure and there’s not much research on it, it can still be a good starting point.

Even if intervention can’t directly impact the outcome of a loved one battling an addiction, it can certainly have a positive influence. In Johnson’s intervention model, a person must hit “rock bottom” until they seek help. It’s difficult to define what concludes “rock bottom”, but people tend to understand this from their loved one’s behavior.

Intervention is typically staged in a surprising fashion, where the subject is not aware of an intervention being organized at all. The surprise element is important to coerce the person and make them reflect upon their circumstances. The end goal of it is for the person to seek professional help and confront their addiction.

Peer pressure is a strong social mechanism, and if used in good spirits, can be useful. An intervention team usually consists of 4-6 people whose goal is to encourage and aid their loved one. In return, the subject of the intervention feels more inclined to make positive adjustments. A good example of how an intervention can be pivotal is famous comedian John Mulaney. Mulaney recovered from his addiction and even joked about it in his stand-up after friends and family interrupted his habits.

The good news is that if the person is willing to admit that they have a problem with a substance, there’s a 75% chance that they will recover. However, recovery can look very different for each person. Some go on to live in complete abstinence, while others focus on avoiding certain substances which they fail to moderate.

What do you think about the story? Do you think the OP’s mom was right and that he should apologize? Let us know in the comments below.

Redditors say that the man isn’t a jerk and that he doesn’t owe an apology at all

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